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After Jimmy Johnson’s big problems in Texas last Sunday, it appears the Mark Martin has a reasonably good shot at The Chase To The Nextel Cup. He’s only 70 points behind Johnson going into this Sunday’s Cup race in Phoenix.
All that should help Phoenix Intl. Raceway sell some tickets and garner some interest from some of NASCAR’s old time fans who hope that Mark Martin is able to pull ahead of Johnson. In the process the TV ratings could experience an uptick for The Chase To The Nextel Cup. It could also pull off what Brian France wanted from the big changes that were made when the new concept was introduced a few years ago. Finally there’s some suspense injected into the second to last race in The Chase. |
Ernie Saxton of Area Auto Racing News of NJ writes that the Chase To Nextel Cup isn’t working to garner the interest of the fans nor kick up the ratings. To sum it all up. Ernie thinks that the NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship should return to the original concept counting the points in all 36 races. We are not so sure and will have an opinion at the end of the season when the season winds up at Homestead.
In the same issue dated October 27, Ron Mentus questions where the IRL is headed. Mentus wonders if the IRL can get through the 2010 season? He cites less than full fields, other than the Indy 500. With the economic climate he’s not sure one way or the other. He likes the fact that the season is comprised of oval, road and temporary street courses helps. But, the street events don’t have the excitment of side-by side racing. Mentus,though, thinks that the presence of Danica Patrick is one of the IRL’s most recognized driver, even though she’s only won one race so far. Even though there are other good drivers in the series they still don’t measure up to names like A.J. Foyt, the Unser brothers, Mario Andretti and Johnny Rutherford. There’s a weight balance factor in that only three teams are the only ones capable of winning on any given weekend. Ron suggests that the schedule go back to 20 events by going back to Michigan and Milwaukee. Also, NHMS in Loudon, NH deserves a race and passing up that track for a parking lot race at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. Unless changes like this are made, it will remain mediocre series. We also think that pulling the plug on ESPN and going to VS for TV coverage was a blunder because not every cable system carries that channel.
The overnights have been released, and they are generally not good, once again. That Sunday’s AMP Energy 500 on ABC earned a 3.8 overnight rating. This rating is down five percent from last year, when the race earned an overnight 4.0 rating. However, that rating came from when the race was run three weeks earlier on the weekend now occupied by the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
Compared to this weekend last year, when the Sprint Cup Series was at Texas Motor Speedway for the Dickies 500, the rating is actually up 11.8 percent. Last year’s Dickies 500 earned an overnight rating of 3.4. This report came from StockCarGazette.com.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Talladega scored a Nielsen Household Rating of 1.34 (999,000 households), up 21 percent from last year’s 1.11 (816,000 households), making it the highest rated Talladega Trucks race ever and the second highest rated Truck race of the 2009 season (season opener in Daytona was No. 1). The Halloween afternoon race peaked at 1.67 (1,243,000 households) and carried more than one million households for two hours. Last year’s Talladega coverage peaked at 1.36 (1,000,000 households). During the NCWTS race, SPEED was the third highest rated basic cable network in Households, Men 18-49, Men 25-54 and Men 50-plus. The ratings increase continues a long-running trend this season on SPEED, as only one event (rain-delayed Martinsville) has seen a Nielsen Rating decline since July. Younger audiences continue tuning into the series, as the Nielsen Rating among Men 18-49 for Talladega was up 76 percent (.88 vs. .50). Coverage of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues Friday on SPEED from Texas Motor Speedway with NCWTS Setup at 8:30 p.m. ET and race coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET. This item came from SpeedTV and the StockCarGazette..com webpage.
According to Reuters, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper wrote that the Toyota would make the announcement in a news conference. Toyota is understood to be going ahead with the move despite having already signed an agreement committing itself to the series until 2012.
Toyota is continuing to suffer massive losses during the global economic downturn. The company has not won a single F1 race since entering in 2002, despite funding its team to the tune of 300 million yen (£186 million) per year. It follows fellow Japanese companies Super Aguri, Honda and tire breaker Bridgestone who have left F1 in the last two years. This report came from SportsBusiness.com.
Also, comes this word from the same source the board of French car manufacturer Renault has met to discuss its future in the Formula One motor-racing series. The BBC reports that the meeting was attended by interim team bosses Bob Bell and Jean-Francois Caubet.
The Renault team won the F1 drivers’ championship in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso, but has since lost the driver and title sponsor ING. Renault have signed Poland’s Robert Kubica as one of their 2010 drivers but “paddock gossip” even before last weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix suggested the manufacturer was considering selling all or part of the team. We would have to say that the world’s auto manufacturers are taking a hard look at their marketing expenses.
