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Former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield is selling items worth about $5 million on the auction block next month [November 20th] as part of a favorite hobby of the N.C. resident. During the past year, the former driver has faced a swarm of controversy, including alleged drug abuse and a suspension from NASCAR. But the auction isn’t because Mayfield is on hard times. He says his auction is an annual tradition on the farm. |
“I think this is going to be huge because we’ve got so much different stuff,” said Mayfield. “Got some land involved in it, heavy equipment, tools& it should be fun. It’s all I do all the time is try to find the nearest auction around, just trying to get a deal and just trying to outbid somebody. It’s kind of competitive and sometimes I’ve ended up with stuff I didn’t want just cause I got excited and started to bid against somebody.” The auction includes 475 acres of land, a home under renovation, jewelry, guns and cars from Mayfield’s personal collection. “He has a good fan base and I believe the fans will come out and support him during auction,” said Will Lilly of Iron Horse Auction Co. This report came from News14.com and StockCarGazette.com.
The metered market sports overnights for this weeks Martinsville Speedway Sprint Cup Series Race is lower then in 2008. The Tums Fast Relief 500 earned a 2.5 overnight rating with a 5 share. In 2008 on Oct 19th the overnight rating was 2.9 with a 6 share. The final TV Ratings was 3.3/7. This report came from jayski.com and StockCarGazette.com.
ESPN says ABC’s broadcast of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway earned a final national household rating of 2.9, down from the 3.3 rating for last year’s race that also aired on ABC. The telecast averaged 4.702 million viewers and showed a 12 percent decrease over last season’s race. ESPN2’s coverage of Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Kroger on Track for the Cure 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park earned a final national household coverage rating of 0.9, averaging 1.161 million viewers. No direct comparisons can be made to the 2008 race as the event was simulcast on both ESPN Classic and Speed. This also came from StockCarGazette.com.
ESPN2’s live coverage of that Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park earned a final household coverage rating of 0.9, averaging 1,161,156 viewers. No direct comparisons can be made to the 2008 race as the event was simulcast on both ESPN Classic and SPEED. This came from ESPN PR. We also saw a report that the Dover Corp, the parent company of Memphis Motorsports Park, closed the venue following the event which will impact the NASCAR schedule in 2010!
A recent conversation with Dick Berggren revealed that he’ll return to the Fox Sports Network and some visibilities on the Speed cable channel. When we asked about the contract’s length he said,” I can’t discuss it.” Another source told us that it’s probably for two years. Berggren did a live update for the Speed Channel’s Wind Tunnel program following the completion of the final and recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at the Thompson (CT) Speedway.
According to the folks who cover NASCAR racing, Jimmy Johnson will probaly win his fourth consecutive NASCAR Chase To The Nextel Cup following his finish, and avoiding the carnage, at the wreck marred Cup race at the Talladega Super Speedway in AL last Sunday. So if it’s a foregone conclusion that JJ is going to win, how is all that going to impact the NASCAR TV ratings and selling tickets? It will probably cause both to downslide even more.
According to Kenny Bruce of NASCAR Scene, today’s NASCAR fans pay little attention to manufacturer loyalty in a story published in late September. We agree with Bruce and that seems to repudiate the Race Them On Sunday And Sell Them on Monday marketing approach. So it’s no surprise that Dodge, Ford and Chevy are cutting way back on their NASCAR support, not to mention that the sale of those cars are not very good. Also, the COT, which doesn’t resemble the cars on the track every weekend, is another big problem. We think that this is another factor in the downturn of ticket sales, TV ratings and overall fan interest.
Tire-manufacturer Bridgestone said it is quitting Formula One as exclusive tire-supplier at the end of the 2010 season. The Japanese company said it was “addressing the impact of the continuing evolution of the business environment.” Bridgestone posted a net loss of 38.34 billion yen ($420 million) for 1H2009, having made a profit of 37.24 billion yen the year previous. “Bridgestone announced that it will not enter into a new tire supply contract with the FIA Formula One World Championship series,” said an official statement. “Over the years, the company has benefited directly from its involvement in Formula One racing. The lessons learned through Bridgestone’s successful participation have translated into innovations that can be applied to the design and manufacture of tires. In addition, its collaboration with F1 has contributed to increased brand awareness and the recognition of Bridgestone as a leader in the global tire industry. Having achieved these goals, Bridgestone is now poised to take its technological and brand building efforts to the next level.” Our opinion is that due to the global recession, Bridgestone had to cut somewhere and world wide racing couldn’t be justified. Bridgestone has supplied tires to Formula One for 13 years and has been the exclusive supplier since 2007. French rival Michelin pulled out in 2006 and US maker Goodyear left in 1998. All this begs the question will Michelin and or Goodyear return to F1?
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is down to three races to go and this weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for 500 miles on Sunday, Nov. 8. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Dickies 500 airs on ABC beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 3:30 p.m.
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 Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Nov. 7, at noon ET, with the green flag at 1:01 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.
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, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham, Ricky Craven and Boris Said will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Nov. 9, 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 Saturday at 12:30 a.m. (late Friday night). Massaro will be joined by Said for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Nov. 8, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Nicole Manske and Marty Smith will report from the speedway 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.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be featured in episodes of the ESPN signature series SportsCentury airing this week on ESPN Classic. The episode featuring Earnhardt airs Thursday, Nov. 5, at 11 a.m. ET, while the Petty program airs Sunday, Nov. 8, at 8 a.m.
The NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series will be in action from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as ESPN2 televises highlights on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. ET. The Sportsman Series is the developmental series for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Also this week, ESPN Classic will air highlights from the 2004 Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 9, at noon.
Action from the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL returns to ABC on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1:30 p.m. ET with an event in Las Vegas. The premier short-course racing series with the top stars in off-road racing, this exciting form of door-to-door action is appearing on both ESPN2 and ABC this season.
The Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, which features modified trucks, tractors and other vehicles, will be in action on Sunday, Nov. 8, in a half-hour program beginning at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The programs will feature highlights from an event held in Hamburg, N.Y. The league is sanctioned by the American Tractor Pulling Association.
Here’s what else is happening on TV this week through the weekend courtesy of RaceFan TV.com. On Monday night Speed offers NASCAR Race Hub at 7:30 p.m. On Tuesday Speed offers the SCCA World Challenge from Road Atlanta at 1 p.m. followed by the same series at Laguna Seca at 2 p.m. That same cable channel has another NASCAR Race Hub episode Tuesday and again on Wednesday and Thursday at the same time.
Friday is ramp day for gearhead action starting at 10 a.m with Nationwide Series Practice on Speed from Texas then Final Practice at 11:30 a.m. Speed returns at 1 p.m. this time with Cup Practice from that same venue and then Cup Qualifying at 4:30 p.m. Both Speed and TSN offer Nationwide Qualifying at 6:30 p.m. Speed continues coverage with the Camping World Truck race at 9 p.m.
Saturday gets off and running with Cup Practice from Texas at 9:30 a.m. on Speed and Cup Final Practice at 11 a.m. The World Of Outlaws race from Lowes airs at 8 p.m. on Speed. Sunday will see the action starting at 12:30 p.m. with Speed offering RaceDay. At 5 p.m. Speed returns with the FIM 250 from Spain for the bikers at 5 p.m. followed by the FIM MotoGP from that same venue. The Speed (Channel) Report airs at 7 p.m. with a weekend wrap-up followed by Victory Lane. At 8 p.m. HD Theatre offers the World Rally from Sardinia, Italy with Wind Tunnel airing at 9 p.m. on Speed. (END)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.
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