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Even though Cup newcomer Middletown, CT driver Joey Logano won the rain shortened Lenox Tool 301 Sprint Cup race at NHMS in Loudon, NH, it still may not silent his critics that he’s “too green” to be racing in the top tier NASCAR series. It’s because he hasn’t won a race that has gone the full distance so far. |
Also, the same weekend Logano ended Saturday with a second place behind Kyle Busch in the Nationwide race. We’ve heard that a color analyst on one of Speed’s NASCAR buffet programs said that he didn’t belong in the Sprint Cup Series. When Joey was in his recent slump, some print media predicted that he would be dropped by Joe Gibbs Racing. Granted, Joey had big shoes to fill when Tony Stewart left JGR for another deal at the end of last season. Never-the-less Logano has withstood the pressure of the media along with his peers, so far, in spite of the fact that he’s one of the youngest drivers in the series. Not to mention that the headlines in the Monday editions blared that he was one of the youngest drivers ever to win a Sprint Cup race.
From AutoRacingSport.com comes this revelation.
Carl LongCarl Long is still considerably upset at NASCAR for his suspension and $200,000 fine for an oversized engine, but he’s talking with various sponsors about paying his penalty and resuming his part-time driving career. “I’m looking for one corporate sponsor to sponsor my car at Bristol,” Long said Monday in a telephone interview. “I know I can make the race. I have a ton of experience there.”
TNT’s Sprint Cup race from Michigan averaged a 3.3/9 (5.118 mill.) that Sunday. That’s flat with last year’s rating (3.3/9) and up very slightly on average audience (+1 percent vs. 5.084 million). This is the first NASCAR race of this season to be flat on rating and also the first to post any increase on viewership. Through two races TNT is averaging a 3.3/9, down -11 percent from last year’s 3.7/9. TNT viewership is down -6 percent (5.327 mill. vs. 5.671). This report came from the jayski.com web page.
TNT’s coverage of that Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway earned a 4.0 cable rating, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is 7.0 percent lower than the 4.3 cable rating TNT earned for the 2008 race. This year’s race averaged 5.788 million viewers, down 3.8 percent from last year’s 6.015 million viewers. For its first three Sprint Cup races this season, TNT is averaging a 3.9 cable rating and 5.483 million viewers, down 9.3 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, from the 4.3 rating and 5.780 million viewers last year, the Daily reports.
While not making any spectacular gains at Michigan on viewership, at least it didn’t go down and went up slightly. Then the road course race at Sonoma was down slightly. We’ll have to see some additional data before it can be determined that the NASCAR TV ratings have bottomed out and what the future trend will be. Such as getting better, worse or just staying the same. Also, determine if the double file restarts have had an impact on the TV ratings? Maybe they have but, again, there needs to be additional data. Also, the future is cloudy with Dodge and GM cutting back with some teams moving towards Toyota because they need the financial support to keep going. While Toyota keeps grabbing market share, the Dodge and Chevy loyalists, who watch NASCAR racing, want to see those marques on the track. Even though the COT has taken a lot of the association away because the all the cars look alike except for the decals and the logos. There is so much turbulence in NASCAR combined with the economy in a state of flux; it’s hard for teams to make decisions because the long-term data is not clear. However, if and when the economy picks up some will be slow to make strategic moves while others will do it quicker. It would really help to have a crystal ball. Otherwise it’s a crapshoot.
NASCAR announced that the inaugural NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tour event at Bristol Motor Speedway would be broadcast on SPEED. The UNOH Perfect Storm at Bristol, a 150-lap combination race between the two NASCAR Modified divisions, will mark the first appearance for both the Whelen and Whelen Southern Modified Tours at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” in Bristol, Tenn. The UNOH Perfect Storm at Bristol is set to go green at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18 and SPEED will broadcast the event on a 45-minute tape-delay beginning at 7 p.m.
“With a heritage as NASCAR’s oldest division, the Modifieds have long had some of the most passionate fans in the sport, and we are excited to provide the loyal fan base with an opportunity to follow all of the action,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR managing director of racing operations. “We appreciate the support of Whelen Engineering, the University of Northwestern Ohio and SPEED in helping to bring the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours to a national television audience. Also announced was the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s New Hampshire 100, which will be contested on Saturday, September 19 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, will be broadcast by SPEED on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. New Hampshire has been a staple on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s schedule since the facility opened in 1990. The September date will mark the 50th all-time race at New Hampshire for the Tour, which is in its 25th season of competition.