AMA Pro Racing officials announced the 2010 race schedule for the AMA Pro Superbike Championship that will see the series visit the foremost road courses in the United States. SPEED will once again serve as AMA Pro’s broadcast partner.
The 2010 Superbike schedule will feature the two premier classes competing in nine confirmed events in key markets across the country. Negotiations are ongoing for a 10th race. Those details will be released in the near future.
The season will begin with the 69th annual Daytona 200 event weekend (March 3 – 5) under the lights at the “World Center of Racing.” SPEED will air the Daytona 200 live on Friday, March 5.
The Daytona 200 will be the only endurance race on the 2010 schedule. The remaining events will be doubleheader weekends that host dual 50-mile races on Saturday and Sunday.
After the Daytona opener, AMA Pro begins the doubleheader sprint race schedule at Auto Club Speedway (March 26 – 28) in Fontana, Calif., followed by a new event weekend date for Road Atlanta (April 16 – 18). Infineon Raceway (May 14 – 16) hosts the series for Round 4. The halfway point of the season hits at Road America, which has once again reserved the historical date for the Elkhart Lake track (June 4 – 6).
The series will then visit Mid-Ohio (July 16-18) before heading to Virginia International Raceway (August 13 – 15) on the same weekend for the fourth year in a row. The successful first year event over the Labor Day weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park (September 3 – 5) looks to be repeated, and the series will close at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham (September 24 – 26).
Following the season-opener at Daytona, SPEED will air flag-to-flag same weekend coverage of the two premier classes. Highlights of the other classes competing during the race weekends will be shown during the broadcasts.
“SPEED is grateful for how the relationship works between the network and AMA Pro Racing,” said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. “Everyone involved is committed and energized in the joint effort to deliver quality motorcycle racing coverage. We look forward to the 2010 racing season and to this continued partnership.”
“It is with great enthusiasm that we announce the continuation of a great partnership with SPEED,” said AMA Pro President Roger Edmondson. “Their commitment to the growth of our sport and their unique ability to capture the excitement that the athletes and machines of our sport put on display every race weekend made continuing our relationship an easy decision. With our broadcast partner in place and our schedule visiting the best venues in the United States, we expect 2010 to be a great year and look forward to kicking off the season in Daytona.”
Yes, She Really Said That-Ashley Force Hood, on her Ford Mustang Funny Car crew. “If you’ve ever seen me trying to work on an automobile, you know I would not be second in the points for the championship if I was working on it.” This came from the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter.
Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Phoenix on ABC
Only two races remain in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and this weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 15. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the race is presented by Goodyear and airs on ABC beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 3:30 p.m.
Also from Phoenix, ESPN2 airs coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Nov. 13, at 5:30 p.m., as well as practice earlier that day at 2 p.m. In addition, coverage of final practice airs Saturday at 3 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, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham in the ESPN pit studio.
NHRA Championships to be Decided in Season Finale at Pomona
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series concludes its Countdown to 1 playoffs and season this weekend as the series visits Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action, with qualifying airing Saturday, Nov. 14, at 10:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations action airs Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m.
The season concludes where it began with an event traditionally laced with drama. The historic racetrack typically enjoys seasonably cool temperatures that translate into perfect racing conditions and a spectacular, no-holds-barred battle for the prestigious NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships. Final standings in the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle world titles will be determined in the season’s final day.
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.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from Phoenix on ESPN2
ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races at Phoenix International Raceway. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4 p..m. ET, with the green flag at 4:45 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, Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham in the ESPN pit studio.
Evernham, Craven, Said on NASCAR Now Roundtable
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. 16, at 5 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 Friday of this week at 5 p.m. Massaro will be joined by Said for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceeway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Nicole Manske and Angelique Chengelis 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.
Here’s what’s on the tube this week through the weekend for gear head action courtesy of www.RaceFanTV.com. On Monday and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. it’s NASCAR Race Hub on Speed. Also on Tuesday at 11 p.m. VS offers Quest For The NASCAR Nextel Cup with a redux on Wednesday at 5 p.m. NASCAR Race Hub goes at 7:30 p.m. on Speed Wednesday and Thursday. VS comes back that same night with another offering of Quest For The Nextel Sprint Cup.
Friday is ramp-up day with an 11:30 a.m. airing of Nationwide Practice from Phoenix on Speed with Final Practice going off at 3:30 p.m. followed by Camping World Truck Qualifying from that same venue. The Truck race goes off at 8 p.m. on Speed from Phoenix. Saturday’s offerings include a noon broadcast of the SuperX from Montreal on TSN. At the same time TSN/Speed both offer Nationwide Qualifying from Phoenix. Speed returns at 1:30 p.m. Saturday with Cup Practice from Phoenix. Sunday gets off and raci
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES
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