TV Times - Canada Gets All ‘08 Cup Races Courtesy of TSN
by Lou Modestino ~ February 9th, 2008 @ 10:38 pm. Filed under: TV Times. 804 readsTSN will air all Cup races in 2008. TSN of Canada announced its 2008 auto racing broadcast schedule - the network’s largest ever with a total of 121 races (up from 105 races in 2007) from five different series. TSN’s comprehensive schedule features full-season coverage of the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, the Canadian Tire Series, Formula One and Indy Racing League (IRL). TSN’s broadcast schedule features all 39 Sprint Cup races, all 35 Nationwide Series races and the entire 13-race NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. TSN will also have complete coverage of all 18 Formula One races and all 16 IRL races. TSN’s live coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series got underway last Sunday with the first race of the season - the Budweiser Shootout.
According to SportsBusiness.com Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone warned that Australia could lose its Formula One Grand Prix and said he was under “quite a lot” of pressure from other countries to take the Melbourne Grand Prix elsewhere.
Melbourne has a contract to host the race until 2010, but according to Australian media reports, Ecclestone criticized Victorian Premier John Brumby for giving the event “scant support” and said he wanted to pursue better money, sponsorship and television audiences in other parts of the world.
Ecclestone also ruled out any chance of the Gold coast taking the high profile event from Melbourne saying, “our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money. It’s bloody bad for us. We’ve got quite a few places on the list which would like to have Formula One and as it seems your guy (John Brumby) down there doesn’t want Formula One, we can make him happy and make the other people happy”. The grand prix is expected to move to either India, Russia or Korea should a deal with Melbourne not be renewed.
As the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season rolled to the start last weekend, ESPN drag racing analyst Mike Dunn felt that drag racing fans would see history made this year with the first victory by a woman in the Funny Car class. ESPN Classic re-airs the finals Monday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m.
Dunn, a 22-time winner in NHRA competition during his career and one of only three drivers to score 10 or more wins in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes, said that the Funny Car class will be one of the most interesting to watch this season, starting this weekend at Pomona.
“You have Melanie Troxel moving over from Top Fuel to Funny Car,” Dunn said. “And obviously with Ashley Force in her sophomore season, that’s going to be a good story because I think one of them, if not both, will win a race this year. Both of them have very good racecars. They definitely have a shot.”
All eyes in Pomona will be on NHRA superstar John Force, returning from serious injuries suffered in a crash during last year’s Dallas event. Force will be trying to win his 15th NHRA Funny Car title in the 2008 season.
“The biggest story to start off the season is the comeback of John Force after that accident,” said Dunn. “He tested in Phoenix and although he’s hobbling around and still doing his rehabilitation he was able to get in and out of the car and post the quickest and fastest times for his class on the weekend, so that’s going to be a big story to watch.”
Every February since 1961, fans have flocked to Pomona for the traditional opening of the drag racing season, and second-generation driver Dunn enjoys the excitement of the event that he started attending with his father, Hall of Fame racer “Big Jim” Dunn.
“As a kid growing up in Southern California, I used to love going to the Winternationals because everybody had new equipment and new paint schemes and everybody was just excited to get the season started after the winter,” he said.
“There’s just a whole different vibe to that race than probably any other race,” he said. “It’s our second-oldest race, only to the U.S. Nationals, so it’s a big event to win and it means a lot.”
Now let’s see what’s happening on the tube for the motosports crowd as it’s one of the biggest week’s of the season. The 2008 racing season gets off to a flying start. On Tuesday Speed offers the Chili Bowl Nationals at 10 p.m. Wednesday it’s Sprint Cup Practice from Daytona for the Gatorade Duel at noon and again at 2 p.m. TSN offers the NHRA National from Pomona while Speed airs the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Practice at 4:30 p.m. The momentum really picks up on Thursday with Speed offering NASCAR CTS Practice from Daytona at 11 a.m. At 2 p.m. both Speed and TSN air the Gatorade Duel Twin 150’s from Daytona. Speed returns at 7 p.m. with CTS Qualifying from Daytona. Friday’s offerings start at 1:30 p.m. with Speed airing Cup Practice at Daytona while TSN kicks in at 3 p.m. with Nationwide Series Qualifying. Speed comes back with CTS event from Daytona at 8 p.m. Saturday’s highlight is the Nationwide Series race from Daytona on ESPN2 and TSN at 1:15 p.m. from Daytona. Finally, on Sunday Fox and TSN air the Daytona 500 at 2 p.m. (End)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES
February 10th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I know it all sounds great…that Canada gets all the Cup races this year, but its a bit misleading. TSN is showing HALF it’s races on an alternative feed network that is not accessible to most fans. So really we are no better off in Canada than we were in previous years (even though we now have TWO Canadian running the whole Cup season). Funny though you wouldn’t know that from the press. TSN would still rather show Bowling, Billiards or Poker (is it even a sport?) than Nascar races. Their priorities are WAY off base! I choose to watch my NASCAR raing on Network TV when possible because TSN is taking Canadian fans for a ride!