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The Texas overnight TV Ratings were down a bit: ABC’s broadcast of Sunday’s Dickies 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway earned an overnight Nielsen Media Research rating of 3.4 with a 6 share. ABC earned a 3.6 overnight rating in 2007 for the race last year and a 3.7 final rating. This report came from the Jayski.com and StockCarGazette.com webpages. |
The Formula One Grand Prix final in Brazil registered record TV audiences worldwide. In the UK, ITV boss Michael Grade, said 13.1 million homes (42 per cent share) tuned in to watch Lewis Hamilton win the World Championship title in the final race of the season. According to the broadcaster, the only other sporting event with a higher peak audience in Britain this year was the Champions League final at 14.6 million homes. In France, TF1 also said it had broken its Formula One records with more than 5 million viewing homes (25 per cent share). Germany’s RTL captured an average 8.8 million homes (31.5 per cent share) and a peak of 9.46 million homes. This report came from SportsBusiness.com.
We saw a poll on AutoRacing1.com that didn’t think much of the IRL’s change in TV broadcasts on VS. The majority of those that particpated in the poll feel that the IRL’s ratings won’t improve on the VS cable channel and will even go down. Those who took part in the poll felt that the IRL made a big error switching to VS from the ESPNs.
Lewis Hamilton’s fifth place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix – allowing him to clinch the title by a single point – is likely to see him become a $1 billion sportsman. According to UK newspaper, The Times, the youngest ever world champion in the history of Formula One could become the only person who could knock Tiger Woods from the top of the podium as the world’s highest-earning sportsman. The golfer is on course to become the first person to accumulate $1 billion from sport by 2010, according to Forbes magazine, pocketing an estimated $115 million (£71 million) in the year to June. Hamilton’s contract with McLaren contract is worth an estimated £75 million over five years and a sponsorship deal with Reebok will add a further £20 million or so. But if he continues his winning streak to 2012, when his McLaren contract will be due for renewal, that pay check alone could jump to £30 million a year, and people close to Hamilton are already confident that his career earnings could well top £500 million That could surpass the estimated career earnings of Schumacher, who at his peak was a one-man business empire, complete with branded dolls, sunglasses and a vacuum cleaner, and David Beckham, Britain’s highest earning sports star to date, whose lucrative sponsorship deals earned him £20 million a year at the height of his career. This came from SportsBusiness.com.
Well it seems that F1 racing is getting very interesting instead of Ferrari dominating continually. How about Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren beating Filipe Massa for the F1 Championship by one point! But, Ferrari won the F1 Manufacturers Championship on top of all that!
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means you need to get your eyes in shape and couch in order as the PINKS All Out Marathon is on its way to SPEED. Highlighting this year’s marathon is the PINKS All Out Season Two finale from Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., premiering Friday, Nov. 28 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. This ‘All Out’ showdown from ‘Wine Country’ is a fitting end to an eventful second season of this popular program. The encore presentation is scheduled for Midnight ET/9 p.m. PT. The PINKS All Out Marathon begins at 7 a.m. ET with Season One presentations, while Season Two starts at High Noon ET with an appropriate ‘Wild West’ shootout from Southwestern International Raceway just outside Tucson, Ariz. Other shows include places like Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway, Atlanta Dragway, Bandimere Speedway just outside Denver, Gateway International Raceway (St. Louis) and Summit Motorsports Park – each of which hosted more than 25,000 enthusiastic PINKS fans through its respective gates. “There are certain aspects of this second season that we could not have foreseen while they were occurring and that are only now more readily apparent,” said Robert Ecker, SPEED VP of Programming and PINKS All Out executive producer. “In hindsight, there were things that happened along the way – both good and bad – that shaped not only individual events, but the entire arc of the ten episodes that comprise this season and indeed the direction of the show in 2009. While each episode can stand on its own, Season Two, on the whole, adds up to something more than the sum of its parts.”
PINKS All Out Marathon Friday, Nov. 28 – All Times Eastern Bold Denotes Premiere Time Location Season
7 a.m. Firebird Int’l Raceway (Phoenix, Ariz.)
8 a.m. Maryland Int’l Raceway (Budds Creek, Md.)
9 a.m. Milan Dragway (Milan, Mich.)
10 a.m. Bristol Dragway (Bristol, Tenn.)
11 a.m. The Strip @ LVMS (Las Vegas, Nev.
Noon Southwestern Int’l Raceway (Tucson, Ariz.)
1 p.m. Red River Raceway (Shreveport, La.)
2 p.m. Gainesville Raceway (Gainesville, Fla.)
3 p.m. Atlanta Dragway (Commerce, Ga.)
4 p.m. San Antonio Raceway (San Antonio, Texas)
5 p.m. Summit Motorsports Park (Norwalk, Ohio)
6 p.m. Gateway Int’l Raceway (St. Louis, Mo.)
7 p.m. Old Bridge Township Raceway Park (Englishtown, N.J.)
8 p.m. Bandimere Speedway (Denver, Colo.)
9 p.m. Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, Calif.)
