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As a preamble to the 57th annual ARCA RE/MAX Series championship awards banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky, ARCA officials and SPEED announced the 2010 SPEED TV schedule for the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX & Menards. The agreement calls for a minimum of 10 events to be televised on SPEED live and/or same-day delayed. |
“Our relationship with ARCA dates back to the early days of the network,” said Rick Miner, SPEED VP of Production & Network Operations. “We look forward to our continued relationship … working together to deliver great racing to a very supportive group of fans.” SPEED will kick off its live flag-to-flag ARCA coverage at Daytona Int’l Speedway with the 47th running of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 Saturday, February 6 at 4:00 PM ET.
“ARCA and Speed have invested a great deal over time in the relationship,” said Ron Drager, ARCA President. “Despite the tremendous evolution in the racing and television industries since 1997, our partnership has never wavered and, in fact, has grown stronger over time. We’re very pleased the Speed will continue to be the television home for the ARCA Series.” In addition to Daytona, other events scheduled for live and/or same-day coverage in 2010 include Texas Motor Speedway on April 16, Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, both at Pocono Raceway on June 5 and July 31, Michigan Int’l Speedway on June 11, Iowa Speedway on July 10, Chicagoland Speedway on August 27, Kansas Speedway on September 30 and the finale at Rockingham Speedway on October 9. ARCA’s relationship with SPEED reaches back to 1997 when the network (then Speedvision) covered the ARCA race at Salem Speedway on April 20, 1997. Since then, SPEED has aired a total of 169 ARCA races; the ‘10 opener at Daytona marking the 170th.
Following a season that saw him reach Victory Lane and finish fifth in the final standings, NASCAR Camping World Series East driver Steve Park is headed to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, Jan. 29-30, in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.). Park, who returned to the Camping World Series East full-time in 2008 after competing for a decade in NASCAR’s national series, recorded seven top 10s in 11 outings in this past season to register his first top-five points effort. Park raced his way to Victory Lane in 2009 with his triumph at Adirondack International Speedway on Aug. 1 in Lowville, N.Y., which secured him a starting position in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. “It was great to get that win, get those seconds, finish fifth in the points and be competitive week-in and week-out,” Park said. “We really thought coming out of the box last year that we would be closer to where we were this year, and we weren’t, so we stepped up the program a little bit.”
The seventh running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which brings together the top racers from across North America for the ”Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” will be highlighted by the 225-lap Camping World Series all-star race. Each race winner during the 2009 Camping World Series East and Camping World Series West seasons is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
Park joins NASCAR Camping World Series champions Ryan Truex (East) and Jason Bowles (West), as well as two-time Showdown winner Matt Kobyluck, and NASCAR Camping World Series West driver Greg Pursley as early confirmed participants in the all-star race. Park, originally from East Northport, N.Y., made his first appearance in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in this past January’s Showdown, and came away impressed. “I thought the track was awesome,” Park said. “It’s a great facility, and the race track itself is real racy. I think that’s why you hear a lot of guys talk about how great it is to race out there.”
Despite being relegated to a 23rd place finish in his inaugural event there, Park eagerly anticipates a return to Irwindale to compete against the elite competition. “It’s a melting pot that brings the best of the East and the best of the West together, and shows the fans on SPEED just how competitive NASCAR racing is nationwide,” Park said.
Greg Pursley has tasted success in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. In 2007, the first year that a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model race was added as part of the big postseason event, Purlsey won in a dramatic finish. Now the veteran West Coast driver is taking aim at winning the Camping World Series race, which highlights the prestigious event.
The seventh running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which attracts the top drivers from across the country to what has become the pinnacle of short-track racing in America, is slated for Jan. 29-30 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.). It’s a track where Pursley was based for many years. “To me, Irwindale is home,” said Pursley, who won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship in 2004 while competing in the Super Late Model division at Toyota Speedway. “I started racing when the track opened. It’s probably my favorite place to race, because we ran there so much. And I ran the driving school there.”
Pursley is excited about his chances of a win in the NASCAR Camping World Series at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to go with the Super Late Model win he scored there in the all-star event a couple of years ago. Boosting his optimism is the addition of championship crew chief Jerry Pitts. “We’re really looking forward to going,” Pursley said. “I can’t wait to go. I think we’re going to be sitting pretty good.”
After racing full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Series West in 2002, Pursley focused most of his attention on his efforts at the Irwindale track until making a successful return to the series this past season. Joining with car owner Gene Price and his new team, he won the season opener at Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, and was within range of the title throughout the year. Looking back, Pursley admitted to being surprised by the early win and their success as a first-year team.
