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Yes, He REALLY Said That
Dale Earnhardt Jr., on who is the dark horse in the Chase. This came from the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter. |
The Loudon TV ratings are up 10.7 percent. ABC earned a 3.1 overnight Nielsen Media Research rating for its coverage of that Sunday’s Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 10.7 percent higher than the 2.8 the race earned overnight in 2007. This report came from StockCarGazette.com.
Fox International Channels (FIC) unveiled a newly designed AutoMundo.com, the Internet’s top destination for Hispanic auto-world enthusiasts and companion site to AutoMundo Magazine. AutoMundo.com (translated into English as “auto world”) provides the latest news and information about the auto market today, including new car models, concept cars, technologies, prices, maintenance tips, buying guides, auto show listings, car reviews and more. It will also feature exclusive video content from renowned automotive expert, television personality and editor-in-chief of AutoMundo Magazine, Jorge Koechlin.
“AutoMundo.com is the complete go-to resource for U.S. Hispanics who are looking for the latest and greatest developments and news in the automotive world,” said Hector Costa, SVP and Managing Director, .FOX Networks Americas. “With Jorge Koechlin’s vast knowledge of the auto industry, the site’s visitors can rest assured that they are getting the best information available online.”
As a renowned automotive industry veteran, Jorge Koechlin will provide the latest proprietary content to AutoMundo.com that car enthusiasts cannot find elsewhere, including real-time weekend race results. Event results will be posted on the AutoMundo.com site in the News section, “Fierro a Fondo,” or “Pedal to the Metal.” Race fans can get the latest times, placements and information regarding their favorite drivers in category specific sections, including Formula 1, NASCAR, Indy Racing League, World Rally Championship, Moto GP, Grand Am and American LeMans.
SPEED, the definitive network for motorsports and the automotive lifestyle, announced it will shoot an episode of its popular television show, PINKS All Out, at Alabama’s Montgomery Motorsports Park (MMP) on Saturday, Nov. 15. The shoot will be the first dedicated to Season Three, which is slated to begin airing in the summer of 2009.
PINKS All Out enters a new season with a lot of momentum, as the show crested the 25,000 attendance mark three times during Season Two (Atlanta Dragway, Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio and Gateway International Raceway just outside St. Louis.) The Alabama episode will be the first of 10, which will resume shooting in 2009.
“The 2008 season has, in many respects, far surpassed our grandest expectations,” said Robert Ecker, SPEED VP of Programming and Executive Producer of PINKS All Out. “Bringing the show to tracks all around the country and experiencing the tremendous response from participants and spectators has been a true thrill. The sight of grandstands packed with 25,000 cheering fans all on their feet makes quite an impression. Heading into Season Three, we don’t take any of this for granted.”
The track is owned and promoted by the Howard family, George and Jim, and has established a strong connection to the local and regional racing community, which includes hosting the now famous ‘Million Dollar Drag Race,’ one of the most popular grassroots events in the Southeast. This will be the first PINKS All Out to be shot in the state of Alabama, as the original show, PINKS, was shot at Alabama International Dragway in October of 2007.
New animated NASCAR TV Show planned: Fox has extended its relationship with comedian, Jeff Foxworthy, green lighting an animated pilot presentation from Foxworthy about a dysfunctional family set in the world of NASCAR. Twentieth Century Fox TV is onboard to produce. Untitled animated laffer comes from Foxworthy and “10 Items or Less” exec producers Nancy Hower and John Lehr. Foxworthy, Hower and Lehr will write and exec produce, while Parallel Entertainment’s J.P. Williams will also exec produce. Foxworthy will also lend his voice to the presentation, with other voice actors to be determined later. This report came from variety.com and stockcargazette.com.
We heard on Speed’s WINDTUNNEL that the race teams that compete in the AMA Superbikes are not interested in being absorbed by the France Family in a new company. The competitors along with the manufacturers plan on forming their own series. We guess that the manufacturers and race teams haven’t looked closely at the most recent history of the break-up of Indy Car racing. Maybe they’ve been in orbit around Mars and have not been reading the papers or watching the motorhead programs on TV.
That twelve year Open wheel split resulted in two bankruptcies(CART&CCWS) and the IRL taking a big hit in terms of fans, terrible TV ratings and big problems getting and keeping sponsors. Because the interest faded as the split continued on. After a dozen seasons the IRL and the survivor teams are trying to dig their way out a deep hole. It may take another five or six years. Or some think that it will never return to its past glory or get the open wheel fans to return.
