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On the Jeremy Mayfield situation, there was some insights given by a renowned motorsports attorney, who represents some of the nation’s top drivers, regarding Mayfield’s issues with NASCAR and NASCAR’s issues with him on Dave Despain’s Wind Tunnel program on Speed. The attorney predicted, “that there would be no winners in court on this issue.” And the legal procedures could take up to 18 months. Whatever the outcome Mayfield will still have a cloud over his reputation. The injunction against NASCAR, brought to court by Mayfield, resulted in the judge ruling for Mayfield that the drug presence could be a “false positive” reading. |
Mayfield claims that he takes the ADD-HD prescribed drug called Adderall and did so with a dose of the over the counter drug Claraton, for allergies, and that’s what caused the drug reading. Jeremy’s attorney also challenged the procedure of the NASCAR drug tests. Which if the test was positive, it should have been verified at a neutral testing facility and it wasn’t. So there are still lots of unanswered questions on both sides. As of late Monday, AutoRacingSport.com reported that NASCAR has asked that federal judge to reissue Mayfield’s suspension.
What a difference a week makes! Now it appears that NHMS in Loudon, NH could in fact get that IRL Indy Car event that they have wanted since SMI bought the track from Bob Bahre two years ago. According to Robin Miller on the Speed Report, Milwaukee Speedway is in deep financial trouble and has laid off the staff. And NHMS will probably replace that venue as an alternate stop for the Indy Car Series in 2010. Miller said, “The IRL schedule will be released on August 1 and NHMS could be on it. Miller also predicted that Tony George would be relieved of his duties as CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway a month ago. Then there were denials from the IMS front office. At the end of last week the official announcement of TG stepping down came from IMS. So Miller’s got the inside track here.
According to an item in Area Auto Racing News the NFL Superbowl will go the weekend of February 7, 2010, it also happens to be the same weekend for the ARCA 200, the Bud Shootout and Daytona 500 Qualifying. Ernie Saxton writes that as a result, those three events at Daytona could get lost in the media scuffle that weekend. We have always felt that one of these years the NFL season ending Super Bowl, which kept creeping into February over the years, could ultimately move up to the same weekend as the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s season opening Crown Jewel. If that ever happens would NASCAR change the date of the 500? Yes and probaly run the event Saturday night of that weekend under the lights. It would give the management of the ISC owned track the excuse to do it because there’s always been talk, around those ISC and NASCAR offices in Daytona of putting the Daytona 500 under the lights. That idea also been pushed by the TV networks to improve the ratings. However, up until now, the Daytona 500 has never really needed any help because that race has always had a major impact on the sporting public. Some of the fans that attend the race may not like the change to Saturday night. Because the Sunday afternoon race is a tradition. Planned correctly, though, the Daytona 500 and the Superbowl going off on the same weekend could be a win-win situation. It’s like the old saying “With adversity comes opportunity.”
TNT’s telecast that Sunday of the Sprint Cup Series’ Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway earned a 4.1 cable rating and 5.555 million viewers from 1:59-5:45pm ET, the Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday. The telecast marks the first Cup Series race this season to see both year-over-year ratings and viewership gains, up 2.5 percent and 1.1 percent from last year’s 4.0 cable rating and 5.495 million viewers. The race also was the ninth most-viewed telecast on all of cable for the week of June 22-28. For four Cup Series races to date, TNT is averaging a 4.0 cable rating and 5.502 million viewers, down 4.8 percent and 3.7 percent from a 4.2 rating and 5.715 million viewers last year. We still need to see what the next few races bring in for ratings because there needs to be more data to determine a new trend in order to determine if the ratings slump for Cup racing has bottomed out.
There were several reports that TNT race announcer Bill Weber got into some sort of confrontation at his Manchester, NH motel. It was enough for him to get suspended from that Sunday’s broadcast and he was replaced by Ralph Sheheen as the play-by-play announcer. Weber also missed the action at Daytona last weekend and it appears that he’s out for the entire TNT broadcast season.
The FIA’s top GT motor racing series will become a World Championship with a global race calendar from next year. The news follows an agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile and the promoter SRO. The series was granted world championship status at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council last week. SRO convinced the WMSC that it could provide a calendar of 12 events in 12 countries, spanning five continents. SRO is currently promoter of two FIA-sanctioned GT (Grand-Touring) championships – the FIA GT Championship – since 1997 – and the FIA GT3 European Championship – since 2006.
The new GT series will be the fourth major FIA World Championship, after World Rally, World Touring Car and Formula One. It will be the first World Championship aimed entirely at independent teams rather than manufacturers. This item came from SportsBusinessInternational.com.