“I was really happy with the way we came out this season,” said the 41-year-old driver, who hails from Newhall, Calif., but moved this year to Prescott, Ariz., where the team is based. “We didn’t plan on doing that well right out of the box. Between me and Gene we were ecstatic on how we did this year. Finishing third for a first-year team is kind of unheard of. So, we’re really happy with that and we’re real excited about this coming year. I think we can put up a good fight for the championship.” Pursley, with his win in Texas, is among a contingent of drivers who are assured of a starting position in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which drivers have called their ‘Daytona 500 of short-track racing.’ Each race winner during the 2009 Camping World Series season is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
In addition to eligible 2009 race winners and series champions, the starting lineup will be determined through time trials, limited provisional’s for Camping World Series regulars, and the last-chance “Open” race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid. The 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown schedule also includes 100-lap Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model and 75-lap Late Model races. Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED.
The future of the Renault team in Formula One remains in doubt, as media reports say it is considering a takeover offer from British-based motorsports company Prodrive. Reuters reports that Prodrive, led by former Benetton and British American Racing team boss David Richards – also Chairman of Aston Martin – have said “is well known that our intention is to get into F1”. Prodrive applied to enter Formula One for next season but were passed over by the sport’s governors. Renault has said it would decide whether or not to continue in Formula One by the end of the year. This came from SportsBusinessInternational.
The Manor GP Formula One team will race under the name Virgin Racing in the 2010 season. The name-change was confirmed when the International Automobile Federation published the entry list for the 2010 season on Monday. The list contains 12 teams.The Toyota team, which announced it was withdrawing at the end of the 2009 season, was mentioned in the list, which said “An announcement will be made regarding this entry in due course.” The former BMW-Sauber team, which has been sold back to founder Peter Sauber, is likely to take Toyota’s place, according to a report in Reuters. Virgin had not formally announced its deal with Manor before the publication of the 2010 entry list. This item also came from SportsBusinessInternational.
Officials from Silverstone are expected to announce that a deal has been struck with Formula One’s commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone for the racing circuit to host next year’s British grand prix.According to UK newspaper reports an agreement was reached on Friday for Silverstone to host the British grand prix for a number of years from 2010.
Silverstone has been the front-runner to stage the race after Ecclestone ruled out Donington Park’s chances of hosting the race in October. The company re-developing Donington failed to show it had the £135 million funding required. “It would be almost inconceivable for there not to be a British Grand Prix next year, but until it is signed, there is always the possibility that will be the case,” Damon Hill, president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, the owners of Silverstone, told BBC Sport last week. Ecclestone had imposed a December 9 deadline last month for a deal to be put in place. This also came from SportsBusinessInternational.
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP), a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of batteries, brakes, parts, accessories, and maintenance items, announced that the Company will become the title sponsor of Monster Jam in a multiyear relationship. Advance Auto Parts and Monster Jam have a long-standing relationship dating back to 1997 in Florida. Advance Auto Parts began its national partnership with Monster Jam in 2004 and became the “Official Auto Parts Retailer” of all Monster Jam events in the United States, while holding that designation until this transition to the title sponsorship.
In addition to the series becoming the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam, Advance is also becoming the primary sponsor of a brand new monster truck, Grinder™, which will be driven by Lupe Soza, the 2004 Monster Jam World Finals Freestyle Champion. Previously, Soza drove El Toro Loco, of which Advance was an associate sponsor. He has been racing for 23 years, with the last eight of those years being in Monster Jam. The Advance Auto Parts Grinder Race Team, piloted by Soza, will made its Monster Jam debut at the Minneapolis Metrodome last Saturday, December 5.
Feld Motor Sports promotes and produces over 125 Monster Jam events and 325 performances per year with over 4 million event attendees worldwide and has a national television presence on the SPEED Channel and CBS Sports. Feld Motor Sports is a customer-focused company that aligns well with the core values and culture of Advance Auto Parts. Monster Jam is committed to enhancing and bringing greater value to the fan experience for each event. Prior to the start of Monster Jam live performances, the drivers and monster trucks are accessible to the fans, who can receive autographs and have photos taken next to the 10,000 pound machines. In every community where Monster Jam events are held, heroes such as military personnel are recognized for their hard work, in front of thousands of people.
