{"id":2096,"date":"2010-02-25T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maineracer.com\/wp\/?p=2096"},"modified":"2010-02-25T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-25T05:00:00","slug":"tv-times-by-lou-modestinofor-226-2282010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/2010\/02\/tv-times-by-lou-modestinofor-226-2282010\/","title":{"rendered":"TV TIMES By Lou Modestino(For 2\/26-2\/28\/2010)"},"content":{"rendered":"

TV TIMES<\/span>
By Lou Modestino(For 2\/26-2\/28\/2010)<\/span><\/p>\n

Last Sunday saw JJ take his fifth win at Fontana which is the good news. The bad news is who will keep JJ from taking another championship and prevent him from making 2010 as another boring year for the NASCAR Cup Series? Maybe Kevin Harvick if he and his team can just eek out a lit more power and stay on track. <\/span><\/p>\n

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On the subject of Fontana, observers felt that there were too many empty seats\u00a0there which is another problem. The Speed Report on Sunday night also dropped a hint that the Spring Atlanta race maybe moved to Sonoma! If Speedway Motorsports, Inc. decides to move that event why won’t it go Kentucky where the SMI Chairman wants to put a Cup race? If Fontana is having a problem selling out two Cup races in hard economic times in the Golden State, wouldn’t it make sense that Sonoma would also have\u00a0challenges selling tickets?<\/span><\/p>\n

While we’re at it, talk about possible bad moves of Cup races the ” smoke signals and drums” around NASCAR tell of ISC possibly moving one of the Martinsville races to KC when the\u00a0 KC Speedway Casino gets up and running. If another southeastern Cup race moves out of that locale, that will hiss off more of NASCAR’s core base which still hasn’t got over the closing of Rockingham and N. Wilkesboro and the move of one of the Southern 500 Labor Day weekend event at Darlington to Fontana\u00a0to this day!<\/span><\/p>\n

The economy is still in big trouble. Our sense is that all the\u00a0Cup and NASCAR weekends at the various ISC, SMI, Dover and Pocono events\u00a0should stay where they are. For now anyway until all of the dust settles.\u00a0 Because NASCAR contributed the dip in ticket sales and TV ratings by making a lot of changes to fast. All that was done by Brian France, who we\u00a0feel is in the “hot seat”.\u00a0Yes, the bad economy made things worse. The timing of all this created the “perfect storm”.\u00a0 The results of which has shocked NASCAR back to reality. <\/span><\/p>\n

We also think that if things don’t turn around for NASCAR soon, Brian may be shown the door. Impossible? No, just take a look at what\u00a0the Hulman family\u00a0pulled off recently. They relieved\u00a0family member Tony George of his heading up the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League<\/span> due to overspending combined with the lack of attendance at IMS and IRL events.\u00a0 Tony was given a token seat on the IMS BOD but wasn’t happy with that and resigned. <\/p>\n

On both the Speed and Fox broadcasts before, during and after\u00a0SpeedWeeks in Daytona, we kept hearing\u00a0from the anchors and color analysts that NASCAR\u00a0is really paying attention to the fans\u00a0and what they want in NASCAR racing. Well, these complaints were not recent. We can recollect that the same complaints, things that\u00a0turned of the paying customers, were going on for\u00a0many seasons. In fact we think it feel on deaf ears. So what made the suits in\u00a0NASCAR’s front office finally make an effort to turn things around? Their business went into the\u00a0tank and they finally saw the light. So the next time the fans speak let’s see if NASCAR listens? <\/p>\n