Our advice to both feuding groups. Sit down and make a deal that’s fair to everyone. Bike racing in the USA is followed by a closely knit cult of fans and if it’s ever going to grow it needs the horsepower of the France Family. Even with NASCAR in some trouble, the Superbike crowd would kill to get half the NASCAR fans to watch their races and half of NASCAR’s TV ratings. Given past history team owners trying to run a race series has never worked. In order to be successful, a race series need a czar with lots of authority sometimes resembling a dictatorship ala NASCAR and hopefully soon the IRL.
Official entrants have been announced for the TOP 1 Oil World Land Speed Shootout, the first-ever FIA/FIM-sanctioned Land Speed Racing competition between the fastest wheel-driven cars and motorcycles on the planet. The event is scheduled for September 22-27 at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, with rain dates of October 13-17. Organizer and Land Speed Racing (LSR) veteran Mike Cook has selected eight teams – five cars and three motorcycles – each led by icons of the sport with decades of racing experience behind them. To compete, vehicles must be wheel-driven, have set or come close to setting recent land speed records in their respective classes, and conform to FIA/FIM technical and safety requirements. Competing teams in the car category are:
. Buckeye Bullet 2 – Ohio State University students will run the world’s first hydrogen fuel-cell powered car under the direction of school staff advisor Don Butler, in an attempt to set a new Land Speed record for electric vehicles.
. Mormon Missile Diesel Streamliner – Bonneville veteran Lynn Goodfellow will try and lead the Duramax-powered team to a diesel Land Speed record in class, which will require velocities in excess of 235mph.
. Nish Motorsports – With 12 Land Speed records under their belts, the Nish family has its collective eye on taking their 1,800 horsepower streamliner to 425mph.
. Burkland Streamliner – This 4,500 horsepower, twin-engine monster first ran in 1996, ten years after it was conceived by driver Tom Burkland. In
2004 it set a record of 417.020mph, which the Burklands intend to break.
. Team Speed Demon – Built in just six months, by Bonneville regulars George Poteet and Ron Main, the Mopar-powered Speed Demon has already exceeded 353mph.
Competing teams in the motorcycle category are:
. ACK Attack – In 2006 Mike Akatiff’s TOP 1 Oil-sponsored ACK Attack motorcycle streamliner shattered a 16-year-old record by averaging more than 342mph. Just two days later that record was broken by a competitor.
Akatiff will be looking to reclaim his title.
. Team Kuryakyn/Full Blast Engineering – Representing the Harley crowd, team leader and holder of 10 world records Leo Hess is also the first and only rider to be a member of four different 200mph clubs. The Harley-powered streamliner is the only one to run over 200mph at El Mirage, Murac, and the Maxon Mile.
. Team E-Z-Hook Streamliner – With more than 8,000 hours invested in building the E-Z-Hook streamliner, and 50 years spent Land Speed Racing, team owner Sam Wheeler will attempt to push his creation past his fastest speed of 355mph.
“These teams represent the best of the best in Land Speed Racing,” said TOP
1 Oil World Land Speed Shootout organizer and LSR veteran Mike Cook. “But at the end of next week the landscape could change dramatically.”
Let’s see what’s on the tube this weekend for motorhead action. Starting Friday it’s a 9:30 a.m. airtime for F1 Practice on Speed from Singapore. ESPN2 offers Cup Practice from Kansas at 12:30 p.m. At 2:30 p.m. ESPN2/TSN go with Nationwide Practice from Kansas. At 6 p.m. The Duce airs Nationwide Final Practice from Kansas at 6 p.m.
Saturday starts off at 10 a.m. with Speed/TSN airing F1 Qualifying from Singapore. At 11:30 a.m. Speed/TSN both air NASCAR Qualifying from Kansas. Speed offers a 3 p.m. airing of the Grand Am from Tooele, UT. At 3:30 p.m. ESPN2/TSN broadcast the Nationwide Series race from Kansas. The Duce returns at 6:30 p.m. with NASCAR Final Cup Practice from Kansas and at 10:30 p.m. that same channel offers NHRA Qualifying from Memphis.
Sunday gets an early start at 7:30 a.m. with the F1 GP of Singapore on Speed with TSN kicking in at 8 a.m. HDnet offers the NASCAR Camping World Series from Stafford Springs, Conn. at noon. ABC/TSN2 air the NASCAR Cup race from Kansas at 2 p.m. Speed comes back at 3 p.m. with the FIM 250 from Japan followed by the FIM GP at 4 p.m. More biker action on Speed airs at 5 p.m. with the AMA Supersport event at Laguna Seca, CA followed by the AMA Superbike Finale at 6 p.m., both SDD, on that same channel. The Duce returns with NHRA Finals from Memphis at 7 p.m. (END)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.
