NASCAR TV News

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Don't expect NASCAR races in 3-D anytime soon: The NCAA Final Four in a few weeks will be presented by CBS in 3-D coverage for theatergoers. Fox has produced a 3-D Bowl Championship Series football game, and Major League Baseball's All-Star game will be in 3-D carried by DirecTV. ESPN presented the Ohio State-Southern California football game in 3-D and showed it in a handful of theaters and is expected to launch a 3-D channel soon. So could NASCAR end up in 3-D? It's possible but there are several hurdles. Network executives from NASCAR's television partners have recently said they couldn't predict when there would be a 3-D production of a NASCAR race. The biggest hurdle is trying to get it to the fan base. Fox Sports Chairman David Hill wonders if enough NASCAR fans would have 3-D sets to be able to watch a 3-D production. "HD sets have not reached critical mass yet and folks that just bought an HD set, they've got to turn around and buy a 3-D," Hill says. "There's a whole bunch of questions all to do with the chicken and the egg. So the answers [to NASCAR in 3-D questions] are we will have equipment to do a 3-D race, yes it will look fantastic and I don't believe anyone will be able to see it." ESPN Vice President of Motorsports Rich Feinberg says he is fascinated by 3-D and helped make a 3-D movie last summer at the X Games. "There are some technical challenges that need to be overcome," Feinberg says. "The size and scope of these productions in terms of the number of cameras and all the stuff with the pit cams and crew-cam guys, that technology doesn't exist today for 3-D. "What we want to do in working with NASCAR is when we get there, we want to make sure we can do it right. There is a whole lot of technical knowledge that has to be acquired and experimented and tested in order to do that. We don't serve anybody, including our NASCAR fans, by doing a show that is underwhelming in 3-D because of the technical limitations. We've got to wait until we're ready."(Scene Daily)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Jeremy Mayfield's stepmother seeks deposition from ESPN reporter: Lisa Mayfield’s attorney wants to take a deposition from ESPN.com reporter David Newton in her defamation lawsuit against her estranged stepson, NASCAR driver and former team owner Jeremy Mayfield. Lisa Mayfield had to ask the court for approval to take the deposition out of state in the case, which was filed last July in North Carolina Superior Court. “ESPN reporter David Newton and ESPN are essential and material witnesses to the facts and circumstances involved in this cause of action,” Lisa Mayfield’s attorney wrote in the request to take the deposition in Connecticut, where ESPN is based. An ESPN spokesman said the network has not been served with a subpoena in the case and therefore had no comment. (SpeedTv.com)

Danica Patrick helps NASCAR TV ratings go up 17%: Danica Patrick, who raced three times on the Nationwide Series, will now compete for four months on the Indy Racing League circuit. In the three NASCAR Nationwide Series races Patrick ran averaged a 2.1 TV rating on ESPN2, which was up 17% over last year’s three races (1.8 rating), with all of the increase coming because of the Daytona race. Patrick finished 35th, 31st and 36th in her Nationwide races. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Most brand appearances in Daytona 500 telecast history: The 2010 Daytona 500 will long be remembered for two lengthy pothole repairs, which extended the live Fox broadcast to seven hours and also enabled 348 sponsoring brandsthe most ever monitored during a Daytona 500 telecastto obtain valuable television exposure. According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc.  which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast since the mid-1980s  this year's number of brands marked a 16% increase in sponsors compared to the 300 appearing during the 2009 race telecast. The additional broadcast time created by the two track repair delays was filled by several driver interviews. These lengthy interview segments saw 175 different brands appear on the drivers' uniforms, compared to 149 brands in 2009. Overall, total on-screen time for all sponsors was up 55% compared to the 2009 broadcast (17:19:40 to 11:12:28), while verbal sponsor mentions rose a whopping 64% (386 to 236). When comparing the in-broadcast visual and verbal exposure to the estimated cost of a national commercial during the Daytona 500 telecast, and then applying Joyce Julius Recognition Gradingwhich takes into account such factors as size and placement of the image on screen, as well as brand "clutter"the sponsors combined for $319 million of Recognition Grade exposure value. More info and stats at joycejulius.com.(Joyce Julius & Associates)

Monday, March 8, 2010

NASCAR at Atlanta overnight ratings up over '09: Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 from Atlanta drew a 4.8 overnight rating on FOX, up 2% from last year (4.7), but down 14% from 2008 (5.6). Compared to last week's Shelby American (4.1), Sunday's race was up 17%. This marks the first time this season that overnight ratings have increased for a NASCAR race. Excluding '06, when the race was postponed to Monday due to rain, the 4.8 overnight is the 4th-lowest for the Kobalt Tools 500 since '99 -- ahead of the '00, '07 and '09 races, each of which drew a 4.7. Sunday's race drew the highest overnight of any sporting event on broadcast over the weekend. (SportsMediaWatch)

Thursday, March 4, 2010

TNT names Adam Alexander as new play-by-play announcer:  TNT announced that veteran NASCAR broadcaster Adam Alexander will join the network as its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series play-by-play announcer, calling all six races of TNT's Summer Series. Alexander will be joined in the booth by returning analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach. Alexander will debut during TNT's exclusive coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing from Pocono, Pa. on June 6 and will also call races live from Michigan (June 13), Loudon (June 20) and Sonoma (June 27) and TNT's primetime Saturday night races in Daytona (July 3) and Chicago (July 10). In addition, Alexander will contribute to NASCAR.COM. In a new role, TNT announcer Lindsay Czarniak will become the new host for Countdown to Green, 60 minutes of pre-race coverage that leads into TNT's green flag racing coverage. In addition, she will host TNT and NASCAR.COM's post-race coverage, as well as give mid-race updates and reports. Czarniak will be joined by analysts Larry McReynolds and Petty.
Beyond Alexander's TNT duties during six weeks of Summer Series coverage, Alexander also works for SPEED as a reporter for the network's racing coverage. He has also worked as a play-by-play announcer on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and as a pit reporter for its NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series coverage. Alexander began his career as an announcer for the Tri-State Speedway in Evansville, Ind. In addition to Czarniak's tenure as a TNT announcer, she also serves as the full-time sports anchor at NBC's WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, Czarniak was co-host with George Michael on the syndicated Sports Machine with George Michael. In 2008, Czarniak was a studio host for NBC's Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China, and in 2006, she was a sports desk reporter for the network's Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. She appeared on various NBC-owned networks. TNT's NASCAR telecasts will return with popular production features and enhancements, including TNT RaceBuddy. In addition, the acclaimed Pride of NASCAR series will continue as TNT profiles six new NASCAR legends, highlighting the sport's history and history makers. Finally, TNT's innovative Wide Open Coverage will air for the fourth year during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing from Daytona. Also returning to TNT this summer will be pit reporters Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum. This marks TNT's 27th consecutive year of televising Cup coverage, making it NASCAR's longest running broadcast partner.(TNT)

NASCAR director of entertainment looking for placement in movies: In an effort to rev its tie-ins with Hollywood, NASCAR has upped Phil Metz to serve as the racing org’s director of entertainment marketing and talent relations. Metz, who has worked at NASCAR since 2003, had been serving as the company’s entertainment liaison, working closely with celebs such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fergie, LeAnn Rimes, Adam Sandler, Ashton Kutcher and Quentin Tarantino to up the org’s appeal with new and existing racing fans. He will integrate NASCAR’s marketing and entertainment teams to look for new opportunities, like prime placement in movies such as Sony’s laffer “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” TV shows and events. Metz also will continue to manage NASCAR’s music program and the org’s relationship with Motor Music, a joint venture between Cherry Lane Music Publishing and Nascar. (Variety)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

NASCAR Announces the Winner of the “Best Daytona 500 Television Commercial”: 18 videos were in the running for the honor of “Best Daytona 500 Commercial,” but only one would take the win. The UPS “Global Challenge” scooter commercial featuring The Auto Moto three wheel scooter did just that, winning with a 40% majority over runner up Coca Cola, which grabbed 28% of the votes. The annual contest held by NASCAR and Yahoo Sports attracted nearly 12,000 votes in just one week’s time. The commercial features UPS NASCAR driver David Ragan riding The Auto Moto three wheel scooter and maneuvering through the grand stands of the Fontana speedway to prove that he too can navigate the tight spaces similar to those that UPS drivers in Asia must travel to make deliveries. The Auto Moto was completely overhauled for its television debut, wrapped in signature UPS brown, plastered with UPS decals, and modified to accommodate UPS packages in the three-wheelers trunk. (PR.com)

Monday, March 1, 2010

NASCAR on Fox at Las Vegas ratings down 25% from last year: Opposite the toughest competition it has ever faced, NASCAR ON FOX tumbled to a 4.1/8 yesterday for racing from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That 4.1/8 is down -25% compared to last year's 5.5/10 and is the lowest overnight ever for FOX's Las Vegas race. The obvious culprit was enormous competition from the gold medal hockey game at the Vancouver Winter Olympics (17.6/33). FOX's race failed to crack an 8 share opposite the hockey game, then immediately jumped up by nearly +20% in rating once the exciting game was over, going from a 4.2/8 at 5:30 to a more respectable 5.0/9 at 6:00. NASCAR has obviously taken its share of lumps opposite the Olympics, with the three races facing the Olympics down -14% year-to-year (5.4/11 vs. 6.3/12). Next week's race in Atlanta will provide the season's first clean ratings comparison, and will be a better gauge of where NASCAR truly stands compared to last year.(PR)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

NASCAR fans in United Kingdown now able to watch races starting Sunday: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races are again on television in the United Kingdom as the Open Access 3 channel starts covering the series this weekend from Las Vegas. Previous UK NASCAR broadcaster Sky ceased its live coverage at the end of last season, bar a one-off reappearance for the Daytona 500. But NASCAR has now announced a new deal with Open Access 3 - channel 190 on Sky - starting from the next race, with the broadcast beginning Sunday.(AutoSport)

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Former NASCAR race announcer now performing as magician: Bill Weber, who was TNT’s lead NASCAR race announcer before being suspended before a race in July and not returning, says he’s performing as a magician. “It’s a passion I hope to turn into a profession,” says Weber, who says his TNT contract wasn’t renewed. “I hope to continue sports announcing, but this is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” Weber, saying he worked some NBC motor sports last year, adds he’s “waiting for NBC to get back from Olympics to see what motor sports opportunities they might have.” (USA Today)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Daytona 500 ratings lowest since 1991: The 2010 Daytona 500 earned a fast national rating of 7.7/16 (13.3 million viewers) yesterday for a race that was crippled by two lengthy delays for track repair. Yesterday's 7.7/16 is down -16% compared to last year's 9.2/19 and ranks as the lowest-rated Daytona 500 since 1991's 7.6/20 on CBS. The two track delays were excluded from the rating - Nielsen treats them similarly to a baseball rain delay - but the delays obviously had a sizable impact on the rating as the race's momentum was twice stopped cold. The two delays combined averaged a 6.5/14, a -16% decline versus the 7.7/16 for live racing. More people watched at least some of this year's Daytona 500 than last year's, but because the two delays torpedoed the momentum of the race the average viewer spent less time with the Daytona 500 this year, resulting in the lower average rating and average viewership. Nielsen estimates that 29.8 million Americans watched at least some of this year's Daytona 500, a +14% gain over last year's 26.2 million. In the 31-year history of flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500, there have been two previous runnings that were delayed and then re-started, and both suffered sizable ratings decreases versus prior years. The 1995 running was delayed over two hours by rain, then re-started, and the result was a -19% decline versus prior year (7.8 vs. 9.6). The 2003 edition on FOX was also delayed by rain, then re-started and not run to the full 500 miles. That race rated -10% lower than the 2002 running on NBC (9.8 vs. 10.9). Yesterday's -16% decline, while substantial, is in-line with past interrupted Daytonas. There was some good news from some important Southeastern markets. Rating were up +11% in Atlanta (11.0 vs. 9.9) and +8% in Charlotte (16.8 vs. 15.6), arguably the two most important NASCAR markets. Within the core region ratings were also up in Norfolk (+7%, 12.2 vs. 11.4) and Ft. Myers (+12%, 10.0 vs. 8.9). The core markets are particularly important this year as they should be the most aware of this year's changes to the rules and broadcast schedule.(FOX Network)

Monday, February 15, 2010

NASCAR in 3-D coming soon? As live 3-D sports coverage is being talked about as the Next Big Thing —ESPN this year will launch a 3-D channel — Fox Sports chairman David Hill suggests it’s not an imminent big thing on NASCAR. The question, he says, is how many viewers will buy 3-D TV sets and service: “3-D coverage of racing is going to be incredible. … In a couple of years, we’ll have cameras that could shoot it and it will look absolutely fantastic. And nobody would see it.” (USA Today

