TV Times – Jr. On Track For Worst Points Finish of Career, Yet Fans Still Adore Him

Forbes Magazine ranks Jr. as the 10th highest paid athletic at $34 million. He’s still a force like none other in a field of cookie cutter drivers. He’s been voted NASCAR Most Popular Driver for six years. His souvenir sales account for 25 percent of NASCAR’s Super Store revenues. He’s still benefiting from his father’s legacy. His bad luck continued in the closing laps of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire in which he got punted out by an errant driver while running in a solid fifth place last Sunday.

Team orders have surfaced in the NHRA which resulted in an allegation that John Force deliberately brushed the fence at a recent event to allow his teammate to win. He then had a tussle with Cruz Pedregon over the issue and was fined. Then there’s the scandal that the Renault team may have fixed the outcome of the Singapore GP last year. The team principal will be going before the FIA as you read this. There are also allegations that team members have given away the lead so that those high in point standings can pick up bonus points. In NASCAR drivers allow team mates higher in the point standings to take over the lead and pick up bonus points. All this isn’t anything new in motor racing and is very difficult to stop it all because there’s big money sponsors in the sport and the pressure is really on the teams to keep their financial backers happy.

ESPN on ABC’s telecast of that Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway earned a final national household rating of 3.5, averaging 5,535,209 viewers while airing at the same time as a record-setting college football telecast on ESPN. The rating was up from the 3.0 rating for last year’s rain-delayed race that aired on ESPN. Last year’s Richmond race aired on ESPN after being rained out on Saturday night and run on Sunday afternoon. The race aired on ABC in 2007 and earned a 4.2 rating. ESPN2′s live telecast of Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.3, up from the 1.0 rating earned last year when the race was run on Sunday after having been rained out on Friday night. The race earned a 1.4 rating in 2007 when it was run and telecast as scheduled. Friday night’s telecast averaged 1,669,692 viewers. These two items came from the Jayski.com webpage and ESPN.

Santander, the Spanish banking company, unveiled a five-year sponsorship deal, running from 2010 to 2014, with Italian Formula One team Ferrari at Monza during the recent Italian Grand Prix. President Emilio Botin cited that the increased visibility on Ferrari cars, and tapping into markets where the Ferrari brand is particularly popular such as Brazil and Germany, as the motivation for the new deal. Santander’s current sponsorship of rival constructors McLaren generates a predicted €5 for every €1 invested. Under the terms of the agreement Santander’s logos will appear on Ferrari cars, driver overalls and team member apparel. It will also continue as title sponsor of the Formula One grands prix in Italy, Britain and Germany.

“I dare say that Santander is in banking what Ferrari is in Formula One – an irreplaceable pillar and a symbol of tradition, success and strength. Formula One has turned red hot,” said Botin. Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo added the two parties are beginning a “very important and long-term co-operation” and that both companies share common values, such as “striving for excellence, a passion for competition, and an international approach.” Santander has 90 million customers and over 14,000 offices worldwide. It is the first time a financial institution will brand a Ferrari car in the Italian constructor’s 80-year history. This came from SportsBusinessInternational.

Also, here’s another item from that same source. Spanish bank Santander has extended its sponsorship of Formula One constructor McLaren after announcing on Thursday a five-year deal with rival team Ferrari. McLaren said in a statement yesterday that Santander has seen its brand awareness in Britain rise from 20 per cent to 82 per cent since the start of the three-year deal which saw British driver Lewis Hamilton win the World Championship in 2008. Santander first joined McLaren back in 2007 in a deal coinciding with the team’s signing of Spanish driver Fernando Alonso. “We are extremely pleased to have extended our hugely successful global Partnership with Santander. As one of the world’s leading banks with a significant presence in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and the United States and other countries, Santander is a great ‘fit’ with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and our triumphs on the global stage of Formula 1,” said McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh.

“We are very proud of our relationship with Santander and to be part of their ever-expanding Formula 1 involvement. We welcome, and wish them well with, their other activities – including, but not limited to, the aforementioned race sponsorships.” No financial terms were given although the statement referred to branding on the drivers’ overalls.

