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As FOX Sports prepares for its ninth year of NASCAR coverage; the network revs its engine by unveiling the 2009 NASCAR on FOX broadcast schedule. FOX Sports jump-started its Emmy Award-winning coverage from renowned Daytona International Speedway last Saturday night with the always fun BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT in prime time. This Sunday afternoon, the points start counting as Speedweeks culminates with FOX Sports’ exclusive, live coverage of the 51st DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, Feb. 15 (2:00 PM ET). |
Mike Joy, with almost 40 years in racing, returns as race announcer, and is joined by NASCAR racing legend Darrell Waltrip and former champion crew chief Larry McReynolds, who return to provide race analysis for all NASCAR on FOX events. Prerace coverage is again hosted by Chris Myers with analysts Jeff Hammond and Waltrip. Returning to cover pit road are reporters Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda and Matt Yocum. The 2009 DAYTONA 500 marks the 20th anniversary of Waltrip’s momentous victory in the Great American Race with crew chief and NASCAR on FOX colleague Hammond alongside.
In all, FOX Sports airs 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup points races, highlighted by events from Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 1; Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 5; Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 26; NASCAR racing in Charlotte on Sunday, May 24 from Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend and the NASCAR on FOX season finale from Dover, Delaware on Sunday, May 31. In addition to its Sprint Cup coverage, FOX Sports presents two live Truck Series races: Saturday, Feb. 21 from California Speedway and Saturday, March 28 from Martinsville Speedway.
FOX Sports commands the well-earned distinction, as television’s most innovative sports broadcaster, and ranking high among the network’s achievements are honors for its NASCAR coverage. NASCAR on FOX has garnered 12 Emmy Awards for its coverage including three for Outstanding Sports Series (2001, 2005, 2007), three for Outstanding Live Event Audio Sound (2002, 2005, 2006), one for Outstanding Graphic Design (2001), and five for Outstanding Technical Team Remote (2001, 2003-05, 2007).
NASCAR on FOX is as popular as ever in terms of viewer ship and advertiser interest. Its early season portion of the NASCAR calendar dominates the competition, more than doubling every regular season sport in-season including NBA (+159% vs. 2.2), PGA Golf (+111%, 2.7), and the NHL (+533%, 0.9). Household ratings for all races in 2008 vs. ’07 on FOX were up +2% (5.7 vs. 5.6), as were ratings in key demographic categories like men age 25-54 (+2%, 5.4 vs. 5.3) and men age M35-54 (+5%, 6.5 vs. 6.2). This report came from Fox Sports.
Continuing a multimedia commitment to the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, the ESPN networks launch coverage of the 2009 season with a live; flag-to-flag telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 at Daytona International Speedway this Saturday, Feb. 14, at noon ET on ESPN2. ESPN2 will again be the television home for the series in 2009, with select races on ESPN and ABC.
ESPN and ABC also will have live coverage of the final 17 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on ABC. The Sept. 20 event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., again marks the beginning of ESPN’s coverage of the Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The Richmond International Raceway event, run the week before the start of the Chase, is the first ABC event after six races on ESPN. The Richmond event determines the final seeding of the 12 drivers in the Chase. ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage begins July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In addition to race coverage for both series, the networks also will televise practice and qualifying from select races, the season-ending banquets and season preview and review specials. Each race includes a dedicated pre-race program called NASCAR Countdown, and comprehensive coverage of NASCAR appears on ESPN2’s NASCAR news and information program, NASCAR Now. All NASCAR programming on the ESPN networks is produced fully in high definition.
NASCAR fans have become accustomed to ESPN’s on-air team, including play-by-play announcers Dr. Jerry Punch and Marty Reid, analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree, and pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch. Allen Bestwick hosts NASCAR Countdown, with analysts Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty and Ray Evernham. Analyst Tim Brewer reports from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
ESPN provided 10 days of comprehensive coverage of Speedweeks and the start of the NASCAR season at Daytona International Speedway across its multimedia platforms. Television coverage, highlighted by a Daytona 500 origination for ESPN’s flagship program SportsCenter, an expanded schedule for ESPN2’s daily news program NASCAR Now, coverage of NASCAR Media Day on ESPNEWS, and NASCAR Nationwide Series practice and qualifying, will culminate with the NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 on ESPN2 Saturday, Feb. 14, at noon ET.
Other TV highlights include NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series preview shows on ESPN2 and the airing of multiple past Daytona 500 races on ESPN Classic. SportsCenter at Daytona airs Saturday, Feb. 14, at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, originating from the Fan Zone at Daytona International Speedway. SportsCenter is ESPN’s flagship studio show and television’s only nightly, one-hour sports news program. Offering in-depth reports on breaking news, creative highlights, features and in-depth analysis from award-winning journalists,
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will be featured on ESPN through 2016 as part of a five-year, multimedia rights agreement extension between the National Hot Rod Association and ESPN. The NHRA has appeared exclusively on the ESPN networks since 2001. By the end of the extended agreement, the partnership will have been in place for 16 years. As part of the agreement, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will continue to be showcased on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is the premier sportsman series in drag racing and, for many aspiring racers, serves as a stepping-stone for the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
“The NHRA continues to deliver strong results across our multimedia platforms, and this extension is our long-term commitment to the NHRA and drag racing fans around the world,” said Julie Sobieski, ESPN vice president, programming and acquisitions.