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Gatorade Duel ratings higher over previous year: Coming off record Nielsen Household Ratings earlier in the week for coverage of the ARCA Racing Series opener and the Bud Shootout edition of NASCAR RaceDay, SPEED scored another ratings increase with Thursday's live coverage of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona. The twin qualifiers for Sunday's Daytona 500 earned a 1.99 (1,495,000), up 7% from last year's 1.86 (1,363,000 households). Coverage peaked at a 2.56 (1,926,000 households), up 11% from last year's peak of 2.31 (1,691,000). The Gatorade Duel at Daytona telecast made SPEED the highest rated basic cable network during the time period. NASCAR RaceDay continued its upward trend to start the season, as the Gatorade Duel edition of the popular pre-race show scored an 8% increase over 2009 scoring an average Household Rating of 1.87 (1,402,000 households).(SPEED)

Friday, February 12, 2010

FOX Sports boss incredibly optimistic about NASCAR ratings: Fox, revving up its coverage of a new NASCAR season with Sunday’s Daytona 500, sounds almost giddy. After sagging NASCAR TV ratings in recent years and criticism of less-than-thrilling racing from even the sport’s drivers and TV race analysts, Fox Sports head David Hill says he’s now “incredibly optimistic” over NASCAR having “listened to its fan base and its research.” (USA Today)

Daytona 500 advertisers enjoy higher brand recall, likeability: According to data gathered by Nielsen IAG, traditional ads airing in last year’s Daytona were 26% more likely to be recalled by race viewers than those who saw the ad run elsewhere. Spots by NASCAR advertisers Home Depot, McDonald’s and State Farm Insurance particularly enjoyed brand recall levels that were at least twice that of airings outside the race. (Nielsen Wire)

Monday, January 25, 2010

Jimmie Johnson 24/7 debuts on HBO: HBO Sports' groundbreaking "24/7" reality franchise presents its first non-boxing series with the all-access show 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona. Debuting Tuesday, January 26 (10:00-10:30pm/ et/pt), the four-week series spotlights one of racing's biggest stars, reigning four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, and gives viewers an inside look at the driver and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team as they prepare for the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl of auto racing. Johnson (who was named 2009's Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press) and his accomplished NASCAR racing team begin preparations for the Super Bowl of auto racing: the 2010 Daytona 500, set for Feb. 14 in Daytona Beach. Other episodes of 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona debut on subsequent Tuesdays  Feb. 2, 9 and 16  in prime time at 10:00 pm (ET/PT). The Feb. 16 series finale debuts two days after the race, with cameras tracking all the drama and excitement surrounding Johnson and his team on race day. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand. The executive producers of 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona are Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein; senior producer, Dave Harmon; coordinating producer, Scott Boggins; writer, Peter Nelson. Liev Schreiber narrates. (HBO)

Sunday, January 24, 2010

SPEED to provide NASCAR Hall of fame coverage: SPEED and NASCAR have reached a multiyear agreement naming SPEED as the official television home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. As part of the deal, SPEED will continue to offer live coverage of special events leading up to the annual induction ceremonies, including nomination and voting days for each Hall class. As part of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame opening on May 11, which SPEED will televise live, the network also will offer a special "walking tour" broadcast from the striking new Charlotte, N.C., facility just before it opens to the public, as well as extensive pre-event programming. Beginning in April, SPEED also will produce and air one-hour documentaries on each incoming NASCAR Hall of Fame class member. For more information on NHOF events, please visit www.NASCARHall.com.(SPEED)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Roush blames media for negativity: One lone voice is expressing his opinion though. Jack Roush, who has been in NASCAR longer then many fans have been alive, is pointing a finger of blame for NASCAR’s supposed woes in one direction. Never a man to hold back, Roush let his views be known during a stop on NASCAR’s Media Tour this week. According to Roush, who fields four teams, the blame isn’t on the racing or the drivers. “We had more passes last year than we ever had,” Roush said. “We had more passes for the lead than we’ve ever had. We had more different winners than we’ve ever had. We had more cars finishing on the lead lap than ever had. The competition was great. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t subject to criticism for every move that NASCAR made or every move a team made but sometimes it sounded that way back from the communication box.” Roush also pointed out that International Speedway Corporation, which owns many of the tracks NASCAR races on, didn’t have one complaint from fans that bought tickets and attended a race in person. “So there’s no complaint from the fans regarding competition,” he said. “The complaints have come from reporters and from media that has maybe a vested interested. If you look at Darrell Waltrip, you look at all the other ex-drivers, Rusty Wallace, the ex-crew chiefs that are out there; it’s not unreasonable to say that they’ve got some ax to grind over something that frustrated them in their careers on the firing line. We need to reel that back in. That needs to be something that is not carried out front to the fans and to the public.” (NASCAR Examiner)

Duels, All-Star races to air online: The Gatorade Duel qualifying races next month at Daytona and the All-Star race in May will be shown online for the first time. Both races, broadcast by Speed Channel, can be seen on NASCAR.com. More Cup races could follow, according to Scott Doyne, senior director for business operations at NASCAR.com. Doyne said there are "active talks" with other networks to air their races online. Fans can expect something similar to NASCAR.com's Race Buddy, which shows the six TNT races online. That allows fans to see four camera angles of the race. Fans viewing the qualifying races and all-star race online, though, will not hear the Speed broadcasters. The only sound online will be in-car audio and that of the cars. There will be no fee to view the race online. It is meant to complement Speed's broadcasts of those events.(Hampton Roads)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Myers, Daugherty, Pemberton and Petty to serve as panel on Showtime's 'Inside NASCAR': Inside the NFL was a huge get for Showtime, when HBO decided to drop it, and now they're deciding to branch out. The channel has decided to copy the formula for a NASCAR show, and our favorite terrorist joke making sideline reporter will be the host. According to John Ourand at SBD, Chris Myers will be your host and Brad Daugherty, Kyle Petty and Randy Pemberton will be along for the ride. (Awful Announcing)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

ABC shifts "Chase" races from broadcast network to ESPN: ABC/ESPN is significantly shaking up its NASCAR broadcast schedule this year, moving all but three of its 17 Sprint Cup races to its main ESPN cable network. That leaves just three NASCAR races on its ABC broadcast network, all of which will be run in primetime. Nine of the 10 Chase for the Sprint Cup races will be broadcast on ESPN. In the past, ABC has carried 11 of the 17 races, including all 10 Chase events. "Last year's performance showed us that ESPN provides the best home for NASCAR," said John Skipper, ESPN Executive Vice President of Content. In 2009, the six NASCAR broadcasts on ESPN were up 2% over 2008 with a 4.2 average rating, while ABC's 11 races averaged a 3.5 average rating, down 8% from the year before. "The network has the proven ability to attract younger viewers," said NASCAR Media Group President Paul Brooks. "Having more NASCAR races on ESPN will create more exposure." (SportingNews)

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Rights holder of 'Inside NASCAR' OKs distribution on internet and mobile: Showtime’s new weekly “Inside NASCAR” show will be available via the Internet and mobile phone, which required clearance from NASCAR’s rights holders in that space. NASCAR Media Group, which manages those multimedia rights, had to clear the broadcast of “Inside NASCAR” (Sports Business Journal)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Marty Reid named ESPN's new lap-by-lap announcer: Marty Reid, whose 28-year career with ESPN has touched all forms of motorsports the network has covered, will expand his role and join analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the booth as lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN's full season of NASCAR coverage in 2010. Reid will call the action for all 17 of ESPN's NASCAR Sprint Cup races as well as many of the network's NASCAR Nationwide Series telecasts. He was lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN's IndyCar Series coverage and selected NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2009. Returning to a role he helped define for ESPN for more than 20 years, Dr. Jerry Punch will join ESPN's team of pit reporters for 2010, working both Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races. Punch was lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN's Sprint Cup coverage the past three years. "This group gives us the most versatile and comprehensive team in motorsports, and strengthens us in the booth," said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, studio and event production. "We play to the strengths of our announcers, and Marty's strength is calling the tactical aspects of the race while deferring to the analysts. And from the early days of our NASCAR coverage, Jerry helped evolve the significant role that reporting from the pits plays," Williamson said. "He will bolster our already-strong stable of pit reporters." All other members of the NASCAR on ESPN race coverage team will return in 2010, including analysts Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, Tim Brewer and Ray Evernham, NASCAR Countdown host Allen Bestwick and pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch. Specific assignments and schedules will be announced later. In addition to his expanded role with NASCAR, Reid will continue as the lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN's five-race IndyCar Series schedule, including the Indianapolis 500. ESPN's 2010 NASCAR season begins with live, flag-to-flag coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 13. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race on ESPN's schedule is at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 25.(ESPN PR)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

SPEED's Banquet ratings up: Coverage of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony on SPEED scored an average Nielsen Household Rating of .65 (484,000 households), it's highest number in three years. The four-hour event peaked at a .79 (588,000 households). Live coverage of the ceremony, in its first year ever on the network, was up 44 percent year-to-year among Households and 52 percent among Men 18-49. "We've seen some very encouraging NASCAR ratings trends on SPEED this year," said network President Hunter Nickell. "Getting a solid number out of the gate with the Awards Ceremony has us very excited about with this event can become in the very near future for the network and for the sport."(SPEED PR)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Showtime to air weekly NASCAR show: Showtime said on Monday it will carry a new series, "Inside Nascar," that will be shown each week of the Sprint Cup season. The hour-long program will be taped at the new Nascar Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., and shown Wednesday nights at 10pm, starting Feb. 10. It will carry footage shot at each week's race, as NFL Films does for "Inside the NFL," with commentary from a group of studio analysts that has not been announced. The 38-week-long series will also have access to the many drivers, crew chiefs and owners who are based in the Charlotte area. Showtime has given the series a two-year deal with an option for a third. Ken Hershman, the senior vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, said the announcers on the show will be familiar from their work at ESPN, Fox, Turner and the Speed Channel.(NY Times)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Homestead ratings on ABC slightly down from last year: ABC's live coverage of the Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22 earned a final national household rating of 3.6, averaging 5,606,608 viewers. The rating was down from a 4.0 for last year's event that also aired on ABC. ESPN2's live coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford 300 at Homestead earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.3, down from a 1.6 rating for last year's race that also aired on ESPN2. The telecast averaged 1,685,543 viewers.(ESPN PR)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Speed to televise NASCAR Sprint Cup banquet live: Speed Channel will now broadcast the Sprint Cup Series' annual awards banquet after NASCAR officials asked for it to be moved off an ESPN network, series officials confirmed on Tuesday. ESPN was not going to be able to air the event, scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 4 at the Wynn Las Vegas, live. "Either partner would have done a great job with the Awards Ceremony but Speed could schedule it as a live broadcast and ultimately that was most important to our fans and so we asked for the switch," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston. Speed will televise the broadcast live from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. Eastern. It will re-air at 1 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 5 and at 1 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 6. "There continues to be a great deal of buzz about how things are going to be different,” said Speed President Hunter Nickell. “So, when the opportunity came for Speed to be the television home for the event, it was an easy ‘yes’ from us." (ThatsRacin.com)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Early TV ratings for 'Dega down: ABC's broadcast of Sunday's Amp Energy 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway earned a 3.8 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research, Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 5% lower than the 4.0 ABC earned overnight for its broadcast of the fall Talladega race in 2008, when the event was run on the first weekend of October. The 3.8 is 11.8% higher than the 3.4 ABC earned overnight for its broadcast of the Texas Cup race on the first Sunday in November of 2008.(SceneDaily)

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Final Martinsville TV ratings down: ABC's live coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway earned a final national household rating of 2.9, down from the 3.3 rating for last year's race that also aired on ABC. The telecast averaged 4,702,038 viewers. ESPN2's live coverage of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park earned a final household coverage rating of 0.9, averaging 1,161,156 viewers. No direct comparisons can be made to the 2008 race as the event was simulcast on both ESPN Classic and SPEED.(ESPN)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Griese apologizes for Montoya comment: ABC college football analyst Bob Griese apologized Saturday a comment he made about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya during the network's broadcast of Ohio State's 38-7 victory over Minnesota. The network was promoting its broadcast of Sunday's NASCAR race from Martinsville while showing the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Series standings on screen. Fellow broadcaster Chris Speilman asked where Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya was (Montoya dropped from the top five after finishing 35th last week at Charlotte). Griese replied, "He's out having a taco." As the game neared its end, Griese offered an on-air apology. "Juan Pablo Montoya, he's one of the best drivers in NASCAR," Griese said. "Just want to apologize for the comment I made earlier in the ballgame."(USA Today)