Almost 30 million people saw at least some part of FOX Sports\u2019 coverage of the dramatic 2010 DAYTONA 500 that Sunday, a race that lasted more than six hours and included 52 lead changes, a Daytona-record 21 different drivers taking the lead and a spectacular finish as Jamie McMurray held off Dale Earnhardt, JR’s charge in the final laps to claim his first Daytona 500 win.\u00a0 Some of the folks that we spoke to thought that the finish of this year’s Daytona 500 was the best in many years. <\/span>Nielsen Media Research estimates that 29.8 million Americans watched at least some part of this year\u2019s Daytona 500, a +14 percent\u00a0gain over last year\u2019s 26.2 million.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Two unprecedented delays to repair asphalt damage on the track totaled almost two and half hours and had a sizable impact on the rating. The race portion of the 2010 DAYTONA 500 broadcast earned a fast national rating of 7.7\/16 (13.3 million viewers), compared to last year’s 9.2\/19. The delays were excluded from the rating as Nielsen Media Research treats them as they would a rain delay during an MLB game. Not only did fans leave the track, from published reports,\u00a0and head elsewhere. Many also changed the channel, surfed or just turned the boob tube off and did something else. Some tuned in later and caught the last few laps. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In the 31-year history of flag-to-flag television coverage of the Daytona 500, there have been two previous races that were delayed and re-started and both suffered sizable ratings decreases. The 1995 running was delayed over two hours by rain and the result was a -19 percent\u00a0decline versus prior year (7.8 vs. 9.6). The 2003 race on FOX was also delayed by rain and not run to the full 500 miles. That race rated -10 percent\u00a0lower than the 2002 running on NBC (9.8 vs. 10.9).\u00a0 This seems to be a somewhat sugar coated admission that the two delays impacted on the overall national TV ratings by the Fox Sports PR machine. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Despite the delays, there were substantial ratings gains in key NASCAR markets including Atlanta (+11 percent; 11.0 vs. 9.9), Charlotte (+8 percent, 16.8 vs. 15.6), Norfolk (+7 percent, 12.2 vs. 11.4) and Ft. Myers (+12 percent, 10.0 vs. 8.9). Greensboro (NC) led all local markets with a 16.9\/28. Charlotte 16.8\/30; Greenville (SC), 16.6\/27; Indianapolis, 16.0\/28; Orlando, 15.4\/29; Louisville, 13.3\/22; Nashville, 13.1\/21; Knoxville, 13.0, 19; Jacksonville, 12.8\/22 and Dayton, 12.7\/23 round out the top 10 metered markets.\u00a0We wonder how the TV ratings\u00a0fared in the major markets like NYC, Philly, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, OR,, Phoenix, \u00a0Dallas and Houston, TX?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

With an average of more than 4.2 million people watching, ESPN2\u2019s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season-opening race from Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 13 has set a record as the most-viewed Nationwide Series race ever on cable.<\/div>\n
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The race telecast, which featured the NASCAR debut of open wheel racing star Danica Patrick, earned a fast national household coverage rating of 3.2, averaging 4,271,365 viewers in 3,170,109 households. The viewership numbers eclipse the previous Nationwide Series cable records of 3,954,798 viewers and 2,946,951 households set by TNT for its telecast of the 2006 Daytona race.<\/div>\n
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Data shows that viewers stayed with the telecast even after Patrick was eliminated in a multi-car crash just past the halfway point of the race. ESPN2 peaked with a 3.5 household coverage rating for the last 20 minutes of the race as Tony Stewart held off a pack of drivers to take victory.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhile Danica certainly helped bring people to the telecast, she wasn\u2019t the only factor,\u201d said Julie Sobieski, ESPN vice president, programming and acquisitions. \u201cGreat Daytona Nationwide racing action kept viewers through to the checkered flag.\u201d<\/div>\n
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ESPN2\u2019s 3.2 rating for Daytona was up 33 percent from the 2.4 rating for last year\u2019s Daytona race and 28 percent higher than the 2.5 rating for the 2008 race, previously the network\u2019s highest rating ever for a NASCAR Nationwide Series race.<\/div>\n
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ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with select races airing on ESPN and ABC. The next race is at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 20, with the ESPN2 telecast beginning at 5 p.m. ET.<\/div>\n

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Retail broker FxPro has signed as a sponsor of the World Rally Championship, becoming the Official Forex Trading Partner of the series in a three-year agreement running to the end of 2012. The deal was brokered by WRC promoter North One Sport. FxPro will have branding and marketing rights at selected WRC events, and will be represented at event by promotional team the FxPro Girls.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cFxPro and WRC share great brand values of quality, dynamism, and speed of delivery,” said Denis Sukhotin, Chairman of FxPro. “As a result, all of us at FxPro are delighted to partner with WRC\u2019s prestigious global sporting events. We look forward to building on our profile in WRC\u2019s territories and globally online in our key international markets, through strong brand exposure and marketing calls to action.\u201d Simon Long, chief executive of of North One Sport said: \u201cFxPro\u2019s commitment to delivering excellence via the very latest digital innovations mirror our own aspirations to retain our position at the very forefront of advanced technologies. We are delighted to welcome them to our family of sponsors.\u201d FxPro also sponsors the Virgin Racing Formula One team.\u00a0 This item came from SportsBusinessInternational.<\/div>\n
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The Robin Hood Rally, www.robinhoodrally.com<\/a>, has seated almost all Participants! We have just a few seats left so if you want to do the Rally then complete your application ASAP. <\/p>\n

