Fox’s broadcast of that Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 Nextel Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway earned a 4.7 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research and a 10 share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reported.

The March 2006 Atlanta race was rained out on Sunday and carried on the FX cable station on a Monday, so comparison figures aren’t available, according SceneDaily.com. In 2005 the overnight ratings were 4.9/11 with a final of 5.5/13, in 2004 the overnight was 5.3. Then the final ratings for Atlanta reflected a 5.2 Nielsen Media Research Rating and a 12 market share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reported on the jayski.com webpage. So it appears that this year’s Atlanta Spring go was very close to the previous high.

For the second straight season, the Stafford(CT) Motor Speedway’s award winning television series, NASCAR New England will air on New England’s most watched sports network, NESN. The one hour recap of Stafford’s Whelen All American Series racing will start its 2007 run on Saturday, June 2nd, and will run for 15 straight Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time. The 2007 edition includes several major changes.

Rick Fuller, NASCAR’s 1993 National Modified Champion, joins the program as a race analyst. Tied for 5fifth on Stafford’s Modified Tour career win list, Fuller joins Ben Dodge and Matt Buckler for the play-by-play while Randy LaJoie, a 2-time Busch Series Champion and a former SK Modified racer at Stafford, will host a special series of safety tips in each episode. Veteran announcer Tony Sutton also joins the show full time, covering the action from the pits and contributing track facts and driver features.

“The additions of Rick and Randy to the show reinforce NASCAR’s marketing campaign that establishes tracks like Stafford as ‘The Soul of NASCAR’,” said Track President and ABC/ESPN sportscaster Jack Arute. “Both of these guys went from Safford to national stardom. Their insight and analysis will give viewers a perspective normally reserved for national telecasts.” Arute will also lend his national signature to the shows as the series host. The award winning broadcaster has been part of ABC’s and ESPN’s racing and college football coverage since 1984 and prior to that served as the executive Producer and co-host of Motor Racing Network’s NASCAR radio broadcasts.

“Stafford Speedway’s NASCAR New England Series provides Stafford’s race teams with something not available at any other track,” says Arute. “That’s weekly television coverage. The only other NASCAR divisions with this level of TV coverage is Craftsman Trucks, Busch Series and the Nextel Cup. ” This year’s package will be co-produced by SMS Images & Teleproductions and TAG TV LLC. SMS Images has been the primary producer since the series started. TAG TV produced USAC Thunder in 2006 for The Outdoor Channel. “We are pleased to have TAG TV on board this year,” said Track CEO Mark Arute. “Their production facilities provide us with the opportunity to be more creative and will allow us to increase the show’s focus on personalities and story telling.”

Milka Duno, the first woman in history to win a major international sportscar race in North America, and CITGO Racing, announced at Homestead-Miami Speedway that they will compete in the 2007 IndyCar Series with SAMAX Motorsport. Duno will drive the No. 23 CITGO Racing/SAMAX Motorsport Dallara/Honda/Firestone in ten IndyCar Series events this season, including the 91st Indianapolis 500. She also plans to compete at Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Watkins Glen, Nashville, Mid Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Chicago.

Duno joined Felix Rodriguez, president and CEO of CITGO Petroleum Corp., Peter Baron, team principal of SAMAX Motorsport, and Tony George, founder and CEO of the Indy Racing League, in announcing the sponsor and team plans to field an entry in the 2007 IndyCar Series season.

Although the team is new to the series, SAMAX Motorsport’s IndyCar crew members are an experienced group with most having been part of an Indianapolis 500 win. Veteran campaigners Steve Challis and John Cummiskey have been named as lead engineer and team manager, respectively. Cummiskey has three Indy 500 wins next to his name and shared a second place with Challis in 2002. The team will be based out of Gasoline Alley and members will be comprised of a mix of Indy specialists and a few familiar faces from Duno’s Grand-Am team.

Yes, He REALLY Said That -Dale Jarrett, on the struggles of Toyota and Michael Waltrip Racing. “It’s not a lot of fun for anybody whenever you’re running the way that we are. But if we’re realistic, we need to understand that it is going to take time, and if we can continue to work together, it will pay dividends down the road. That’s what we have to believe in right now.” The pressure has to be intense on Michael Waltrip due to the poor performance by his Toyota team. That quote came from the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter.

Let’s see what’s shakin for gearhead action this weekend on the tube. It all gets underway on Friday at 10:30 a.m. with Cup Practice from Martinsville, Va on Speed. Speed also airs the Craftsman Truck Practice from Martinsville at 1 p.m. while Cup Qualifying airs at 3:30 p.m. on that same cable outlet. Saturday’s offerings include NASCAR Cup Final Practice from Martinsville at 10 a.m. on Speed. The NASCAR CTS race from that same track goes on Speed at 3 p.m. ESPN2 kicks in with Same Day Delay coverage of NHRA Qualifying from Houston, TX. Speed returns with the ALMS go from the streets of St. Petersburg, FL at 8 p.m. Sunday goes like this with the Cup race from Martinsville airing on Fox at 1:30 p.m. At 2:30 it’s the IRL Indy Car street racing from St. Pete on ESPN. At 3 p.m. the FIM Superbikes and support races air on Speed Same Day Delay. ESPN2 has the NHRA Eliminations from Houston at 4 p.m., also Same Day Delay, with Speed coming back at 6 p.m. with the AMA SuperX race from Irving, TX. All that action insures that there’s something for motorheads of every persuasion this weekend.(end)

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