Thursday, October 22, 2009

NASCAR announces deal to place promos in theaters: The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing announced Wednesday a three-year ad blitz in nearly 2,500 movie theaters across the country. Starting in February, movie audiences will see 90-second spots featuring famed NASCAR drivers and racing highlights. NASCAR's media buy, struck with cinema advertising company Screenvision, is the racing group's first in theaters and is Screenvision's largest content deal to date. (Forbes)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

ABC ratings down at Charlotte: ABC's live coverage of Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., earned a final national household rating of 3.5, averaging 5,484,745 viewers. The rating was down from a 3.8 for last year's race that also aired on ABC. ESPN2's live coverage of Friday night's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the same track earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.4, averaging 1,711,780 viewers and up from the 1.1 for last year's rain-delayed race that also aired on ESPN2.(ESPN)

NASCAR ratings are down double-digits from 2008: There have been many, the sky is falling stories about the NASCAR TV ratings so far in 2009. While the TV numbers are down from 2008, and way down from their peak in 2004 and 2005 the sky is hardly falling. IN fact NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck racing remain a very valuable TV property. However, the numbers are down and many older NASCAR fans are not happy with the current version of NASCAR or completely sold on its current class of drivers. On average over TV broadcasts on Fox, TBS, ESPN, and ABC the TV ratings are down 12% from 2008. Since attendance is also down it seems to paint a picture of a sport in crisis. However each Sprint Cup race of the 2009 season is averaging just under five million TV viewers. Nationwide series races, predominantly shown on ESPN2 are averaging about 1.6 million TV viewers. TV ratings for the Truck series are actually up, and up significantly even though they are broadcast on Speed TV and average around 450k TV viewers. (Inquisitr)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Tom Cruise narrates Hendrick Motorsports documentary: TOGETHER: The Hendrick Motorsports Story, NASCAR Media Group's documentary-style film chronicling the history of the eight-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship team, will air Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1:30pm/et on ABC, prior to the network's live Pepsi 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race coverage from Fontana, Calif. Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise and presented by Pepsi, TOGETHER employs exclusive interviews, never-before-seen archival footage, thrilling racing sequences and rare family photography to detail the personal relationships and emotional events that have shaped one of NASCAR's most decorated organizations. Cruise, an auto racing enthusiast, starred in the 1990 NASCAR-themed motion picture Days of Thunder. The script was co-written by Shawn Truax and Ray Didinger and directed by Rory Karpf.(PR)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Dover TV ratings slightly down: ABC’s live telecast of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 race at Dover International Speedway earned a final national household rating of 3.1, down from the 3.3 rating for last year’s race that also aired on ABC. The telecast averaged 5,084,257 viewers. ESPN2’s live telecast of Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.2, up from the 1.1 rating earned for last year’s race. It was the fifth consecutive Nationwide Series race on ESPN2 to be up from last year’s race or corresponding weekend. The Dover telecast averaged 1,459,145 viewers.(ESPN)

Wednesday , Sept. 30, 2009

NASCAR to distribute race recaps at auto dealerships: The Automotive Broadcasting Network (ABN), auto retailing's first private television network fueled by CBS, announced that the company has entered an agreement with NASCAR Media Group to deliver weekly NASCAR racing video recaps to Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota dealer-customers across the county. The two-minute videos, produced by NASCAR Media Group and seen in dealer showrooms, will feature results and updates from NASCAR's three national series: the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.(Business Wire)

Monday, Sept. 28, 2009

Brian France not concerned with dip in TV ratings: NASCAR Chairman Brian France said he is happy with the competition and he is not sweating that television ratings were down for the first Chase For The Sprint Cup event this year. The ratings for the Sprint Cup race last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway were a 3.2 on ABC, according to ESPN officials. Last year, it was a 3.8 while the rating was 3.3 in 2007. "We were up in August for almost every event and up in Richmond as well, so we were a little surprised," France said. "It's one race and I think if we keep having the kind of racing and the Chase unfolds the way I think it's going to, that will take care of itself. We don't have a concern about that. … The Chase has got the right storylines, the right things going on [and] the racing is very good." France also said he didn't anticipate having additional two-day weekends next year on the Sprint Cup schedule.(SceneDaily)

Friday, Sept. 25, 2009

New Hampshire television ratings slighty down on ABC: ABC's live telecast of the Sept. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earned a final national household rating of 3.2, averaging 5,044,391 viewers and up from the 2.5 overnight rating revealed on Monday. The race was the first event of the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The final rating was down from the 3.8 rating for last year's race, which also aired on ABC. The race earned a 3.3 rating in 2007, also airing on ABC.(ESPN PR)

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009

New Hampshire TV ratings down: ABC's broadcast of Sunday's Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earned a 2.5 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research, Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 21.9% lower than the 3.2 ABC earned overnight for the race in 2008.(SceneDaily.com)

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009

New NASCAR show to debut on Versus: Versus has signed a multiyear deal with NASCAR to air a fast-paced, up-close HD look at the 12 drivers competing in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. The weekly, half-hour series, Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, will air at 11:00pm/et Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 22. The program will air each week until the conclusion of the 2009 season.(NASCAR.com)

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009

ESPN's NASCAR Now expands to 90 mins: As the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, ESPN2's NASCAR Now will report from Chase Media Day in New York and from historic Fenway Park in Boston in an expanded 90-minute episode on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 5:00pm/et. Host Mike Massaro will be joined in the studio by NASCAR driver Jeff Burton to preview the Chase and talk to some of the participating drivers, while ESPN's Jamie Little will have additional driver interviews from New York. Allen Bestwick will be at Fenway Park for interviews with members of the Roush Fenway Racing team and guests from the Boston Red Sox. While on ESPN's campus on Thursday, Burton also will appear on ESPNEWS and conduct a live chat on ESPN.com. In addition,Tony Stewart will appear on Thursday's 6:00pm/et SportsCenter.(ESPN PR)

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009

NASCAR Ratings up at Bristol: Live coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway Aug. 21-22 by ESPN saw increased ratings from last year’s telecasts for both events, the second consecutive week that ratings for both series have shown increases from 2008. ESPN’s telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Aug. 22 earned a 3.8 final national household coverage rating, up from the 3.5 rating for last year’s race that also aired on ESPN. The telecast averaged 5,322,577 viewers. The Bristol race was ESPN’s fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season but only the third to be run and telecast as scheduled. The previous week’s race at Michigan International Speedway also saw a ratings increase from 2008. Live coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Bristol on ESPN2 earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.5, up from a 1.4 for last year’s race that aired on ESPN. The telecast averaged 1,956,225 viewers. Last week’s Michigan race also saw an increase.(ESPN PR) be honored as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead.(Wypall)

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009

NASCAR on ESPN television ratings down at Pocono: ESPN's live telecast of the rain-delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Monday, Aug. 3, earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.8. The telecast averaged 2,246,135 viewers. ESPN's live telecast from 2:00-4:30pm/et during Sunday's rain delay earned a 2.4 rating. Last year's event at Pocono, which was run and telecast as scheduled on a Sunday afternoon, earned a 4.5 rating, which had equaled ESPN's rating for the 2007 race. ESPN's live coverage of the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 2, earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.3. The telecast averaged 1,640,942 viewers.(ESPN PR)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

ESPN revs up NASCAR coverage at Indy: ESPN is revving its engines, with its TV channels this week carrying at least 19 hours live from the Indianapolis track and another eight hours of race reruns. It won't air Sunday's race live on its ESPN360 broadband service, which might drive a few viewers to TV. Sunday, it will add a so-called BatCam to zip along a cable above pit road and its prerace show includes talk show host Kelly Ripa chatting with driver Jeff Gordon. Julie Sobieski, an ESPN programming vice president, notes "the SportsCenter brand" will be at the track -- for a Saturday show -- and ESPN will air a Thursday night Feel Your Heart Race special that's "a 30-minute promotion of Nascar Nation." (USA Today)

Thursday, July 16, 2009

NASCAR on TNT at Chicagoland down 6.2%: TNT reports that its coverage of last Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway drew a 3.0 rating from Nielsen Media Research, 6.2 percent lower than the 3.2 rating it earned for the race last year. Although previously reported that it was down 18.9 percent, that was comparing the national rating to last year's cable rating. This year's cable rating was 3.5, down from a 3.7. (SceneDaily.com)

Monday, July 6, 2009

CNBC to air NASCAR documentary Thursday: CNBC's "Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR" hosted by Emmy-Nominated CNBC Sports Business Reporter, Darren Rovell, examines a sport that was once seemingly unstoppable. Infamous for its ties to southern bootleggers and famous for filling some of the largest venues in the world - 200,000 fans at some speedways – a decade of growth made it the fastest growing sport in America. But the rise of the 90s has given way to a new century recession. An imploding car business and shrinking sponsorship budgets are threatening the corporate dollars that are the sport's very lifeblood. NASCAR is now feeling the pressure of the economic implosion as the companies whose names are decaled on the cars are reconsidering their investments. Owned and controlled by the France family, NASCAR is looking at ways to weather the storm. "Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR" will premiere on Thursday, July 9th at 9:00pm, 10:00pm and 1:00am and re-air on Sunday, July 12th at 10:00pm and Monday, July 13th at 10:00pm. (PR)

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

New Hampshire television ratings up; first time in 2009: TNT's telecast Sunday of the Sprint Cup Series' Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway earned a 4.1 cable rating and 5.555 million viewers from 1:59-5:45pm/et, the Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday. The telecast marks the first Cup Series race this season to see both year-over-year ratings and viewership gains, up 2.5% and 1.1% from last year's 4.0 cable rating and 5.495 million viewers. The race also was the ninth most-viewed telecast on all of cable for the week of June 22-28. For four Cup Series races to date, TNT is averaging a 4.0 cable rating and 5.502 million viewers, down 4.8% and 3.7% from a 4.2 rating and 5.715 million viewers last year.(NASCAR.com)

Bill Weber to miss remainder of TNT's race telecast: Bill Weber will not be part of TNT's NASCAR coverage of the Cup Series for the network’s last two races. Ralph Sheheen will handle play-by-play duties for The Coke Zero 400 in Daytona and the LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland. Sheheen will be calling the races alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach in the booth.(TNT)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

NASCAR on TNT rating drop at Sonoma: TNT’s coverage of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway earned a 4.0 cable rating, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 7.0% lower than the 4.3 cable rating TNT earned for the 2008 race. This year’s race averaged 5.788 million viewers, down 3.8% from last year’s 6.015 million viewers. For its first three Sprint Cup races this season, TNT is averaging a 3.9 cable rating and 5.483 million viewers, down 9.3% and 5.1%, respectively, from the 4.3 rating and 5.780 million viewers last year, the Daily reports.(SceneDaily.com)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

NASCAR on TNT topped 5 million viewers: While the NBA won't return to TNT until this fall -- the network enjoyed a five-week winning streak thanks to its coverage of playoff coverage -- NASCAR remains a major sports draw. Last Sunday, TNT's coverage of the Sprint Cup series delivered 5.12 million viewers between 2-6 p.m., and the postrace show averaged 5.53 million viewers. (Hollywood Reporter)

Monday, June 15, 2009

TNT's Race Buddy pokes fun at FOX's Digger: Race Buddy, the animated mascot of TNT's NASCAR coverage, last week appeared in an online video sealing a manhole cover on the trackside hole of Digger, the animated mascot of Fox's NASCAR coverage. On one level, that might just seem like some fluff to remind viewers NASCAR coverage has moved from Fox to TNT. But, as Fox Sports Chairman David Hill suggests, corporate calculations shouldn't ignore sensitivities: "Digger won't call or take my calls. He's upset that he's being attacked and mocked. He's terribly upset." Hill's staffers at Fox know not to disturb him when he's trying to contact Digger. (USA Today)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Coca-Cola 600 tops Indy 500 in tv ratings; Coke 600 down 20% from last year: ABC's Indy 500 coverage drew just 3.9% of U.S. TV households. That's down 13% from last year, down 40% from coverage four years ago -- and the lowest rating since the 500 got live start-to-finish TV coverage in 1986. And if the recession kept some viewers off the roads this Memorial Day weekend, it didn't mean they wanted to watch cars on TV. Fox's NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 drew a 3.5 overnight rating -- translating to 3.5% of households in 56 urban TV markets -- which is off 20% from last year. But the rating not dropping off even more suggests the loyalty of NASCAR fans: After being rained out in Sunday primetime, the race was forced into a noon start Monday -- then rained out 223 laps into what was scheduled to be a 400-lap race. (USA Today)