More importantly and as a result of this relationship, Advance and Monster Jam will be incorporating even greater support for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at select events, through a variety of special events designed to raise funds to “crush” juvenile diabetes. Since 1994, Advance Auto Parts has raised more than $20 million for JDRF and is one of that organization’s largest corporate supporters.
The IZOD IndyCar Series announced its 2010 broadcast schedule, featuring five races with long-term broadcast partner ABC and 12 races on cable television partner VERSUS.
IndyCar fans will be able to watch all of the 2010 races in HD. (LAT) » More Photos
The schedule is highlighted by ABC’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500 in addition to VERSUS’ extensive coverage of the final seven races of the 2010 season.
“We are very excited about the return of VERSUS and ABC for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season,” said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division for the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body of the IZOD IndyCar Series. “Having two television partners during the 2009 season assisted the growth of our sport and its accessibility to fans, and we have confidence that the 2010 season will reap even bigger gains with ABC and VERSUS’ enrichment of their already outstanding programming.”
ABC will offer high-definition broadcasts of five races in 2010 produced by ESPN, including the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 for the 46th consecutive season. ABC will air the season’s first domestically-run race on the Streets of St. Petersburg on March 28. The network will begin its month of May IZOD IndyCar Series coverage May 1 when it televises the series event at Kansas Speedway, the lead-in race to the Indianapolis 500. ABC finishes its 2010 coverage with the broadcasting of back-to-back events at Watkins Glen International and the Streets of Toronto in July.
VERSUS will televise the remaining 12 IZOD IndyCar Series events and will begin its in-depth and all-encompassing coverage with events from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama — two new events on the 2010 schedule. VERSUS’ live race coverage will continue following the Indianapolis 500 with the Texas Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway telecasts. VERSUS concludes its 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series coverage with the final seven races on the schedule, including the season finale, for the second consecutive year, at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 2.
All 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series events on VERSUS will be produced and shown in high definition where available.
The IZOD IndyCar Series announced multi-year multimedia partnerships with ABC and VERSUS in August 2008. The 10-year partnership with VERSUS includes at least 12 live races per year, with each telecast featuring three hours of live race action with extended pre- and post-race coverage. VERSUS’ commitment to super-serve motorsports fans with the most coverage than ever before is also extended beyond the 12 live races with a one-hour preview show the day before each race that features qualification highlights and all of the relevant IZOD IndyCar Series stories of that weekend as well as in-depth coverage of the qualification events leading up to the
Indianapolis 500.
The partnership with ABC is highlighted by the network’s continued coverage of the Indianapolis 500 through 2012 as part of a four-year rights agreement between the Indy Racing League and ABC. ABC will also broadcast four other races on the IndyCar Series schedule in each year of the agreement.
The complete 2010 IndyCar Series television broadcast schedule:
Date Location Venue Television
Sunday, March 14 Sao Paulo, Brazil 2.3-mile street course VERSUS
Sunday, March 28 Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. 1.8-mile street course ABC
Sunday, April 11 Barber Motorsports Park 2.38-mile road course VERSUS
Sunday, April 18 Streets of Long Beach, Calif. 1.968-mile street course VERSUS
Saturday, May 1 Kansas Speedway 1.5-mile oval ABC
Sunday, May 30 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval ABC
Saturday, June 5* Texas Motor Speedway 1.5-mile oval VERSUS
Sunday, June 20 Iowa Speedway .875-mile oval VERSUS
Sunday, July 4 Watkins Glen International 3.4-mile road course ABC
Sunday, July 18 Streets of Toronto 1.721-mile street-course ABC
Sunday, July 25 Edmonton City Centre Airport 1.973-mile airport course VERSUS
Sunday, Aug. 8 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2.258-mile road course VERSUS
Sunday, Aug. 22 Infineon Raceway 2.245-mile road course VERSUS
Saturday, Aug. 28* Chicagoland Speedway 1.5-mile oval VERSUS
Saturday, Sept. 4* Kentucky Speedway 1.5-mile oval VERSUS
Saturday, Sept. 18 Twin Ring Motegi 1.5-mile oval VERSUS
Saturday, Oct. 2* Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-mile oval VERSUS
* Denotes night race Schedule Subject to Change. This item came from Indy Car and the Speed Channel.
Here’s what’s happening on the tube this weekend for motorhead racing action courtesy of RaceFanTV.com. On Saturday Speed offers a noon airing of the German Touring Car Series from Euro Speedway followed by the British Touring Car event held at Thruxton, England. On Sunday there will be one final 2009 airing of the Speed Report on the Speed Channel at 7 p.m.
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