With that said here’s a related item. According to Ernie Saxton in his MY TWO CENTS Worth column in Area News of NJ, CNBC, one of the financial channels, is going to give “Inside Track: Refueling The Business of NASCAR” lots of airtime on July 9 at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. The re-air dates are Sunday, July 12 at 10 p.m. and then Monday, July 13. CNBC Business Reporter Darren Rovell will go behind the scenes of the sports business juggernaut, which drew record number of fans before hitting a plateau in the past two years. Prior to that NASCAR had spectacular growth for a decade. Also on the agenda are behind the scene looks at sponsors who use NASCAR to sell their goods and services. Plus a one-on-one interview with NASCAR’s head man Brian France and some of the sports biggest fans. Plus, interviews with American sponsors who backed the sport for 50 years. It’s interesting that this program is airing on NBC, which is pretty much out of NASCAR these days. While political biased on the news side, the Peacock network’s financial segment is pretty objective and we’ll be very interested on where CNBC feels that NASCAR is heading in the future.
NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves are among the world-class athletes nominated for The 2009 ESPYs. The ESPYs gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances.
Fans will determine the winner in 37 categories (excluding special awards) by voting online at or via mobile phone at . Voting begins today and runs through 11:59 p.m. ET on July 11, and The 2009 ESPYs, hosted by Samuel L. Jackson and co-presented by Under Armour and Land Rover, will be televised Sunday, July 19, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD. A one-hour nomination show will be televised Friday, June 26, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Johnson, who tied a NASCAR record by winning his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in 2008, is nominated in the “Best Male Athlete” category along with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Castroneves’ win in the 2009 Indianapolis 500, which came when he returned to the Indy Car Series after being found innocent of tax-evasion charges, is nominated in the “Best Moment” category. Also nominated are the thrilling victory by the U.S. swim team in the Olympic relay and University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s emotional speech in a press conference following the team’s only loss during the 2008 season.
Johnson and Castroneves also are among five nominees in the “Best Driver” category, along with Indy Car Series champion Scott Dixon, NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
The ESPYs honor ESPN’s commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a partnership launched with the late Jim Valvano at the inaugural ESPYs in 1993. For the second time in several years, a limited amount of ESPYs tickets are available for public purchase through . The 2009 ESPYs will be taped Wednesday, July 15, at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.
For the third straight year, U.S. Army Top Fuel driver, Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, has been nominated for the ESPY Best Driver Award. The ESPY Awards, which are distributed for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly, was created by ESPN in 1993. Beginning today through July 11 at 11:59 p.m., fans can vote for Schumacher online at www.espys.tv. The awards show will be televised by ESPN on Sunday, July 19, at 9 p.m. ET.
According to Robin Miller of the Speed Channel the best racing for the IRL Indy Cars are the one-mile tracks like Milwaukee and Richmond Intl. Raceway. And Miller thinks that there should be more of them on the paved one-mile tracks, which bodes well for the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. The management of NHMS hopes to secure such an event for the 2010 season. Back in the 90’s that track had an annual Indy Car event until the attendance waned due to the split between two factions, which comprised the IRL and CART. With unification between the two open wheel factions in 2008, it would make sense that the IRL and NHMS agree to an Indy Car event next year.
However, at NHMS last weekend we heard from a good source that an IRL Indy Car race for that venue in 2010 may not happen. Because the top man, Brian Barnhart, in the IRL feels that an event at that venue won’t work because it didn’t some years back. However, we don’t agree because of the unification factor. Also, a way to get interest to build in that series would be to have an under card of USAC Silver Crown, USAC Sprint Cars, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and a combined Super Modified field of the ISMA and Western Super Modifieds. All that would make it a fantastic open wheel weekend. Instead of something like this at NHMS, we heard that the IRL is going to have an event in Brazil. Fans in the northeast are very partial to open wheel racing and a racing menu that we mentioned would probably work. Also, the Indy Cars racing on one-mile tracks like NHMS, Phoenix, Richmond and the new Iowa track are fantastic events. However, some fans feel that 200 milers are too short and they should be 250 laps or miles, which would get the open wheel fans in the northeast, southeast and the mid-west, excited.
The San Diego Fleet Week Foundation has awarded race production for the prestigious Coronado Speed Festival to Historic Motor Sports Association (‘HMSA’). The 12th annual event is scheduled for September 26 and 27, 2009.
The event will be held on Naval Air Station North Island, in Coronado, a small, picturesque community of San Diego. This Fleet Week San Diego event is one-of-a-kind, and the only race car and military tribute event in the United States. The Speed Festival will feature some of the greatest vintage race categories. More details on these categories to be released soon.
“We have a vision. The vision is to move the Coronado Speed Festival to a higher and elevated state, to increase awareness of the event, but more significantly, to pay tribute to our nation and our community’s military, and their families,” Jim Philion, Founder of the Coronado Speed Festival, emphatically stated. “The San Diego Fleet Week Foundation will rely on this world-class partnership to provide strategy and execution excellence to help us achieve our mission.”