This is another one from SportsBusinessInternational. Qadbak Investments, a Swiss-based foundation representing unnamed Middle Eastern interests, has bought Formula One team BMW-Sauber. BMW had been looking for a buyer for the team since it announced it was pulling out of the sport at the end of the current season but expects it to compete next season despite losing a guaranteed slot.

Formula One’s governing body the International Automobile Federation (FIA) gave BMW-Sauber “14th place” on the grid next year – meaning it is the first reserve to fill any vacancy – after it awarded the place to Malaysian-backed Lotus F1. “We are pleased to confirm that the FIA has indicated that we may have a place in the 2010 Formula One World Championship,” a BMW-Sauber spokesman said. “The team expects to line up on the grid for the first race of the 2010 season.” Qadbak’s interest in the BMW-Sauber team will be represented by Swiss national Lionel Fischer. Qadbak also bought English Football League 2 side Notts County FC in July through its Munto Finance company.

The Coronado Speed Festival and Historic Motor Sports Association are proud to announce that over 30 of the most famous Vintage stock cars will compete at the Coronado Speed Festival in Group 9.

The cars racing over the course of this weekend, September 26-27, are genuine retired stock cars from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing circuit, which were raced by famous drivers. At this year’s event, we have over 30 of these vintage cars competing on an active runway at Naval Base Coronado, some of more notable cars racing are:

· DALE EARNHART’S #3, GM GOODRICH 1995 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: To be raced by Gary Sousa
· JEFF GORDON’S #24, 1993 CHEVROLET LUMINA: To be raced by Steve Schoellhorn
· BILL ELLIOTT’S #9, 2002 DODGE INTREPID: To be raced by Jim Philion
· Bill Elliott’s #94, McDonald’s 1994 Ford Thunderbird: To be raced by Steve Barber
· Jimmy Spencer’s #12, Meineke 1993 Ford Thunderbird: To be raced by David Goodell
· Bobby Labonte’s #18, 1999 Interstate Battery Pontiac Grand Prix: To be raced by Russ Romer

These drivers will suit up to bring fans a high-powered show, demonstrating skillful mastery of both speed and movement. Practice for race 9 will take place on Saturday at 11:25 a.m. – 11:45 a.m., qualifying is scheduled for 4:40 p.m., practice again at 11:10 a.m. on Sunday and the big event, the final race, will take place at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday.

UK-based Formula One team Brawn GP has announced a new partnership with photographic and digital imaging company Canon Singapore for the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday 27 September.The Singapore event, which hosted Formula One’s first night race in 2008, will see the Canon branding on the sidepods of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn-Mercedes. “We are very pleased to confirm our partnership with Canon Singapore for the Singapore Grand Prix and look forward to working closely together over the next two weeks,” said Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn. “Formula One’s inaugural night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit was a huge success and the floodlights provided a wonderful spectacle against the backdrop of the Singapore skyline, a perfect combination for Canon to showcase their photographic and digital imaging technology.”

Melvyn Ho, vice president of consumer imaging at Canon Singapore added: “The Singapore Grand Prix is one of the most visually distinctive races in the world and, as the leader in digital imaging, the race weekend is the perfect showcase for Canon. We are extremely proud to be working with the current World Championship leaders Brawn GP and respect the skill, vision and engineering excellence that have made Ross Brawn and his team so successful this season.” Brawn also agreed a one-race partnership with brewing company Cervejaria Petrópolis for the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix on 18 October. The Brazilian-based Itaipava brand will feature on the nose and sidepods of the Brawn GP cars throughout the Grand Prix weekend alongside branding on the helmets of Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello and team-mate Jenson Button.