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Former Speedway promoter says NASCAR can't blame economy for rating decline: Longtime racing promoter H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler understands why stands might not be full but worries about underlying reasons why TV ratings are down. "With motor racing facilities being (built) larger, you can get more people in them," Wheeler says. "What alarms us more than anything else is a rather significant decline in ratings. You can blame the attendance on the economy and people not buying seats. But you can't blame lack of ratings on the economy." Muhleman says the sport is seeking its level in a down economy. "The trend down in TV ratings and attendance are probably the barometers most of us -- and NASCAR -- are watching most closely. In the meantime, the actual numbers compared to other sports are relatively good. "Both the economy and attendance will improve, so I'm not particularly concerned if attendance is down 15 to 20% at these gigantic facilities." (USA Today)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

NASCAR Media Group to start own television network? The NASCAR Media Group is not even two years old, but nowhere is the sanctioning body spending more money or more carefully plotting its future. Over the next few months, the media group will start moving out of its cozy, well-worn offices just south of downtown Charlotte. Its new $45 million home - $30 million in state-of-the-art equipment, $15 million in construction - will be adjoining the sparkling NASCAR Hall of Fame building in the heart of downtown, where it will occupy floors two through five of the 19-story office tower. Inside, the group will have everything it needs to start its own network, from multiple studios and control rooms, to full graphics and high-definition capability. Even though the hall of fame won't open for another year, the office space adjoining the attraction will be ready for occupancy in June. It will give NASCAR nearly limitless options when it enters the next round of media talks - its current deals for TV, radio, mobile and the Internet expire in 2014. And the idea of joining Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL and NFL in starting its own network will be part of the discussion.(Sports Business Journal)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

SPEED nearly matches last year's NASCAR All-Star television ratings: SPEED scored a Nielsen Household Rating of 3.68 (2,691,000 households), down just 2 percent from last year’s 3.74 (2,701,000 households) for Saturday’s live broadcast of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXV. Race coverage peaked at 4.69 (3,426,000 households) and was the highest-rated program on cable in its time slot. “While it never feels right to high-five each other when we don’t deliver ratings growth, we know what kind of effort went into making this an amazing week for SPEED and its partners,” said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. “In this challenging climate, it is tremendously gratifying to deliver an All-Star number virtually equal to last year’s effort.” (SPEEDTV)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

NASCAR looking into television ratings dip: A double-digit decline in ratings for NASCAR on Fox has officials researching why the audience is shrinking and what, if anything, can be done to reverse the trend. Through the season's first 10 races, Nielsen ratings on Fox are down 11.5 percent and viewership is down 10.8 percent from 2008 numbers, which don't include a 2008 rainout. Ratings for each of the last seven Sprint Cup races going into last week's event at Darlington were down by double digits. Fox's average rating for the season was a 5.4 with 8.9 million viewers prior to Sunday's race at Darlington, compared with averages of 6.1 and 10 million for 2008. "As you look at the current snapshot, it's been a challenging year," said Paul Brooks, president of NASCAR Media Group. "That being said, we're still the No. 1 sport on television six of the last nine weeks. Our position in the sports and entertainment landscape is strong. The biggest impact is with our TV partners and their commercial sales. We're mindful of that. The flip side is that we hear great things, that it's not a NASCAR issue. It's a broader economy and advertising issue." Marketers in the sport have expressed some concern, not just over the drop, but how steeply the ratings have dropped. But for many sponsors like UPS, NASCAR's official express delivery company, advertising is just one component of a multipronged program. (Sports Busines Journal)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

NASCAR tops Saturday television ratings: NASCAR was the big winner in prime time Saturday and drove Fox to the top. The Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C., averaged 6.5 million viewers in prime time on Fox, according to preliminary ratings released this afternoon. Mark Martin won the race. We'll have updated ratings early next week. Here's how the other broadcast networks fared: CBS with 5.2 million, ABC with 4.5 million and NBC with 4.1 million. (Orlando Sentinel)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Auto racing documentary takes top honors at Tribeca Film Festival: Half lean, mean racing saga and half in-depth character study, "Racing Dreams" is a dynamite docu about three kids vying for the National Championship of the World Karting Assn. -- the unofficial "Little League" of NASCAR racing. Directed by Marshall Curry (whose "Street Fight," about a corrupt Newark mayoral race, nabbed an Academy Award nomination), the perceptively balanced "Dreams" transitions seamlessly from domestic drama to 70-mph heats. Winner of Tribeca's docu award, the pic promises a potentially wide audience base among fans of racing, fans of kids and fans of documentaries. (Variety)

Monday, May 4, 2009

NASCAR animated movie "NASCAR: The Secret Life of Cars" coming soon: Nascar is revving up plans to get into the animated film business, pairing up with Larry Kasanoff's Tinseltown Toons to produce "Nascar: The Secret Life of Cars." The direct-to-DVD pic will be distribbed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in 2011. The final title may change. Film, which will detail what happens in a Nascar garage when the humans have left and the cars come to life, is being eyed as a way for the racing org to try to lure a younger generation of fans at a time when the sport is watching its viewership head in reverse. Decision to venture into toon territory also comes after Disney and Pixar proved with "Cars" that animated auto racing can play big with audiences; pic not only was a winner at the B.O. but has continued to generate considerable coin from licensing and merchandise. (Variety)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Earnhardt, Truex, Kurt Busch to be featured on CMT cribs: Martin Truex Jr. will join Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch as the featured celebrities on CMT Cribs when the latest episode airs this Saturday, April 25th. Packed with the latest in luxury living, top of the line toys and the wildest whips on the road, this season takes us to new levels of country living. Martin's segment will focus on his new garage. Be sure to tune into to CMT (Country Music Television) this Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 4:30pm/et/pt and re-air at 7:30pm/et/pt on that same day.(PR)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

TV ratings down nearly 18% for Phoenix Sprint Cup race: Fox’s broadcast of Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race earned a 3.3 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research and a 6 market share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating was 17.5 percent lower than the 4.0 the race earned overnight last year for Fox. (SceneDaily.com)

Monday, April 20, 2009

Teens featured in motorsports documentary: The race has begun to sell Fast Dreams, a feature-length documentary from Belvedere Entertainment profiling teen race-car drivers in their quest to make it to NASCAR and Formula One. Local director Nick Briscoe's film, screened for a group of movie-industry types Thursday at film outfit Shooters Post & Transfer, was shot over nine months and primarily focuses on two phenoms: Gabriel Chaves, 15, of Florida, and Jeff Oleen, 19, of Maryland. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Craven signs with ESPN: Ricky Craven, who did some round table segments on NASCAR Now for ESPN2 last season, apparently impressed the ESPN brass and accepted a contract offer by the sports network for this season. “I’ll be spending roughly 50 days in Bristol,” said Craven, who has homes in North Carolina and Greenville. In addition to his NASCAR Now work, he will also handle some five-minute bits on ESPN News on race weekends. “It has been great. I’m really enjoying it,” said the 42-year-old Craven, who will be on every Monday night in May as part of his deal. “It has been challenging. It has been good for me. There’s a lot of opportunity if I work hard at it.” (Bangor Daily News)

Saturday, April 4, 2009

NASCAR on FOX Martinsville ratings down: Fox’s broadcast of last Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway earned a final Nielsen Media Research rating of 4.6 and a 10 market share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 13.2 percent lower than the 5.3 Fox earned for the race in 2008. (SceneDaily.com)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Bristol FOX rating down: Fox’s broadcast of last Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway earned a final Nielsen Media Research rating of 4.5 and a 10 market share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 18.2 percent lower than the 5.5 Fox earned for the race last year. (SceneDaily.com)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Bristol Cup rating down 18%: Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race earned a 4.1 overnight rating and a 10 market share from Nielsen Media Research, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 18 percent lower than the 5.0 Fox earned for the race in 2008. (SceneDaily.com)

Friday, March 13, 2009

NASCAR ratings down; still highest rated sports event: NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on Fox earned a 5.5/12 (8.9 million viewers) on Sunday for the Kobalt 500 from Atlanta. NASCAR ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched sports event of the weekend for the fourth consecutive week. Although Sunday's rating is down -14% compared to last year's 6.4/15 (10.6 mill), it's up +6% over 2007's 5.2/12. A huge factor in the year-to-year decline was competition from the Duke-North Carolina college basketball game on CBS (2.9/6, 4.6 mill.). The Duke-UNC rating more than tripled the weak 1.1/2 delivered in the same window last year by Purdue-Michigan, and combined viewing of pro and college basketball opposite NASCAR was up by roughly two and a half million viewers. Fox got a lucky break when the final national rating for the Atlanta race came in a tenth of a point higher than the preliminary rating released on Tuesday, a rare occurrence. Men 18-34 continue to be a trouble spot for NASCAR. Ratings in that demo were down -27% (2.4 vs. 3.3) for the Atlanta race, nearly doubling the overall Household decline. One month into the season, NASCAR racing is being impacted by two disappointing trends on the track: lead changes per race are at an all-time low, while caution flags per race are near an all-time high. The season's first four points races have averaged just 14 lead changes per race. The same races a year ago averaged 30 lead changes. Through four races, NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX is averaging a 6.7/13 (11.3 million viewers), down -11% from last year's 7.5/14 (12.9 mill.). NASCAR's year-to-year comparison continues to be skewed by rainouts in this year's highly-rated Daytona race and last year's lower-rated Fontana race. While it's easy to focus on the -11% year-to-year skid, it's also important to note that this season's 6.7/13 average is still more than double the rating of the NBA On ABC (2.8/6) and is greater than the combined ratings of the NBA on ABC, NCAA Basketball on CBS, and PGA Golf on all broadcasters (5.8/13 combined).(FOX PR)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

NASCAR on FOX dominates weekly sports ratings: NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX once again dominated weekend sports coverage. Sunday’s (3/1) race from Las Vegas Motor Speedway scored as the most-watched and highest-rated weekend sports event giving NASCAR on FOX that distinction for the third consecutive week. Sunday’s victory by hometown favorite Kyle Busch averaged 11.1 million viewers (6.5/12 national rating/share) towering over the next closest event, ABC’s Lakers/Suns broadcast, which recorded 4.7 million viewers (3.1/6). According to Nielsen Media Research, FOX’s 11.1 million viewers on Sunday is up 5% over the 10.6 million viewers Sprint Cup Racing at LVMS has averaged from 2001 to 2008 on FOX. Sunday’s 6.5/12 equals the average household rating over the same eight-year span.(FOX PR) NOTE: One week after putting up the best challenge to ABC’s Oscars telecast, a NASCAR race lifted the net to a strong showing on Sunday. The final 90 minutes of action from Las Vegas averaged a dominant 4.4/13 in 18-49. (Variety)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

NASCAR Hall of Fame television rights available: NASCAR has announced who will be eligible and how the voting will be conducted for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which is scheduled to have its first induction ceremony in May 2010, but no decision has been made yet on the awarding of television broadcasting rights. As part of its contract with the City of Charlotte, which will own and operate the hall of fame, NASCAR owns all broadcast rights for the event. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said the induction ceremony is not packaged in the current television deal and the negotiation process on the rights is just beginning. Fox, Speed, TNT and ABC/ESPN are the current NASCAR television partners as part of a racing contract that currently runs through 2014, an eight-year deal worth a total of $4.48 billion. Obviously, Speed, which is owned by Fox, would love to have that hall induction ceremony programming. “Speed is totally fired up about working on programming covering the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony,” said Speed President Hunter Nickell. “In fact, the brainstorming has long been under way, and we are in the process of developing a specific approach to this historical event.” (SceneDaily.com)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

NASCAR rejects local television blackout proposal: Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith might like the idea of local television blackouts for races that are not sold out, but NASCAR and at least one television partner do not. Paul Brooks, the NASCAR senior vice president who oversees its broadcasting efforts, said such blackout would create too many problems. "Event attendance is a priority for NASCAR and our television partners," Brooks said. "However, there are many significant issues, unique to NASCAR, that arise around the concept of local TV blackouts. "TV partners, advertisers, ratings, team and event sponsors would all be negatively impacted. However, the most significant issue is the negative effect this move would have for our fans. "We need to continue to find ways to bring our fans even more television, Internet, radio and new-media coverage and continue to remind fans that the ultimate NASCAR experience will always be sitting in the grandstands watching that race live." (ThatsRacin.com)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