At the end of each racing season, the best amateur racers in the country are honored at the AMA Racing Champions Banquet. This Dec. 4, these standout members of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) will receive the well-earned respect of their peers, family, friends and fans at one of the event’s coolest locations ever, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.
Held on the eve of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2009 Induction Ceremony, also scheduled for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the event will provide a special opportunity for racers and fans to not only celebrate the accomplishments of racing’s present, but witness the elevation of individuals from all of motor cycling’s past.
Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America announced today that National Speed Sport News will sponsor the Most Popular Driver Award in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2009. Voting for the fan-based award takes place exclusively on ARCA’s social networking website.
The Boston Herald reports that Formula One has prevented a breakup when the FIA’s divisive and scandal-plagued president, Max Mosley, agreed to scrap a planned budget cap and will step down at the end of his term.
And this one came from SportsBusiness International. Formula One could sign a new commercial deal to make races more entertaining, team bosses said. Renault boss Flavio Briatore, in charge of ’spicing up’ the sport, is believed to be close to a deal with Formula One’s commercial rights holder CVC, represented by Bernie Ecclestone. An agreement was made on Wednesday after the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) threatened a breakaway series in a long-running row with Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) president Max Mosley.
“Flavio will be busy working with the commercial rights holder to improve the show of the sport, we hope we can find agreement with CVC in the coming days,” Ferrari president and FOTA head Luca di Montezemolo told a news conference. Briatore added: “What we want is a Formula One and in the end we achieved that. We want to work for a better show, better entertainment.” Briatore also hinted that FOTA will push for a return to some of Formula One’s more traditional tracks that have been dropped in recent years in favor of circuits in developing markets, as the FIA looks for more lucrative venues.
“Even if the likes of Turkey are paying more money, we would rather have stadia that are full. It is better for the spirit of the sport. We want stands full of fans. There is no point spending all that money on an empty cathedral,” he said. So now it appears that the slowdown in the global economy has impacted F1 as it has already done to NASCAR and other racing sanctions. According to late reports, Mosley was backpedaling. However, the feeling in F1 is that the latest deal is going to fly.
From the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter comes this gem. Jimmie Johnson, if he expected Tony Stewart’s success as an owner-driver. “No, when the season started, I thought we needed to check Tony into a mental hospital and ask him why he was trying to be a car owner.”
Let’s see what the TV has to offer race fans from early in the week right through the weekend. On Monday ESPN2 offers NASCAR Now at 8 p.m. On Tuesday Speed airs the FIM World Superbike race from Italy followed by the event held in the UK. ESPN2 offers NASCAR Now at 5 p.m. ditto for Wednesday. On Thursday Speed broadcasts the Camping World Series race from Sonoma, CA at 3 p.m. followed by Sprint Cup Practice from Daytona at 4 p.m. At 5 p.m. The Duce airs NASCAR Now. Stick with that network as the Nationwide Final Practice from Daytona goes at 5:30 p.m. Speed returns at 6:30 p.m. with Sprint Cup Final Practice from Daytona. Speed airs the NASCAR HOF coverage, which will open in 2010.
On Friday it all gets going at 1 p.m. with ESPN2/TSN2 both air Nationwide Qualifying from Daytona at 1 p.m. Speed offers Inside The Headset at 2:30 p.m. At 4 p.m. Speed and TSN2 both air Cup Qualifying from Daytona. ESPN2 airs NASCAR Now at 7:30 p.m. then at 8 p.m. ESPN/TSN2 each air the Nationwide Series race from The Big D.
Saturday gets things going at 10 a.m. with NASCAR Now on The Duce. Speed kicks in at 2 p.m. with the Grand-AM race from Daytona. NBC comes on the scene at 3:30 p.m. with the AMA Pro MotoX from Buchanan, MI. Speed returns at 4:30 p.m. airs NASCAR RaceDay. At 6:30 p.m. it’s NASCAR TNT Live then at 7 p.m. Speed offers IHRA Nitro Jam from Rockingham, NC. TNT will air the Cup race from Daytona at 8 p.m. along with TSN2. Speed comes back with the FIM MotoGP from Laguna Seca at 10 p.m.
Here’s what’s happening on Sunday at 1 p.m. ABC/TSN airs the Indy Car race from the Glen in upstate NY. Speed offers the WoO race from Dodge City, KS at 2 p.m. while Fox has a 5 p.m. offering of the FIM MotoGP race from Laguna Seca, CA. At the same time Speed broadcasts the AMA Pro MotoX from Mt. Morris, PA followed by the event held at Lakewood, OH. The Speed Report will wrap up the busy weekend at 7 p.m. on the Speed Channel followed by NASCAR Victory Lane from Daytona and finally Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain at 9 p.m. (END)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.
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