TV Times – Bill Weber Prefers CORR Off Road Series to NASCAR

TV racecaster Bill Weber was an interesting guest on that Sunday’s WINDTUNNEL program on Speed. Weber covers NASCAR for TNT, the ALMS on various networks and Speed’s coverage of the CORR Off Road Series. Weber talked about how good a deal the CORR Series is for the paying fans. Bill still likes the Chase To The Nextel Cup concept but it needs some tweaking right now. He’s like to see the point system changed and if a driver didn’t make the top ten then there would be no points. He was also concerned that the meltdown of the economy is going to have a major impact on NASCAR and motorsports in general. On a related item, Danny Sullivan, a former Indy 500 winner, is high on the CORR Series and is a partner/driver in a race team. Sullivan’s presence in CORR gives that series a boost.

The Phoenix Overnight TV Ratings were the same as 2007: ABC’s broadcast of Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500(k) at Phoenix International Raceway earned an overnight Nielsen Media Research rating of 3.4 with a 6 share, the same rating as in 2007. This only covers up to when ABC stopped airing the race at 7:28 p.m./et and showed the remainder of the race on ESPN2 [in the eastern and central time zone]. No word what the ESPN2 numbers were. This report came from StockCarGazette.com.

Then came the Phoenix final TV ratings, which were slightly down. ABC’s coverage of the Sprint Cup event at Phoenix International Raceway earned a final national rating of 3.6, down slightly from the 3.7 earned for last year’s event that also aired on ABC. The telecast averaged 5,656,949 viewers. The final 30 minutes of the race aired on ESPN2 and earned a 3.3 rating, averaging 4,610,804 viewers. The Chase for the Sprint Cup ratings on ABC continue to be essentially even with last year through nine races. ESPN2’s live coverage of the Nationwide Series race at Phoenix earned a 1.3 household coverage rating, up from the 1.1 earned for last year’s race that also aired on ESPN2. The telecast averaged 1,651,486 viewers. ESPN2’s ratings for the Nationwide Series are up 7 percent from last year. This came from ESPN and StockCarGazette.com.The final 30 minutes of the race was changed to The Duce because of other network commitments. Needless to say, NASCAR wasn’t happy about that because it locked out the non-cable subscribers, which resulted in some viewers not getting to see the finish.

Six-time International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Top Fuel Champion Clay Millican can add another line to his ever-growing resume – television star. Millican, who first appeared on SPEED as the host of the Launch Hour program, Blow It Up, returns to the network in a big way as he hosts the second season of SPEED original series Drag Race High – premiering in February – and joins the on-air cast of PINKS All Out, one of the network’s most popular original series.

“Our experience working with Clay on Blow It Up was terrific, and we’ve been looking for something else to partner on ever since,” said Robert Ecker, SPEED VP of Programming and Executive Producer of both shows. “He’s one of those guys that really connects with other people and he has an easy rapport with the camera making him a natural. As someone of humble beginnings that’s made it to the top tier of professional drag racing, he brings an authenticity and accessibility that is very refreshing and that works extremely well within the context of both these SPEED original series.”

Millican will be very active in both programs – tutoring and inspiring students in Drag Race High as well as providing his technical insights to host Rich Christensen on six episodes of PINKS All Out for Season Three – all a result of Millican’s first full season of Top Fuel competition within the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The 43-year-old racer will appear in Season Three episodes from No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La., Texas (Ennis) Motorplex, zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., Memphis Motorsports Park, Maryland Int’l Raceway in Budds Creek, Md., and historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif.

“The chance to be the head judge on Drag Race High is a great opportunity,” Millican said. “I love working with kids. If I can help have any positive influence on these young people that would be a wonderful thing. This is a great chance to help show these kids how they can become involved in a team project and also find out how they perform while under the spotlight of being filmed constantly. “I cannot tell you how excited I am about being involved with Pinks All Out,” Millican continued. “To be invited to be part of this show is fantastic. This is the biggest show going and to be a part of it will be exciting. I want to thank Rich and Bob and all the great people at SPEED for accommodating my racing commitments to be a part of this show.”

Formula One teams have unanimously agreed to reduce engine costs by more than €15 million by 2011, According to Ferrari chairman, Luca di Montezemolo. Montezemolo, who recently presided over a meeting of the newly founded Formula One Teams Association, told the BBC that by 2011 an engine will cost £4 million, compared to the current £16 million. He added that the Association would also work with all the teams to further reduce the costs further still for 2010 and 2011. This report came from the widely distributed SportsBusiness.Com newsletter.

Sources in Australia tell us that the Indy Car racing won’t return to Surfer’s Paradise because the organizers were hit with a big fee to put on the event compounded by the lack of a date to fit the event into the schedule. Also, we think that the uncertainty in the world economy also had some influence in the decision to scuttle the event. The IRL race will be replaced by the A1GP while the V8 Sedans will continue the association with the annual event. The latter series, though, is the really big draw for the event. Because the drivers have a strong following among the home fans. During the years that the Indy Cars raced at Surfer’s Paradise, the Indy Car set felt that the V8
Sedans were a support series. They had it wrong! The V8 Sedans were the big draw and the Indy Cars were the support series.