ESPN's Massaro to have expanded role: Mike Massaro is coming off pit road, for the most part, and taking on a larger role in ESPN's “NASCAR Now” program. Massaro will still work as a pit reporter for some Nationwide Series races, but his new main role will be as one of the hosts of the "NASCAR Now" program. He and Nicole Manske will share the primary host role on a rotating basis with Allen Bestwick continuing to lead "NASCAR Now's" Monday roundtable discussion shows. (Charlotte Observer)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

DirecTV to discontinue NASCAR Hot Pass service: The NASCAR Hot Pass on DirecTV won’t return in 2009 as it has been produced, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston confirmed Wednesday. Hot Pass typically would feature four/five drivers on four/five different channels with a play-by-play announcer and pit reporter for each driver. The driver’s channel would include video of the car throughout the race from several angles. It was offered on a subscription basis. “Hot Pass as we know it today is changing,” Poston said in a statement. “Fans are still going to get unique content from DirecTV, but they won’t be getting fully produced channels. We’re still in discussion with DirecTV for enhancements for 2009.”(SceneDaily.com)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

DirecTV to discontinue Hot Pass? The email is flying around the Internet, but as of Tuesday evening we are being told that DirecTV has cancelled NASCAR Hot Pass for 2009. Official word should come sometime on Wednesday. (The Daly Planet)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

FOX, ESPN look to cut production cost: Fox was expected to meet with NASCAR this past week and ESPN in the coming weeks to explore potential cost cuts on the production side. Also, about 20 members of Fox’s sales and marketing team will meet at NASCAR’s New York office to talk about unique approaches that might distinguish the sport from other properties. “It’s really going to be a half-day seminar on how we can think differently, approach the market differently and provide different opportunities for advertisers,” said Paul Brooks, president of the NASCAR Media Group, from the NASCAR hauler during last week’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “What are we missing? What can we do better? We want to make sure we’re looking through all of those opportunities.”On the production side, Brooks said the sanctioning body will work with Fox to find savings as long as the viewers won’t notice a difference.“There are additional things we can look at as far as sharing and managing facilities in an even more efficient way,” Brooks said. (Sports Business Journal)

June 22, 2007

NASCAR TV guide on newsstands NOW:  Junior is shaking things up, the Hendrick boys are unstoppable, and the Car of Tomorrow is here today. The 2007 NASCAR tour has only reached the halfway point, but it’s already the most fascinating season in years. This week TV Guide explains why in its annual NASCAR mid-season issue (June 25 issue, on newsstands June 21), featuring a comprehensive tear-out schedule card and four collectible covers—one each with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. (TV Guide PR)

June 19, 2007

NASCAR ratings fall to #3 in weekend sports ratings: NASCAR on TNT garnered a 3.1 (2.4 million households).  Down 23% from last year's race on Fox from Michigan International Speedway. The NASCAR Busch Series on ESPN2 pulled a modest 1.1 ratings (847,000) down slightly from FX's 2006 coverage of the same race. (USAToday.com)

July 10, 2006

NASCAR reigns supreme in sports ratings: July 2, Fox’s Pepsi 400 NASCAR race ranked No. 1 with an average 5.1 household rating. (Making it #1 watched sports program of the week) (MediaLife)

July 7, 2006

J. Gordon featured on ESPN SportsCenter's Make-A-Wish Series: ESPN and the Make-A-Wish Foundation will collaborate for a unique 10-part SportsCenter series titled “My Wish” beginning Sunday, July 9. As part of the initiative, 10 children across the country with life-threatening medical conditions will have sports-related wishes granted. Each story and experience will be the subject of a SportsCenter feature segment airing July 9-23, hosted by Emmy Award-winning reporter Chris Connelly. Wishes range from pitching with Roger Clemens to coaching the Philadelphia Eagles to a NASCAR experience with Jeff Gordon to basketball-themed activities with Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady to a day with Derek Jeter and much more. (ESPN PR)

FOX Daytona ratings down:  Fox's broadcast of Saturday night's Pepsi 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race earned an overnight Nielsen Media Research rating of 4.7 and a 10 share, Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 4.1 percent lower than the 4.9/12 overnight figures NBC earned when it carried the race under the rotation system used in 2005. (NASCAR Scene Daily)

July 4, 2006

Ferrell to ride along in TNT's Wally's World: The second half of the NASCAR season revs up on TNT on Sat., July 8 with NASCAR Busch Series Racing from Chicago presented by Pennzoil Platinum at 4 p.m. ET. TNT NASCAR coverage continues on Sun., July 9 with the Bank of America Countdown to Green pre-race show at 3 p.m. ET, featuring Talladega Nights star Will Ferrell taking a spin with TNT's Wally Dallenbach in this season’s first edition of Wally’s World. Following at 3:30 p.m. ET is NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Racing from Chicago. The TNT NASCAR announcing stable will include Bill Weber (pre-race host and play-by-play), Benny Parsons (analyst), Wally Dallenbach (analyst), Allen Bestwick (pit reporter), Dave Burns (pit reporter), Marty Snider (pit reporter) and Matt Yocum (pit reporter).(Turner Sports PR)

June 29, 2006

NASCAR on Fox tops weekend sports ratings: The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway was the highest rated televised sporting event last weekend nationwide. The event earned a 5.1 rating on FOX, with the next closest sporting event being the Dodge/Save Mart 350 pre-race show, also on FOX (3.1). The race rating also represented a 9-percent increase over the 2004 Dodge/Save Mart 350 (4.7 on FOX). It was the second-highest rated NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event in the history of Infineon Raceway, trailing only the 2005 event in Sonoma (5.7, highest rated and most viewed road-course race in the history of NASCAR). The 2006 race attracted 8.2 million viewers. Locally, the race generated a 2.6 rating in San Francisco and a 6.1 rating in Sacramento on FOX. The Sacramento market was up 30-percent over last year’s rating of 4.7. The Dodge/Save Mart 350 aired directly up against the PGA, MLB, Track and Field, FIFA World Cup, College World Series, Champ Car, Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series and the Dew Action Sports Tour. One rating point equals one-percent of all U.S. households. All data used was obtained from Nielsen Media Research. (Infineon Raceway PR)

June 27, 2006

NASCAR FOX Sonoma ratings match 2005: Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Infineon Raceway earned a 4.6 overnight Nielsen Media Research rating and a 10 market share, matching 2005's numbers, Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. (NASCAR Scene)

June 24, 2006

MI. Final ratings slip:  Fox's broadcast of last Sunday's 3M Performance 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway earned a final Nielsen Media Research rating of 4.5 and an 11 market share, Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is down 6.3 percent from the 4.8/12 the race earned in 2005. (NASCAR Scene Daily)

June 22, 2006:

R. Wallace to host NASCAR Angels: Rusty Wallace will host "NASCAR Angels," a reality TV show that will begin airing this fall, according to Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily. The show, which will feature top NASCAR competitors showing deserving families a look behind the scenes of NASCAR, is scheduled to debut Sept. 12 on various networks, including ABC. (NASCAR Scene Daily)

2007 Start times pushed back after 2:00 pm: The 2007 racing schedule hasn't been released but one significant change is expected: All races will start no earlier than 2pm. The later starting times come at the demand of television networks Fox, FX, ABC, TNT and ESPN. They pushed NASCAR to start most races at 4pm to better capture West Coast viewers and create a link to prime-time shows, but they settled for a mix. None of the times, however, will be any earlier than 2pm. (Augusta Chronicle)

Earnhardt, Jr. on TV Guide for 12th time: As NASCAR approaches the midpoint of its 2006 Nextel Cup season, TV Guide magazine roars into newsstands with annual mid-season special issue, featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr., (June 26 issue, on sale June 22). In an exclusive interview with TV Guide’s resident NASCAR expert Robert Edelstein, Earnhardt speaks candidly about his reemergence at the head of the pack--after enduring his worst season ever last year, finishing 19th—and how adopting a new attitude has made all the difference. (TV Guide PR)

June 20, 2006:

NASCAR Mich. ratings slightly off:  Overnight Nielsen Media Research numbers show that Fox's broadcast of Sunday's 3M Performance 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race matched the 2005 event, Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. This year's race earned a 4.0 rating and a 9 share, while the 2005 event earned a 4.0 overnight rating and a 10 share. (NASCAR Scene Daily)

NASCAR RaceDay Ratings up in 2006: NASCAR RaceDay – Built by The Home Depot®, SPEED Channel’s definitive NASCAR pre-race show hosted by John Roberts and NASCAR drivers Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace, is much more than a television show for SPEED. It’s a unique opportunity to come face to face with fans, sponsors and viewers in a meaningful way throughout the season. SPEED officially renamed the popular pre-race show from NASCAR This Morning to NASCAR RaceDay at the start of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Since then, the overall Nielsen household ratings for NASCAR RaceDay have increased more than 20 percent, with younger audiences (men 18–34) showing nearly a 60-percent increase from a year ago. “The energy level at the stage keeps growing and growing,” said Chris Long, SPEED VP of Studio Production. “We work very closely with our track partners to create a tremendous live-event environment, which in turn makes for an entertaining television show. NASCAR RaceDay is the total pre-race package for SPEED.”  (SPEED PR)

June 17, 2006:

J. Gordon to Co-host Regis and Kelly

June 16, 2006:

Budweiser/Earnhardt Legacy ads

June 13, 2006:

Pocono 500 ratings down:  Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway earned 4.6 overnight rating and an 11 market share from Nielsen Media Research, Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 9.8 percent lower than the 5.1/12 Fox drew overnight for the June Pocono race last year. (NASCAR Scene Daily)

June 7, 2006:

NASCAR Fourth among Nielson Cable ratings: FX’s Sunday afternoon presentation of its weekly NASCAR Nextel Cup race, which took fourth place on the week with 5.99 million viewers, and Comedy Central’s Blue Collar Comedy movie, which drew 5.31 million viewers Sunday night. (MediaWeek)

June 1, 2006:

NASCAR on FOX scores Top 20 Network television rating: FOX's Sunday coverage of Coca-Cola 600 from Lowe's Motors Speedway, edged into Nielson Media Research top 20 Network television. NASCAR coverage garnered a 8.4 million viewers tying for 17th, with CBS's The King of Queens", and ABC's Lost.. FOX's American Idol dominated the week with a 36.4 mil. viewers. (Detroit Free Press)

May 29, 2006:

NASCAR Tops Sunday Night Ratings: Fans of NASCAR may be fans year round, but when it comes to TV ratings, it doesn't hurt that the official TV season is over. The racing sport topped households on Sunday night with a 5.0 rating/10 share. CBS was second with a 4.5/9, followed by ABC, 3.9/8; NBC, 3.5/7 and The WB, 1.2/2. A 3.0 gave FOX the edge among 18 to 49-year-olds as well, followed by ABC's 2.0, CBS' 1.5, NBC'2 1.2 and The WB's 0.7. (Zap2it)

May 16, 2006:

NASCAR on FOX tops Sat. night ratings, including NBA playoffs and coveted 18-49: FOX drove away with viewers intersted in a little NASCAR action on Saturday, averaging a 5.0 rating/9 share. The network barely sped by CBS and NBC, which earned a 4.9/9 and 4.8/9, respectively. ABC followed from afar with a 2.8/5. FOX had a more decisive victory among adults 18-49, taking in a 3.1 in the coveted demographic. Both NBC and CBS tied for second with a 1.9, while ABC once again trailed with a 1.5. At 8 p.m. FOX's NASCAR coverage and "Dateline NBC" were neck and neck with a 4.5/9 apiece, followed closely by CBS' repeat of "CSI: Miami" (4.3/9) and eventually ABC's NBA Playoff coverage (2.2/5). CBS pushed ahead in the 9 o'clock hour, with "CSI: NY" taking a 5.1/9. NASCAR still kept the pace with a 4.9/9, with NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" keeping up with a 4.3/8. ABC kept shooting hoops to the tune of 2.6/5. (Zaptoit) 18-49 demo, NASCAR outdrew NBA, Fox's "NASCAR Nextel Cup Dodge Charger 500" (7.9 million, 2.9/11) came in ahead of ABC's Dallas-San Antonio NBA playoff game (4.7 million, 1.7/6)

May 16, 2006:

Dale Jr. featured on  ESPN Sportscentury and the Budweiser Hot Seat: The ESPN SPORTSCENTURY documentary of Dale Earnhardt Jr. will debut Monday on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. The one-hour special looks at the life of Dale Jr., as told by his family, friends and competitors. Among the many who appear in the special are interviews with Dale Jr., his sister Kelley, his mom Brenda Jackson, crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr., Dale Jarrett and Greg Biffle. The show will debut Monday, May 22 at 2 PM ET on ESPN2. It will then re-air at 8pm and midnight ET that evening on ESPN Classic. The show will also air repeatedly later in 2006. The Budweiser Hot Seat: Dale Jr. makes a return visit via satellite to the Bud Hot Seat on ESPN's Sportscenter tomorrow night (Wed,) at 6 pm ET.
(Budweiser Racing/Fingerprint, Inc. PR)

May 11, 2006:

FX Richmond highest ever: FX's official debut of regularly scheduled NASCAR NEXTEL CUP RACING earned a 3.5/7 (5.633 million viewers) for the Richmond 400 this past Saturday. That is up +3% over last year's 3.4/7 and ranks as FX's highest rating for the Richmond race ever. These are national figures that will not change. (FX PR)

May 5, 2006:

FOX NASCAR Rain delayed telecast tops NHL, NBA Playoffs, NFL Draft, PGA:  Fox Sports officials say Sunday's coverage of the rain delay of the Aaron's 499 from Talladega Speedway still ranked as the top sporting event of the weekend. The Nextel Cup race wound up being run Monday after Sunday's event was postponed because of constant rain at the track. According to Nielsen Media Research, Sunday's coverage produced a 4.5/11 national rating, outdrawing the NFL draft, the PGA and the NHL playoffs, among other things. "NASCAR is the gift that keeps on giving," Fox Sports President Ed Goren said. "The sport's fan base is as loyal as they come, and it's amazing that in recent memory some considered NASCAR a regional sport." (NASCAR Scene Daily)

Future holds big things for NASCAR fans on TV, ESPN & DirecTV: Starting next season, NASCAR fans can expect to see Nextel Cup races in ways they never have.Plans are for races to be shown on multiple channels and broadcast over the Internet. Expanded race information will be available on network-related Web sites and NASCAR.com. Even cell phones will provide an outlet . “We’re kind of in a different age,’’ said David Berson, senior vice president, program planning and development for ESPN and ABC Sports. “People consume things in many different ways.’’ ESPN has provided glimpses of what some NASCAR broadcasts might be like. The network showed a Duke-North Carolina men’s basketball game in March on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU , giving fans three versions of the same contest . Berson said the network plans to broadcast some NASCAR events next season using that full-blanket coverage . He mentioned the Daytona Busch race, which marks ESPN’s return to televising the sport, and the Mexico City Busch race as targets. Berson also said the network might do the all-inclusive coverage for the Indianapolis race, the Bristol night race, the Richmond fall race and the season finale at Homestead. Berson said it’s unlikely ESPN will provide as extensive coverage for all 10 chase races next year because the network has other programming. The chase takes place in the heart of the college football and NFL seasons. ESPN won’t be alone. While Fox won’t detail its plans, it is owned by the same corporation that owns Speed Channel and DirecTV. That would create the opportunity for Fox to provide extra viewing choices for fans. DirecTV is expected to have a pay-per-view service similar to its NFL Sunday Ticket package. (In oar from Virginian Pilot)

May 3, 2006:

NASCAR on Fox wins 3 Emmys: Fox Sports officials announced that the network has won three Emmy awards for its NASCAR coverage. "NASCAR on Fox" won Emmys for Outstanding Technical Team Remote, Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound and Outstanding Live Sports Series. This is the second time NASCAR on Fox has been recognized for an outstanding live sports series and raises the series' Emmy total to nine in five years of coverage. (NASCAR Scene Daily)

April 25, 2006:

SPEED to carry HOF Ceremony: SPEED will air a one-hour special from the 16th Annual International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on May 1 at 10:00pm/et from the SPEED Dome in Talladega. This year's inductees include Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, Janet Guthrie, Jack Roush and Humpy Wheeler. The special will re-air at May 6 at 1:00pm/et. (SpeedTV)

Phoenix ratings down, but tops NBA, NHL playoffs:  Fox's broadcast of Saturday night's Subway Fresh 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway earned a 4.1 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research and a 7 market share, Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 8.9 percent lower than the 4.5/8 Fox earned overnight in 2005, but the race still recorded the highest figures of any weekend sports event. ABC's broadcast of Sunday's NBA playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns was second with a 4.0 overnight rating. (NASCAR Scene Daily) Note: NASCAR last year did not compete against the NHL playoffs, which scored 1.3 this weekend.

April 21, 2006:

NASCAR Texas ratings up compared to last years vs. Masters:  Final Nielsen Media Research numbers show that Fox's broadcast of the April 9 Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway earned a 5.4 rating and a 13 share. The rating is 5.3 percent lower than the 5.7/15 Fox earned for the Texas race in 2005, but that race was on a different weekend from the Masters, one of golf's four major events. The Masters traditionally draws strong television ratings. The 5.4 rating is 5.9 percent higher than Fox's 5.1/13 for its coverage of the 2005 Martinsville race, which aired opposite the Masters.  (NASCAR Scene Daily) Note: Compare CBS Master ratings from last year, CBS saw a 14% decline, dropping 1.4 to 8.3. Compare this years NASCAR's race vs. Master, NASCAR ratings were up .3 and 5.9%  vs. Masters and in addition, 200,000 plus fans at Texas Motor Speedway would slightly bump it up .2 or .3.

April 19, 2006:

NASCAR/ESPN agree to global distribution rights: In a significant move to continue to expand international television distribution of NASCAR, officials from ESPN International and NASCAR announced that beginning in 2007, ESPN International will become the exclusive worldwide syndication agent for NASCAR outside of North America. ESPN International will handle the worldwide television syndication rights for NASCAR and help identify broadcast partnerships on a country-by-country basis. Through the partnership, NASCAR and ESPN will leverage their combined resources to expand the scope and reach of NASCAR coverage. ESPN International is one of the leading syndicators of sports programming throughout the world and this relationship will help maximize coverage of NASCAR’s three major national series - the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, the NASCAR Busch Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - and provide a solid base of distribution."It is tremendously exciting for ESPN International to be selling such a high quality, dynamic sports product as NASCAR,” said Murray Barnett, Senior Director of Sales for ESPN International. “We believe that ESPN International and NASCAR are a perfect match for the development of NASCAR's already impressive international TV distribution." With a 10-month racing season, the longest of any major North American sport, NASCAR provides broadcasters with the most competitive series in all of motorsports and dedicated viewers from February to November. The power of the NASCAR brand, the sport’s unique side-by-side racing among athletes viewed by fans as genuine and accessible, combined with a strong global interest in motorsports, positions NASCAR as one of the leading sports entertainment properties in the world. “This agreement is an important step in the continued growth of NASCAR beyond the U.S.,” said Robbie Weiss, International Managing Director for NASCAR. “We are excited to partner with ESPN International and their worldwide syndication team to help strengthen NASCAR’s reach and bring NASCAR to audiences all over the world. We believe this new partnership will provide great value to our fans as well as the entire NASCAR industry -- drivers, teams, media partners, licensees and sponsors.” (ESPN/NASCAR PR)

April 10, 2006:

Texas Overnight ratings slightly off:  Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway earned an overnight Nielsen Media Research rating of 4.8 and an 11 market share, Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 4 percent lower than the 5.0/11 Fox earned for the 2005 Texas race, but last year's race was a week later and was not broadcast opposite the Masters golf tournament, which typically draws strong ratings. CBS earned a 9.0/19 overnight for this year's final round of the Masters, making it the weekend's highest-rated sports event. (In part from NASCAR Scene Daily) Note: Full ratings will be in by week's end for national broadcast ratings, usually NASCAR scores higher ratings outside the top 50 markets.

FOX Mock car goes upside down:  Fox didn't get to use its mock car during the telecast because it fell off its jack stands and turned over on its roof early in the race. NASCAR officials covered it with a black tarp. Fortunately, no one was standing close to the mock car when it fell. Fox broadcaster Jeff Hammond uses the car to illustrate situations that happen with the racecars during the event.  (Dallas Morning News)

April 9, 2006:

ESPN plans big NASCAR return: ESPN plans to pull out all the bells and whistles when NASCAR returns to the cable sports network in 2007. "ESPN has really morphed or grown since we were last in the sport," said ESPN president George Bodenheimer, who was at Texas on Sunday. "We're really considered a multimedia network now. We're looking to take this property and blow it out, if you will." The network will offer plenty of coverage in studio shows, analysis and a heavy online presence. Much of it has yet to be formalized, said Bodenheimer, also president of ABC Sports. ESPN and ABC will broadcast 17 Cup races beginning in 2007, the first year of an eight-year contract the networks signed with NASCAR. (AP/ESPN.com)

April 8, 2006:

NASCAR ratings not going down, Ratings on record pace: While the cars go round and round, the ratings continue to go up, up, up. NASCAR's television ratings are on a record pace. Again. The left-turn crowd on the Nextel Cup circuit set a ratings record last season. The average rating for a race was 6.1. Nextel Cup is on pace to top it this go-round. If this keeps up much longer, other sports may lobby Nielsen to slap restrictor plates on its monitoring meters. Going into Sunday's race on Fox at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR is cruising along at 6.5. "The really nice thing is that there has been a steady growth in the ratings," said Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, which owns the rights to the first half of the season. "In today's TV environment, that's really impressive."  What can be more embarrassing than having split national games in March featuring Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James partnered with the Mavericks-Nets losing out to rainout coverage from Nextel Cup race in Atlanta. Final rating score: Rain 3.7, NBA 1.7. Ditto baseball's Game of the Week on Fox. Its ratings aren't in the same ballpark as Nextel Cup. For all the ink the NCAA Tournament gets, George Mason's overtime victory over Connecticut, the ultimate upset on the way to the Final Four, attracted fewer viewers than NASCAR's Bristol race. (In part from Dallas Morning News)

April 7, 2006:

Martinsville ratings sets record: Not only was the DirecTV 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway a sellout last Sunday afternoon, it was a huge hit on television. The race scored a 6.2 final national rating on FOX, up 22 percent over the 5.1 final national rating a year ago. The 2006 DirecTV 500 was the highest rated, most viewed NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event in the history of Martinsville Speedway, out-performing the previous record rating by 15 percent. The previous record had been a 5.4 on FOX for the 2001 and 2004 spring events. The 6.2 final rating meant that 9,766,000 people watched the race in 6,810,000 households. The Kroger 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday also drew record television numbers for Martinsville Speedway. The Kroger 250 earned a 1.1 rating on SPEED, up 10 percent from the 1.0 rating for the 2005 race. (Martinsville PR)

March 28, 2006:

FOX statement on indecent word during broadcast: Fox Sports spokesman Dan Bell points out that race announcer Mike Joy immediately apologized, with Bell saying: "We are very sorry that comment escaped our screening process, We take audio very seriously and make painstaking efforts to offer only the best. We will continue to evaluate our policy but as of now there is no delay in place during our live coverage." (Broadcasting & Cable)

March 27, 2006:

NEXTEL Cup ratings slightly off:  Overnight Nielsen Media Research ratings were down for Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the network saw an increase for Saturday's Busch Series race, Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. Sunday's Food City 500 earned a 5.3/11, down 5.4 percent from 2005's overnight 5.6/13. (NASCAR Scene Daily) Articles notes FOX Busch Saturday rating were up nearly 10%.