In 2009, same-day coverage of qualifying and finals airs on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD for all 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Viewership has grown in the past few years as a more consistent schedule has been developed, with finals coverage for 18 of the 24 events scheduled to air in evening viewing hours in 2009. ESPN2 is available in more than 97 million households.
“This partnership has allowed us to solidify one of the important pillars of our sport into the next decade,” said Tom Compton, president, NHRA. “During this relationship we’ve seen the NHRA Full Throttle Series showcased as one of the first properties in HD on ESPN2 and one of the flagship properties on the network. We appreciate the continued evolution our programming has enjoyed as it provides comprehensive coverage for devoted and casual fans and serves as a marketing tool for NHRA to reach a new audience of general sports enthusiasts.”
GAC Qatar agreed a deal with the Qatar Marine Sport Federation to sponsor its F1 powerboat racing team for the 2009 Championship. The deal will give high profile exposure to the GAC brand at races, with the logo displayed on all three power boats used by the Qatari team, as well as at the team’s base at the race. The sponsorship deal is a natural extension of GAC’s close working relationship with QMSF, as the company has handled the local logistics for the teams over the past five years.
“By sponsoring Qatar’s F1 Power Boat team, we have raised the stakes in the sporting arena in line with the GAC Group’s corporate brand awareness program,” said GAC Qatar’s General Michael Sturesson. ‘We believe that sports sponsorship is the ideal vehicle to reinforce our message globally.” This came from SportsBusiness.com.
Not so good is this item also from SportsBusiness.com. Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi will pull out of cross country rallying, including the Dakar Rally, as a cost-cutting measure caused by the global economic downturn.” The sudden deterioration of the global economy made it necessary for the company to focus its resources more tightly,” Mitsubishi said in a statement.
Mitsubishi has dominated the Dakar Rally in recent years, winning 12 times in 26 appearances, including record seven consecutive victories from 2001 to 2007. “It is extremely regrettable. I am sorry for our fans. We were a good team too,” added Mitsubishi Motors president Osamu Masuko. “Since 2004, we continued to participate in the rally even in difficult times by cutting costs. We gained much technologically during this time. It pains me to say we will no longer be able to participate.” Japanese carmakers have been cutting production and thousands of jobs as consumer demand plummets and the strong yen erodes overseas earnings.
Here’s some more bad news from across the pond. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced further cost-cutting initiatives that would decrease team spend by up to 75 per cent in two years. The FIA – Formula One’s governing body – has proposed that teams will compete in 2010 on less than a quarter of the amount some were spending last season. “Our target would be to get the cost (of competing) down to €50 million ($65.17 million) for everyone, including the manufacturer teams,” an FIA spokesman said.
A “Cost Containment Policy – White Paper” document was sent to teams in December containing extensive proposals that go well beyond what has already been agreed over the past few months. Some constructors such as Honda, who will not compete in the 2009 season, are estimated to have spent more than $300 million last season. The FIA and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) have already agreed a package of cost-cutting measures for 2009, including longer-lasting engines, limits on aerodynamic development and a ban on testing during the season.
From the Automotive Business Wire is this item. Will Castro, star of the hit Speed Channel series, Unique Whips, has been tapped to represent Paul Masson Brandy, in a wide ranging endorsement deal that will extend across all media. Castro will serve as Paul Masson’s primary brand spokesperson, and will be deeply involved in an upcoming promotion for the iconic spirit. In one of the first high profile executions of the national campaign, Paul Masson and Castro will be giving away a brand new 2009 Jeep Wrangler, customized by his famous shop, Unique Autosports.
Here’s an overall summary of the extensive gear head action on the tube at the beginning of the week and right up through the weekend. Starting Monday and Tuesday it’s NASCAR Now on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. and the Speed Report on Speed at 8 p.m. Wednesday the momentum ramps way up at Daytona Beach, FL with Speed airing Sprint Cup Practice at 11 a.m. followed by the NASCAR Truck Practice followed by Sprint Cup Practice and then Camping World Series Practice at 5 p.m.
Thursday has The Duce returning with a 9:30 a.m. airing of Nationwide Practice at 9:30 a.m. while Speed offers an 11 a.m. airing of the NASCAR Truck Final Practice. Speed/TSN will air the Gatorade Duels at 2 p.m. with ESPN2 offering NASCAR Now at 6 p.m. Speed comes back with the Truck Series Qualifying at 7 p.m.
On Friday Speed airs Cup Practice from Daytona at 1:30 p.m. while ESPN2/TSN have a 3 p.m. broadcast of Nationwide Qualifying. ESPN2 airs NASCAR Now at 6 p.m. while it’s the Camping World Series Truck race at 8 p.m. on Speed.
Saturday starts off at 10:30 a.m. with Cup Final Practice on Speed. At 1:15 p.m. ESPN2/TSN air the Nationwide Series 300 from Daytona. Speed offers the Speed Report at 7 p.m. Then the Chili Bowl Nationals from Tulsa, OK air on Speed at 8 p.m.
Sunday gets an early start on The Duce at 10 a.m. offering NASCAR Now while Speed airs Raceday from Daytona at 11 a.m. CBS goes with the AMA SuperX from San Diego at Noon. The Daytona 500 gets the green Flag at 2 p.m. on Fox/TSN while Speed offers the Speed Report at 7 p.m. (END)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.