Spirit of Daytona Racing continued their two-wheel experiment as they prepare for the 47th anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 24-25 at historic Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona Beach-based team, which has previously tested their No. 09 Porsche Coyote Daytona Prototype at DIS with motorcycle stars Ricky Carmichael, Jason Pridmore and five-time Daytona 200 By Honda winner Scott Russell, added motorcycle veteran Jeff Ward to the mix on Tuesday during the first day of the two-day November Test Days session.

November Test Days is the second of three major tune-ups for the Rolex 24 and has 40 sports cars on the entry list – 20 Daytona Prototypes and 20 GT class machines. Ward has driven almost everything you can possibly drive at Daytona International Speedway from stock cars, sports cars, Supercross and road racing motorcycles and has been runner-up three different times in the Daytona Supercross By Honda. But he’s never gotten behind the wheel of a sleek and stylish Daytona Prototype, which he will do during November Test Days.

“I raced the 24-hour back in ’97,” said Ward, who has also competed in the Indy Car Series. “That was my first time in a sports car and my last time in one. The last time I was here, I ran some laps around here testing for Team Tabasco. The last time I rode this road course; I was here on a Formula Xtreme factory Honda bike testing a couple of years ago. It’s been a little while.

“I love riding road courses. That’s always been my best but I’ve never been in this car. It’s going to take a little while. I’m not expecting go out there and go fast right away. I just want to get comfortable step by step by step and not get overwhelmed right away. It should be fun.” Russell is back at DIS with Spirit of Daytona Racing for his sixth sports car road course test and his third at “The World Center of Racing.” The team is using new updated Coyote bodywork, which has thrown Russell a curve ball in his learning process.

“It’s a huge challenge for me,” said Russell, whose nickname is “Mr. Daytona.” “As a whole, I’m pretty happy with my progress. I’ve been making gains at a decent rate. A racer always wants to go faster. Clearly, I’ve got a lot of work to do. The old car I was feeling pretty comfortable in. Now we’ve got a new one to deal with so it’s kind of set us back a bit. We’ve got quite a bit of work to do on this car to get us back to where I was at.”

Having drivers from different racing series hop over into sports cars has been a common sight in recent years of the Rolex 24. But having the two-wheel stars of motorcycle racing attempting the cross over is something new and it’s a welcome sight to many of the sports car veterans in the garage. “Motorcycle guys, they obviously have a lot – I was going to say car control – but of course it’s bike control,” said three-time Rolex 24 winner Andy Wallace. “You can’t have that control and then go to four wheels and be rubbish at it. They obviously got something or otherwise they would fall off the bike every week. Of course if you take yourself out of a car and put yourself into a bike, the same is not true. I’m absolutely rubbish on two wheels whenever I’ve driven one on the road so I’m going to have to stick with four wheels.”

The Richard Childress name is usually associated with NASCAR as the legendary owner has won two Daytona 500s with the late Dale Earnhardt and most recently with Kevin Harvick in 2007. Now, Childress has partnered with Rick Howard in the Rolex Sports Car Series to form Childress Howard Motorsports. The team is testing the No. 4 Pontiac Crawford with Rob Finlay and Andy Wallace during November Test Days.

“For me, it’s a big thrill obviously with the history there that Mr. Childress has done,” Wallace said. “I think he wanted to branch out into sports car racing and I’ve been the lucky recipient so far. What we’re trying to do is build a team that can ultimately win races again. It’s nice to be there at the start of it.”

NASCAR veteran Kurt Busch (Penske Racing) and Kyle Petty (Orbit Racing) and Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey (HyperSport) are expected to test on Wednesday during the second day of November Test Days. November Test Days is open to the public with fans able to view testing from the Sprint FANZONE with a $10 Daytona 500 Experience tour-only ticket. Fans that have already purchased tickets to the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona will be admitted free.

Admission for the Jan. 2-4 test session will be $10 each day and the ticket includes access to the infield, Sprint FANZONE and garage. On Saturday, Jan. 3, there will be driver question and answer sessions between Rolex Series drivers and fans. Tickets for the Rolex 24 At Daytona are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Coastal 181 has lots of great racing books that make nice gifts for the holiday season. Check out their website at www.coastal181.com on the internet. Two new books are for sale THEY CALL HIM CALE, The Life and Career of NASCAR Legend Cale Yarborough by Joe McGinnis and SOUTHERN SUPERMODIFIEDS and other early racers by Gerald Hodges. Both are priced under 30 bucks.

Yes, He Really Said That-Jeff Burton Jeff Burton, on comparisons of his career with Jeff Gordon’s. “I told Jeff that he and I were the same with the exception of four championships, 50 wins and 70 poles. Other than that, we’ve done everything the same.” according to the Valovoline Track Talk Newsletter.

Let’s see what’s on TV this weekend now that the 2008 season is history. On Wednesday Speed offers the SCCA Runoffs from Topeka, KS at noon and 1 p.m. TSN will air a redux of the NHRA Eliminations at Pomona, CA at 12:30 p.m. Friday. (END)

NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.