March 23, 2006:

Jewel stars in NASCAR commercial: NASCAR will showcase a Jewel this weekend when the solo-named singer, who is a big NASCAR fan, is featured in a TV spot for the racing circuit. The 30-second spot, “Nascar: How bad have you got it?” will debut March 26 on Fox during its coverage of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. It will then run for about six weeks on FOX, FX, NBC, TNT and Speed Channel during NASCAR race broadcasts and licensed NASCAR programming. The spot was handled in-house by NASCAR and was produced by NASCAR Images. Spend was not disclosed. The spot was filmed during a concert appearance by Jewel at the California Speedway’s Auto Club 500 race in Fontana, Calif. It features her song, “Again and Again,” from her new CD, Goodbye Alice In Wonderland, which hits store May 2. (Brand Weekly)

March 22, 2006:

NASCAR rained out Sunday Coverage, out duels NBA's King James & Kobe: Fox is crowing about the ratings of Sunday afternoon's rainout coverage of the Nascar race from Atlanta Motor Speedway. According to the Nielsen Media Research overnight ratings, the March 19 Nascar telecast, which consisted of interviews, commentary, and clips of last year's Atlanta race, generated a 3.3 household rating and 7 share from 1:30-4 p.m., which head-to-head topped ABC's NBA telecast of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (2.0/4) by 39 percent and the final round of the PGA Bay Hill Invitational on NBC (2.7/6) by 18 percent. (Media Week)

Kt Busch does NYC Media tour: In support of the Gillette Young Guns program, Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch will be doing a "media blitz" in New York City on Wednesday, March 22. KB is scheduled to appear on "Live with Regis & Kelly," ESPN's "Cold Pizza" and FOX News Channel's "Dayside with Linda Vestor." (Alan Taylor Communications)

March 20, 2006:

ESPN unclear about broadcasters: ABC-ESPN executives are trying to line up an on-camera crew for their return to the NASCAR tour. But it doesn't look like NBC's crew - Bill Weber, Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach - will be at the top of the list. But Krista Voda could get a nod. The highly polished Weber is easily the sport's top broadcaster, but it's unclear where his future might be. Questions about who will be in front of the cameras aren't the only TV questions being raised. The production crews may also be in some doubt. (Salem-Journal)

March 15, 2006:

NASCAR ratings steady: Fox says its broadcast of Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler earned a 6.2 national rating from Nielsen Media Research and a 12 share, drawing 10.3 million viewers. Fox says final Nielsen figures are expected to show that the race was the weekend's top-rated sports program, easily topping CBS's NCAA basketball tournament selection show, which earned national figures of 4.6/9. The 6.2/12 for this year's race, however, is 3.1 percent lower than last year's 6.4/14 for the race. (NASCAR SceneDaily.com) NASCAR wins coveted 18-49 Demographic: A 7 o’clock installment of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was a very strong second in its hour to Fox’s NASCAR overrun among Adults 18-49 (4.0/11 vs. 4.4/13). (Nielsen Media Research)

March 10, 2006:

FOX brings Skycam to NASCAR: Fox officials say the network is bringing its popular Cablecam for Sunday's coverage of the UAW-DaimlerChrylser 400 Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The high-definition camera, made popular by NFL on Fox, will be suspended above the track by a system of cables, puleys and computer-controlled winches. The camera moves within a 250,000-square-foot area covering the front stretch, the start/finish line and pit road at LVMS. (NASCAR Scene Daily)

Mar. 3, 2006:

California Speedway atop sports television ratings last weekend: 2006 West Coast Premiere of NASCAR At California Speedway Wins The Rating Race March 2nd, 2006 The 2006 West Coast Premiere of NASCAR at California Speedway dominated the Nielsen Media Services television ratings for sports this weekend (February 24-26), with both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races scoring top finishes. According to data received from NASCAR, Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Auto Club 500 on Fox was number seven nationally for total households in primetime, and number four among adults, with a rating of 7.4 and average viewership of 12.5 million. The race ranks as the fourth highest rated auto racing event (with the exception of Daytona 500 broadcasts) in broadcast history. It was the top-rated competitive sporting event for the week, finishing second only to the Winter Olympics closing ceremonies. Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series Stater Bros. 300 was the No. 1 cable sporting event of the weekend, with a 2.1 rating and an average of two million households tuning in. The race finished ahead of cable broadcasts of both NBA and college basketball games (including the Celtics/Lakers game), and the PGA tour. (California Speedway PR)

Feb. 25, 2006:

Biography channel highlights young NASCAR drivers: Some of NASCAR's newest stars will be highlighted in a new series on The Biography Channel, beginning March 8. "NASCAR, Driven to Win" debuts with 30-minute features on Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, the two most-recent rookies of the year in Nextel Cup. The series, with 13 half-hour episodes, will focus predominantly on younger Cup drivers. Among other subjects the show will explore are Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears, Steven Wallace, the son of longtime NASCAR star Rusty Wallace, and the Richard Childress Racing team. (AP/Miami Herald)

Feb. 24, 2006:

Younger Dallanbach: Jake Dallenbach, the 15-year-old son of former driver and current NBC NASCAR analyst Wally Dallenbach, is racing a Legends car at Lil' Texas Motor Speedway. Jake earned a victory in his fourth start, taking the checkered flag in a Legends Semi-Pro feature event. (Dallas Morning News)

Feb. 23, 2006:

Waltrip extends contract with FOX Sports: FOX Sports and Darrell Waltrip have agreed upon a multi-year contract extension that expands the top-rated NASCAR network's relationship with the sport's premier analyst into the new television rights contract that commences with the 2007 season. The announcement was made today by FOX Sports Chairman David Hill and FOX Sports President Ed Goren. "I love FOX Sports," said Waltrip. "I love being part of a big sports family. David Hill and Ed Goren have embraced me. I have said it before, it's like being part of a championship race team. They have surrounded me with the best of the best - Jeff, Larry, Mike, Steve and all the others. Plus, FOX also has the best folks that work behind the scenes. I love my job and now I get to do it for a long, long time!" Prior to joining FOX Sports in 2001, legendary stock car driver Darrell Waltrip compiled 84 wins and three Cup series championships in an outstanding NASCAR career. He was voted the Most Popular Driver twice (1989-90) and was the proud recipient of the prestigious Bill France Award of Excellence in 2000, honoring his lifetime of achievements. In 2003, Waltrip was elected into the National Motorsports Hall of Fame, an honor followed by an induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2004, Waltrip's autobiography, DW: A lifetime Going Around in Circles, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list. FOX Sports drops the green flag on its 2006 NASCAR on FOX season this Sunday, Feb. 26 (3:30pm/et) in Fontana, CA, with a live presentation of the Auto Club 500. Over 60 cameras and 100 microphones will be strategically placed in and around California Speedway as NASCAR on FOX presents the first of 14 Nextel Cup races in high definition and Dolby 5.1 audio. In 12 years of existence, FOX Sports has earned 63 Emmy Awards, including six in five years of NASCAR coverage, more than any other network during the same stretch of time. David Hill and Ed Goren are the Executive Producers of FOX Sports. Bill Brown is Senior Producer. Scott Ackerson is the Coordinating Producer of the NASCAR on FOX Prerace show. (FOX Sports PR)

Speed Channel record Speedweeks Ratings: NASCAR RaceDay, the revamped high-energy NASCAR pre-race show on SPEED, opened the season with strong numbers from Daytona, scoring an average Nielsen Rating of 1.72 (1,118,000 households) and peaking at 2.34 (1.5 million households) for the live, 2.5-hour program. In 2005, the SPEED pre-race show NASCAR This Morning averaged a Nielsen Rating of .68. Overall, SPEED delivered a 12 percent increase in Daytona Speedweeks ratings over a year ago, with nine shows scoring above a full 1.0 Nielsen mark and several peaking above a 2.0. On the track, coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, the Crown Royal IROC Series event and the ARCA Re/MAX Series were among the highest rated SPEED programs over the network's 10 days of Speedweeks coverage. Top 10 SPEED Shows from Daytona Speedweeks by Nielsen Rating average (households in parenthesis):
1. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 12, afternoon) -- 2.00 (1,300,000 HH)
2. NASCAR RaceDay (Feb. 19) - 1.72 (1,118,000 HH)
3. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race (Feb. 17) - 1.69 (1,101,000 HH)
4. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 12, evening) - 1.36 (885,000 HH)
5. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series practice (Feb. 11) - 1.16 (755,000 HH)
6. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 11, evening) - 1.12 (731,000 HH)
7. Crown Royal IROC Series race (Feb. 17) - 1.09 (708,000 HH)
8. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 11, afternoon) - 1.05 (686,000 HH)
9. NASCAR Live! (Feb. 18) - 1.02 (664,000 HH)
10. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series final practice (Feb. 18) -- .99 (647,000 HH) (Speed Channel)

Feb. 21, 2006:

Daytona 500 most watched NASCAR race ever: NBC's coverage of the 2006 Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb 19th attracted 37 million total, unduplicated viewers and drew a record 11.3 household rating and 23 share, the highest NASCAR rating in history and the most viewed Daytona 500 ever, according to fast national data from Nielsen Media Research. The 11.3/23 makes NBC's only three Daytona 500 broadcasts three of the top four highest rated and most viewed Daytona 500s ever (NBC 2002 and Fox 2005, 10.9; NBC 2004, 10.6). Last year's coverage of the Daytona 500 on Fox drew a 10.9/23. Yesterday's rating peaked with a 13.6 between 6-6:30 p.m. "I am thrilled that we were able to give NASCAR this record-breaking rating for the exciting sport of stock car racing," said Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. The top ten metered markets for yesterday's broadcast of the Daytona 500 on NBC were: 1. Greenville, S.C. 24.7/39 2. Greensboro, N.C. 23.0/37 3. Orlando, Fla. 22.7/39 4. Indianapolis, Ind. 21.2/34 5. Charlotte, N.C. 21.0/36 6. Knoxville, Tenn. 19.2/31 7. Jacksonville, Fla. 18.7/29 8. Nashville, Tenn. 17.8/30 9. Dayton, Ohio 17.7/30 10. Louisville, Ky. 17.3/28. (NBC Universal PR)

Feb. 11, 2006:

Will Farrell NASCAR movie gets a title: The city will be the namesake of an upcoming comedy feature film starring Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby, a NASCAR racing sensation, Columbia Pictures announced Friday. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is currently in post-production, and will be released in theaters nationwide Aug. 4. Talladega Superspeedway officials expressed excitement about the film in a release Friday. "We have enjoyed being part of this project and are thrilled to have our facility figuring so prominently in the film," said Rick Humphrey, Talladega Superspeedway vice president. "A lot of buzz has been generated about this movie, and we are as excited as everyone else about the final product. We know it will bring a lot of exposure to our facility and hope it will encourage new fans to visit us for what is going to be one of the most exciting years to date at Talladega Superspeedway." With Ferrell playing the lead, the race track will most likely be background to the comedian’s outrageous slapstick style. The film, written by Ferrell and director Adam McKay, details the experiences of Bobby and his childhood friend Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly), who create a racing phenomenon as they fearlessly finish most races in the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, with Naughton always coming in behind Bobby. (Daily Home)

Home Depot new NASCAR commercials: The Home Depot will debut a new NASCAR-themed television ad during the broadcast of the Daytona 500 featuring Stewart and members of the #20 Home Depot Racing Team. The spot accentuates The Home Depot's brand promise of "know-how" by linking Stewart's on-track success and, ultimately, his 2005 Nextel Cup championship, to his recent spate of home improvement projects. The 60-second spot, "Zippy's Link," features Stewart giving crew chief Greg Zipadelli a tour of his home highlighting the various home improvement projects he completed over the course of the season. Starting with a kitchen renovation, Stewart impresses Zipadelli with the installation of a new garbage disposal and hardwood floors, replacing a ceiling fan, repairing a toilet, painting the living room and finally, building a new outdoor brick patio in honor of winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, his lifelong dream. During the ad, Stewart tours a skeptical Zipadelli through the house showing him each completed project and how it relates back to a specific race success during the 2005 season in order to convince his crew chief of the direct link between home improvement and racing. The ads underline that the secret to success is know-how, whether you are a do-it-yourselfer conducting a home improvement project or a racing superstar. (True Speed Communications)

Feb. 9, 2006:

NASCAR, NBC and TNT set Green Flag this weekend: As the green flag drops on the NASCAR Nextel Cup season, NBC and TNT have the next two weeks of racing covered from Daytona International Speedway, including exclusive live coverage of the Great American Race, the Daytona 500 on NBC. Live coverage begins this Saturday with TNT's broadcast of the Budweiser Shootout preceded by the "Bank of America Countdown to Green" pre-race show at 8pm/et. NBC presents Daytona Bud Pole Qualifying at 12noon/et Sunday. NBC will broadcast the 48th annual Daytona 500 live on Sunday, Feb. 19, with coverage beginning at 2:30pm/et, preceded and followed by coverage of the Torino Winter Olympics. The Daytona 500 is one of the most-watched sporting events of the year. The 2004 Daytona 500 was watched by 33.5 million viewers and posted a 10.6/24 national rating. In 2002, NBC's inaugural Daytona 500 set a record with 35 million viewers and a 10.9/26 national rating during the middle Sunday of NBC's coverage of the Salt Lake Olympics [2005 Daytona 500 on Fox 10.9/23 national rating/share]. The NBC & TNT broadcast crew, including play-by-play announcer and pre-race host Bill Weber and analysts Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach, will call the action from the booth, with Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum reporting from the pits.(NBC PR)

Feb. 7, 2006:

C. Edwards on Fox's "24": Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion, traveled to Chatsworth, Calif. to appear in his first role in a primetime drama. Edwards, who was in town to promote the upcoming race at California Speedway on February 26, took part in the filming of FOX's hit show "24" that is set to air Monday, April 3 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). This wasn't Edwards' first foray into acting as he made a guest appearance as himself on the hit soap opera "The Guiding Light" back in October of 2005. (Roush Racing)

Feb. 6, 2006:

More night racing? RacingOne reports; "there are rumblings that next year's [2007] Cup schedule will have some schedule changes to accomodate ESPN's new contract. Two more night races are rumored and the possibility of a second Vegas race, in the "Chase," has been discussed."