10 p.m. Atlanta Dragway (Commerce, Ga.)
11 p.m. San Antonio Raceway (San Antonio, Texas)
Midnight Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, Calif.)
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is proud to announce that James Stewart, the newly crowned champion of the 2008 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, is one of five nominees for the 2008 AMA SPEED Athlete of the Year award. The winner will be announced at the 2008 AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet on Sunday evening, Nov. 23, at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Ala. Dating back to 1976, the AMA SPEED Athlete of the Year award is the highest honor bestowed on a professional motorcycle racer competing in AMA events. Past recipients of the award include such legendary names as Bob Hannah, Scott Parker, Kenny Roberts and Ricky Carmichael.
Nominees who have been announced for this year’s award include Stewart, AMA Flat Track Champion Kenny Coolbeth and AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies. Stewart, from Haines City, Fla., earned his nomination by winning all 24 motos in the 2008 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF to claim the No. 1 plate. He’s only the second rider in the history of the sport to accomplish this clean sweep. The first was Carmichael. “I am truly honored to be nominated and proud to be in the company of the other nominees, and humbled by those who have received this award previously,” Stewart said after learning of his nomination.
In addition to winning the 2008 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, Stewart was part of Monster Energy’s AMA Team USA three-rider crew that claimed the coveted Chamberlain Trophy at the 2008 Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations held Sept. 27-28, in Donington Park, Great Britain. Stewart adds the AMA Motocross title to a trophy case that includes the 2007 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. The 2009 season will mark a new chapter for Stewart, whose relationship with Kawasaki dates to his early amateur days. Next season, Stewart will be racing a Yamaha YZ450F. “I will be riding for Team San Manuel Yamaha, and am extremely enthusiastic about this new set-up,” Stewart said. “I think change is good. It will be a different look, but I know, with what I see in the team so far, they have the same drive that I have and they want to win just as bad as I do, so working together with them is great. I can’t wait for the season to start. I’m sure we’ll raise some eyebrows.”
TrueSports, Incorporated, owner and operator of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, regrets to announce that the 2008 motocross season will be the last fully-dedicated one at the 47-year-old facility.
Mid-Ohio Motocross Park, located on the southwest corner of the 330-acre Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course complex, hosted 15 events over the past three years including a Mid-East Regional Qualifier for the Air Nautiques / AMA Amateur National Championships, and was a member of AMA District 12.
The approximately 20 acres of space that the motocross track currently sits on is needed for parking and additional camping spaces for annual spectator events on the road course. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has seen record crowds for the Acura Sports Car Challenge / The Honda Indy 200 presented by Westfield Insurance – its IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series doubleheader weekend – and frequently sells out of camping spaces for its AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, and Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire events. The reworking of the land and the dismantling of a dedicated motocross track will not impact motocross for the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days event, July 24-26, 2009, as a temporary course will be erected for that purpose.
Yes, He REALLY Said That-Kyle Busch, on if he’d miss not going to New York City for the Sprint Cup awards. “It wouldn’t bother me — no — it’s way too much work.” Ya sure. That one came from the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter.
Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, entertainer Bill Goldberg and YearOne unveiled a spectacular 1970 NASCAR Plymouth Road Runner Superbird tribute car today that will be sold at No Reserve Jan. 17, 2009, for charity. Mr. Goldberg revved up the crowd when he uncovered the Superbird tribute during the 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas and announced that the MOPAR will be auctioned during the 38th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event in Scottsdale, Ariz., which will take place Jan. 11-18, 2009. All proceeds from the sale of the Superbird tribute (Lot #1289) will benefit the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, which exists to prevent, provide for and ultimately cure spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illnesses.
Let’s check to see what’s what’s happing on TV this weekend as we finally hit the end of the season. Wednesday offers the SCCA Runoffs from Topeka, KS starting at noon and 1 p.m. Thursday has NASCAR Truck Practice from Homestead, FL at 7 p.m. Friday will be busy with a noon airing of NASCAR Cup Practice from Homestead on Speed followed by Nationwide Practice at 1 p.m. ESPN2/TSN kicks in with Cup Qualifying from that same track. Speed returns at 5 p.m. with NASCAR CTS Qualifying from Homestead followed by Nationwide Final Practice at 6:30 p.m. Speed will air the CTS race at 8 p.m.
Saturday goes like this. At 11:30 a.m. it’s Nationwide Series Qualifying from Homestead on Speed then Cup Practice on that same cable channel at 1:30 p.m. The Duce returns with Cup Final Practice at 3 p.m. while ESPN2/TSN each offer the Nationwide race from Homestead at 4:30 p.m. At 11 p.m. ESPN2 airs the NHRA Qualifying from Pomona, CA. Sunday has ABC/TSN both airing the Sprint Cup race from Homestead with ESPN2 broadcasting the NHRA Finals from Pomona at 7 p.m. At 10 p.m. there’s a Special Speed Report on the Speed Channel that’s a NASCAR Season Wrap-up from Homestead, FL. (END)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.
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