Malaysia’s participation in the Lotus F1 team is commercially viable as it will generate benefits for all parties involved, according to Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, an investor in the 1Malaysia F1 Team.The 1Malaysia F1 Team is running Team Lotus F1, which was accepted as the 13th and final entry on the grid last week, joining other newcomers Campos, Manor, US F1 from the 2010 season. Kamarudin, who is deputy chief executive officer of AirAsia, is investing in 1Malaysia alongside Datuk Tony Fernandes and S.M. Nasaruddin S.M. Nasimuddin. “It’s a win-win (situation) for everyone as the branding will create excitement for Malaysia and its infrastructure like the Sepang F1 Circuit while as investors, we would be able to derive income from the merchandise,” Kamarudin told StarBiz in a telephone interview yesterday. “This is a smart partnership between the GLCs (government-linked companies) and entrepreneurs in the true form of one Malaysia.”

Kamarudin added that an initial amount of £10 million had been invested for the development of the Lotus F1 vehicle, as the car had to be approved by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for next year’s race.

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup continues this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for 400 miles on Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Monster Mile, Dover (Del.) International Speedway. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the race will air on ABC and is presented by Burger King. The telecast begins with NASCAR Countdown at 1 p.m. ET and the race’s green flag is at 2:15 p.m.

ESPN’s coverage of the final 11 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will air on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. ESPN’s coverage from Dover includes NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Sept. 25, at 3 p.m. on ESPN2, and a same-day telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup final practice on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, 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 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Sept. 25, at 3 p.m. ET, with the green flag at 3:45 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.

Also on Saturday, coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying airs at 10:30 a.m., while coverage of final practice airs Friday, Sept. 25, at 1:30 p.m., both on ESPN2.

Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, 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 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham, Randy LaJoie and Ricky Craven will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.

Mike Massaro hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 5 p.m. and Friday at 4:30 p.m. following ESPN2’s coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Dover International Speedway.

Massaro will be joined by LaJoie for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Sept. 27, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Nicole Manske and Angelique Chengelis will report from Dover for both programs. .

NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and 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.

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues its Countdown to 1 playoffs as the series visits Texas Motorplex near Dallas for the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals this weekend. ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action, with qualifying airing Sunday, Sept. 27, at 12:15 a.m. ET, and again at 11:30 a.m. Eliminations action airs at 7 p.m., with a re-air Monday, Sept. 28, at 5 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Texas Motorplex is one of three all-concrete dragstrips on the schedule, which provide optimum traction and allow crew chiefs the opportunity to achieve national record performances. The event, which is the second chance for Countdown teams to earn points, takes place on the second of four consecutive race weekends in this crucial segment of the home stretch.

Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould, Dave Rieff and John Kernan 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 highlights from the 2004 O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kansas, airing Monday, Sept. 28, at 3 p.m. on ESPN Classic. In addition, action from the recent Lucas Oil Sportsman Series event at Concord, N.C., airs Sunday, Sept. 27, at 11 p.m. on ESPN2.

From the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter comes this insight. Yes, He Really Said That- Ron Capps, on reply he got to a text message he sent to crew chief Ed (Ace) McCulloch when NHRA added qualifying-round points. “He sent me some words I can’t repeat right now.”

Let’s see what else is on the airwaves for motorsports this weekend courtesy of RaceFanTV.com. It all gets going on Thursday at 3 p.m. with Speed offering the NASCAR Camping World East race from Louon, NH at 3 p.m. Friday’s offerings have Speed broadcasting F1 practice from Singapore at 9:30 a.m. and then NASCAR Cup Practice at 11 a.m. from Dover.

Saturday starts off at 10 a.m. with Speed broadcasting F1 Qualifying from Singapore then the ALMS race from Road Atlanta at 11 a.m. Speed returns at 10 p.m. with the Camping World Series NASCAR Trucks from Vegas. Sunday has an early start at 6 a.m. for the GP2 Series from Singapore followed by the F1 race from that same venue at 7:30 a.m. At 5 p.m. Speed offers Superbike #1 racing from Imola, Italy followed by the #2 race. At 7 p.m. it’s the Speed Report on Speed, Victory Lane followed by Wind Tunnel at 10 p.m. (END)

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