Feb. 5, 2005:

Johnson on Las Vegas Monday: Jimmie Johnson will make a primetime guest appearance on the Monday night episode of NBC's Las Vegas (9-10pm/et). In the episode, entitled "Urban Legends," Johnson, appearing as himself, is invited to judge a Chevy Custom Car Show taking place at the Montecito Casino. Johnson and his #48 Chevy are also featured in portions of the episode shot at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he is first approached to judge the car show. "It's definitely not as easy as it looks," said Johnson. "Fortunately, I got to play myself so I think that made it a little easier for me. I'm not sure how I would have done if I had to play someone else and read lines as that character. It was fun, but I think I'll stick to driving my race car." (Team Lowe's Racing PR)

Jan. 20, 2006:

Wallace to audition for Disney's networks: Don’t look now, but the IRL’s television broadcast team is about to get a new face. Actually, it figures to be an old one. Auditioning as Autoweek went to press was retiring NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace, who appears to be prepping for a switch to the Nextel Cup announcers booth when ABC and ESPN get back in the game in 2007. Hiring Wallace, an avid Indy car fan, figures to be a win-win for all parties, including the IRL, which is in desperate need of a ratings jolt. The IRL’s play-by-play voice figures to be Brian Kenny, host of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2, with former driver Scott Goodyear joining Wallace in the booth. Jerry Punch, Jack Arute and Jamie Little will be the pit reporters. (Autoweek)

NASCAR highlights Detroit Auto Show on NBC: The International Auto Show from Detroit becomes a sports show from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday on NBC (the last day the public will be invited), with NASCAR hosting. I'm not certain exactly what is going to be shown, but it won't be from the car lot down the street. This auto show has been a yearly habit since 1907, when all cars were painted black and none had DVD players for the kids in the back seat. New models will be shown along with production cars, concept cars and a truck or two for those who wear boots to work. Perhaps there will be leggy models draped over the cars as they are in magazines and television advertising. That's not enough for this show as NASCAR's play-by-play commentator Bill Weber, along with Benny Parsons, Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns and Marty Snider, will be part of the telecast. (Daily News) various camping options and purchase directly from the ticket office. (AMS PR)

Jan. 19, 2006:

SPEED covers Speedweeks with 70hrs of coverage: SPEED, celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2006, will be live from Daytona Speedweeks for 10 days, beginning Feb. 10 at 2pm/et with Speedweeks on SPEED. In addition to live coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race (Feb. 17, 8pm/et), the IROC race (Feb. 17, 6pm/et), the ARCA race (Feb. 11, 4pm/et), SPEED also will air multiple practice and qualifying sessions from all of NASCAR's three major divisions. SPEED favorites, including Trackside, Inside Nextel Cup, NASCAR Live, NASCAR Performance, SPEED News and NASCAR Victory Lane also will be on-site, with a new high-energy pre-race show entitled NASCAR RaceDay [instead of NASCAR This Morning] set to make its Daytona debut. "NASCAR RaceDay will take the team from NASCAR this Morning and add several new segments, including tech reports from crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Bootie Barker, off-track items from Vicki Johnson and Craig Reynolds and long-form interviews with the weekend's storymakers," said Chris Long, SPEED VP of Studio Production. "John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace will continue to anchor the show and offer their no-holds-barred perspective, something our viewers have come to expect from SPEED. NASCAR RaceDay will set the tone for the entire weekend." SPEED will have multiple stages on-site, including its 53-foot mobile stage truck just outside the main tunnel entrance, a central location inside the track in the FanZone and a third stage positioned atop the viewing garage in the NASCAR Nextel Cup team area. SPEED also has multiple specials planned for Speedweeks, including NASCAR Five Years Later, a look at NASCAR five years after the loss of Dale Earnhardt, a Daytona documentary hosted by Dave Despain, a look back at Toyota's NASCAR experience and Champions Quest, a one-hour special on the Rolex 24 at Daytona efforts of NASCAR champions Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace. As part of its coverage, SPEED will announce the 2005 SPEED Channel Driver of the year with a special one-hour program on Feb. 15 beginning at 8pm/et. (SPEED Channel)

Jan. 12, 2006:

NASCAR producer to produce NHL hockey telecast: Sam Flood has produced NBC's successful National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing broadcast for the past five years, but he also has a background in hockey. He played at Williams College in Massachusetts. His father was a high-school coach. "Sam was a tremendous -- not a good -- but a tremendous hockey player in college," said TSN analyst Pierre McGuire, who will work on the NBC telecasts and has known Flood's family for years. "In the States, networks have always tried to plug other sporting people into hockey, but this guy's a hockey man." NBC's telecasts, which will start on Saturday, will use innovations such as a lipstick-sized camera that fits into a goaltender's helmet. (Globe and Mail)

Jan. 8, 2006:

Parson's named Grand Marshall of Rolex 24hrs:  In honor of BMW’s 30th anniversary of their 1976 Rolex 24 At Daytona triumph, Benny Parsons, a former Rolex 24 competitor with BMW and 1975 Daytona 500 champion, will serve as Grand Marshal for the 44th anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29 at historic Daytona International Speedway. Throughout the Rolex 24 weekend, Daytona International Speedway and Rolex will celebrate BMW’s 30th anniversary of their Rolex 24 victory as well as their continued commitment to sports car racing. The winning No. 59 BMW that Brian Redman, Peter Gregg and John Fitzpatrick drove will be on display in the NEXTEL FANZONE and will return to the race track in the Rolex 24 Heritage Exhibition that will be held the Saturday morning before the start of the Rolex 24. In addition, BMW will also have a display in the Grand-Am Cup garage that looks back on their past cars and storied racing history. Parsons, currently an analyst for NBC and TNT’s NASCAR coverage, competed in 1976 Rolex 24 co-driving a BMW with David Hobbs. The duo’s car was in third place before losing 90 minutes to rebuild the transmission. Parsons settled for a 10th-place finish, making him the highest finisher among the eight NASCAR drivers that competed in the prestigious sports car race that year. After overcoming mechanical issues that began with five-hours remaining, the team’s lead car driven by Redman, Gregg and Fitzpatrick captured BMW’s only Rolex 24 triumph by a 14-lap margin over the Al Holbert and Claude Ballot Lena Porsche. “This is going to be a big thrill for me,” Parsons said. “I’m very impressed with what Grand American has been able to accomplish in such a short time. I remember the first year when they had only six Daytona Prototypes on the grid at Daytona. This year they might have more than 35. To come that far in only four years is just incredible. “The 1976 Rolex 24 was my first experience at running 24 hours. It was also my last. It was quite a race. It was a really, really neat experience. It’s an honor to return as the event’s Grand Marshal.” (Rolex 24/ DIS)

Dec.. 7, 2005:

NASCAR Television Package announced: The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) today announced the completion of comprehensive broadcast agreements that will benefit the industry and its fans for years to come. Under the new eight year agreements NASCAR races will be broadcast on a combination of networks that includes FOX, SPEED, Turner’s TNT and ABC/ESPN beginning in 2007. “NASCAR’s new network agreements mark a historic moment for the entire NASCAR community,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “This is a major accomplishment for the NASCAR drivers, teams and track operators that have made this sport what it is today. It represents a significant reward for the competitive side-by-side racing our fans have come to expect. It also validates the marketing and production enhancements our current media partners have brought to the sport. The new broadcast partnership is also good for the fans because they will have so much more NASCAR content from a variety of media and new media sources." “NASCAR is proud to continue its relationship with FOX, SPEED and TNT, while welcoming back ABC/ESPN into the family of broadcasters,” said NASCAR Vice President Dick Glover. “By signing deals with three of the largest and best media companies in the world, NASCAR will meet the growing nationwide fan demand for more NASCAR content into the next decade,” Glover said. NASCAR expands its relationship with News Corp as FOX becomes the official home of the Daytona 500.

FOX - FOX’s broadcast agreements for the NFL Playoffs, the Super Bowl, the Bowl Championship Series and American Idol provide an excellent opportunity for cross promotion around the Daytona 500 held each year in mid-February. The deal also includes a brand-new comprehensive multi-media distribution program which includes Internet, wireless and broadband platforms. “FOX is extremely excited to extend its relationship with NASCAR for another eight years, and come 2007 be known as the official television home of the Daytona 500, by far the most watched auto race in this country,” said FOX Sports President Ed Goren. “Our production team has done an amazing job over the last five years to put NASCAR broadcasts on par with America's most popular sports, and we look forward to pushing the production envelope further as we move forward.”

SPEED - SPEED will increase NASCAR programming as the continuing exclusive home for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as well as the new home for the Gatorade Duels, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Pit Crew Challenge and NASCAR Nextel Cup Series All-Star Challenge.

TNT - NASCAR looks forward to continued great exposure and coverage of the sport from TNT, which will be entering its 22nd year with NASCAR, the longest continuous relationship of any media company with the sport. TNT will broadcast six consecutive races in the middle of the season including the July 4th weekend extravaganza, the Pepsi 400 from Daytona.

ABC/ESPN - ABC and ESPN will provide comprehensive coverage of NASCAR on their numerous outlets. The final 17 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events will be broadcast on ABC or ESPN with the last 10, the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, on ABC. All NASCAR Busch Series races will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN or ESPN 2. In addition, ESPN will bring NASCAR coverage to its full suite of media including its cable TV networks, ESPN360, Mobile ESPN, ESPN.com and affiliated international networks throughout the world. “This agreement totally embraces NASCAR’s multimedia future,” said George Bodenheimer, ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports president and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks. “NASCAR is a strong and growing property, and the ESPN of the 21st century – an array of new media platforms and content outlets reaching fans wherever and however they consume sports – will take the sport to even higher levels of exposure and growth. ABC Sports first exposed sports fans to the racing excitement of NASCAR in the 1960s, and ESPN and the sport grew up together in the 1980s and ‘90s. Our tradition is rich, and our future is bright. To NASCAR, its drivers and fans we say, ‘Welcome back.” “NASCAR thanks NBC for its stellar coverage and commitment to the sport for the past five years and looks forward to another great year in 2006,” Glover concluded.

Under the Agreement
Beginning in 2007, each NASCAR season will be launched on FOX with the telecast of the Daytona 500. FOX will also carry NASCAR “Speedweeks” events including the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona Pole Qualifying. FOX will also broadcast the 12 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races following the Daytona 500.

TNT will broadcast six consecutive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races (races 14 through 19).

The final 17 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series points races will be broadcast on ABC or ESPN. The final 10 races, the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, will be broadcast on ABC. The NASCAR Busch Series will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN or ESPN 2, with no less than four events on ABC.

SPEED will be home to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with the exception of two events, which will be broadcast by FOX.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series qualifying practice and “happy hours” will be broadcast on a combination of SPEED Channel, ESPN and ESPN2.

SPEED will broadcast the Gatorade Duels held each year during “Speedweeks” to determine part of the Daytona 500 starting order.

SPEED will also broadcast the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series All-Star Challenge and its companion all-star event, the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Pit Crew Challenge.
ESPN will launch specially NASCAR-branded news and information programming.

All broadcast partners will have new interactive rights, special “season preview” and “season end review” programming rights and other ancillary content. NASCAR fans will be able to receive NASCAR coverage from an expanded range of outlets including highlights and live streaming, content from and on each network’s Web pages, datacasts and newly-developed multimedia programming. (NASCAR Media Services)

McReynolds wins Gold Medal: Legendary NASCAR crew chief and popular television commentator Larry McReynolds has won a gold medal for his book, How to Become a Winning Crew Chief. The award was presented during the International Automotive Media Awards (IAMA), held at the famous Sardi's restaurant in New York City. McReynolds shares his medal with co-author, Jeff Huneycutt. "For this book to win an award in motorsports publishing far exceeds my expectations," McReynolds said. "It's quite an honor to have the book recognized by the IAMA and judged over similar books of this type. The most rewarding part of being involved in writing the book is this kind of feedback, and knowing from readers that the book has made an impact on them and helped their racing." Publisher David Bull said, "I'm proud that Larry and Jeff's work has been honored with the gold medal. It's a great reflection of the quality of the information they've provided and the indispensable help it offers to racers." "How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.