On the F1 front the lack of attendance at some of those races has really put a hurt on the teams, the FIA, FOCA and the organizers. With ticket sales and sponsorship money getting harder to find, it should be a jolt of reality for those involved in that segment of motorsports world. However, the teams still haven’t got the message that costs have to be under control. The recent threat by the teams to form its own circuit resulted in those who wanted to put on the brakes on spending caved in. Obviously a rival circuit doesn’t work given what happened with CART and then the CCWS with both going out of business. Also the Hulman family is tired of supporting the IRL (according to estimates $500 million) at the expense of Indianapolis Motor Speedway All of that cost Tony George his job even though he’s still on the BOD of IMS. It now appears that there were no winners in the so-called Open Wheel Racing Split that lasted a dozen years.
From the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter is this interesting item. Juan Pablo Montoya, on NASCAR’s new doublewide restarts. “There is always somebody that wants to prove a point. Hopefully that guy is not around you.”
The NASCAR Nationwide Series races in prime time on Friday night as it makes its only appearance of the season at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. ESPN will have a live, high definition telecast of the race on Friday, July 10, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC. The race re-airs Saturday, July 11, at 2:30 a.m. on ESPN2 and again at 1 p.m. on ESPN Classic.
Also this weekend, live coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying airs Friday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2, while coverage of final practice airs Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by Wallace and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
Craven, Said, Blount on NASCAR Now Roundtable
ESPN NASCAR analysts Ricky Craven and Boris Said and ESPN.com reporter Terry Blount will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, July 13, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Nicole Manske hosts half-hour episode of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at 5 p.m. and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Manske also hosts the one-hour weekend edition that airs Saturday, July 11, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway. Said will join Manske on the set, while Mike Massaro and Marty Smith will report from the track.
NASCAR Now originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing from Denver on ESPN2
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series travels to Bandimere Speedway near Denver this weekend, and ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action on a same-day basis. Qualifying from the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals airs Saturday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET, with eliminations airing Sunday at 7 p.m. Finals coverage re-airs Monday, July 13, at 2 p.m. on ESPN Classic.
The second half of the season kicks off with the first of three consecutive weekends of racing and one of its greatest challenges. Teams travel high and deep into the Rocky Mountains to more than 5,800 feet, where the altitude affects everything from engine tune-ups to aerodynamics. Crews must make changes to established power-making combinations and battle lack of down force to tackle the environs. The event is testament to the skill and adaptability of the racers.
Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay on Sunday at 11 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
Other NHRA programming airing on ESPN Networks this week includes the 2003 Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals from Brainerd, Minn., airing Monday, July 13, at noon on ESPN Classic. Following at 1 p.m. is an hour of NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series action from Atlanta Dragway.
IndyCar Series Races at Toronto Live on ABC
After a one-year absence, one of North America’s famous racing venues returns to action this weekend as the Indy Car Series races in Toronto on the famed Exhibition Place street circuit. ABC will have live coverage of the event on Sunday, July 12, at 1 p.m. ET.
The CART/Champ Car Series raced at Toronto for 22 years, starting in 1986, before the event took a year off last year when open wheel racing unified.
Marty Reid will call the race for ESPN on ABC’s coverage with analysis by former Indy Car Series star Scott Goodyear. Reporting from the pits will be Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch.
Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League Action Airs Sunday on ESPN2
The Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, which features modified trucks, tractors and other vehicles, will be in action for more than two hours on Sunday, July 12, in five half-hour program beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
The programs will feature highlights from events held in Wheatland, Mo., and Henry, Ill. The American Tractor Pulling Association sanctions the league.
Let’s see what else is on TV this week through the weekend for the race crowd. It starts Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. with TSN offering the Canadian Superbike Championship from Marabel, QC at 1:30 p.m. Speed kicks in with the SCCA World Challenge Series from Mosport, Ont. at 2 p.m. Thursday has Speed airing Cup Practice from Chicago at 5 p.m. and Cup Qualifying at 8:30 p.m. from that same track with TSN2 also carrying that telecast. CNBC airs Inside Track On The Business of NASCAR at 9 p.m. Friday gets an 8 a.m. start on Speed with F1 Practice from Germany. At 3 p.m. TSN2 offers Nationwide Qualifying from Chicago. Speed comes back at 5 p.m. with Sprint Cup Practice from Chicago then Final Practice at 6:30 p.m. TSN2 airs Countdown from Chicago at 7:30 p.m. followed by the Nationwide race at 8 p.m.
Saturday gets an early start with F1 Qualifying from Germany at 7:30 p.m. TSN returns with an 11 a.m. edition of NASCAR Now while Speed offers NASCAR RaceDay at Chicago at 4:30 p.m. Both TNT/TSN air NASCAR on TNT at 6:30 p.m. At 8 p.m. it’s the same two channels offering the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Chicago with Speed airing the IHRA National from Dallas, TX at the same time. Sunday starts off at 7:30 a.m. with RDS airing the F1 GP of Germany with TSN kicking in with the same race at 8 a.m. Fox offers the F1 GP of Germany at 3 p.m., SDD. Speed airs the GP2 race from Germany at 5:30 p.m. The Speed Report goes at 7 p.m. on the Speed Channel followed by NASCAR Victory Lane and then 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.