Frank Markus, Technical Director at Motor Trend Magazine, has joined the Robin Hood Rally as a Host! Frank has a deep understanding of cars and automotive technology, and the ability to translate sometimes arcane topics for the lay audience. Frank\u2019s abilities have earned him numerous International Wheel Awards and International Automotive Media Awards for excellence in automotive journalism. Frank will serve as the Technical Director for the timing and scoring, and is developing the index formula for equalizing contestant vehicles of widely varying power and weight. <\/p>\n

Upcoming Rally Events:<\/p>\n

Chowder Club \u2013 March 9th, Robin Hood Rally is the featured speaker, 11:30 AM Sardi\u2019s in NYC<\/p>\n

Dyno Day \u2013 April 10th from 9 a.m.\u00a0to 4 p.m. \u00a0– Hudson Historic’s in Ossining, NY<\/p>\n

Track Day \u2013 April 23rd, Pocono Raceway, spectator and pit pass ticket details to follow<\/p>\n

1st Race Event \u2013 May 21st and 22nd in NH, spectator and pit pass ticket details to follow soon<\/p>\n

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American Formula One team USF1 is beset by financial problems and will struggle to make its planned debut in the 2010 season.\u00a0 Sponsor money has not come in, and the team has been struggling to pay suppliers and staff, the New York Times has reported. USF1 has also still not built a race car.The team founders admit that some sponsors have pulled out, but say they will be on the track for the first race in Bahrain in x, The New York Times reports.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s always a struggle for new teams, any new business,\u201d said Ken Anderson, co-founder along with Peter Windsor. Anderson is an engineer who has worked in both the US IndyCar Series and Formula One. \u201cYeah, a couple sponsors have let us down a little bit, but we\u2019re on track. Others, including F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, are not so sure. \u201cI don\u2019t think we will see the Americans,\u201d he said earlier this month in an interview with UK newspaper The Express.\u00a0 This all came from Sports Business International.<\/p><\/div>\n

AMA Pro Racing and Daytona International Speedway\u00a0 announced the Daytona Short Track National will air in high-definition Sunday, March 7 on SPEED at 6 p.m. ET. Back-to-back Daytona Short Track Nationals will kick off the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship at the new DAYTONA Flat Track on March 3 and 4. After traditionally being staged at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium, the events now have a new home on a quarter-mile lime rock dirt track located in the West Lot outside NASCAR Turns 1 and 2.
The one hour show will feature highlights from March 3 with coverage of the March 4 race.\u00a0 The Daytona Short Track Nationals have a tradition as two of the most difficult nationals of the year just to make the main events, as over 300 entries are expected over the two days. Speed will capture the excitement and thrills of handle bar to handle bar action on the ultra fast quarter-mile track.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Henry Wiles will make his first appearance of the year carrying the No. 1 plate on his Kawasaki 450 after winning the 2009 AMA Pro Grand National Expert Singles division. Defending Pro Singles National Champion Brad Baker will make his debut on a Honda 450 carrying the No. 1 in the Pro Singles National.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

“We are thrilled that our season opener on the new DAYTONA Flat Track will be on SPEED,” AMA Pro Racing Director of Flat Track, Mike Kidd said. “This is a great opportunity for our fans, riders, teams and sponsors to showcase one of the most exciting forms of motorcycle racing in the country.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The NASCAR Nationwide Series races for 300 miles this Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and ESPN2 will have a live, flag-to-flag telecast of the third event of the 2010 season. ESPN2 is the home of the series all season, with select races airing on ESPN and ABC.<\/div>\n
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NASCAR Countdown presented by Hellman\u2019s <\/em>airs Saturday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m. ET. The race telecast is presented by GoDaddy.com and starts at 4:30 p.m. with the green flag at 4:46 p.m. Marty Reid<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> will be the lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN2\u2019s race coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>, Jamie Little<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>, Dr. Jerry Punch<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> and Vince Welch<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.<\/div>\n
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Allen Bestwick<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> will host NASCAR Countdown <\/em>from the ESPN pit studio, with analysis by Jarrett and Brad Daugherty<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>, a team owner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.<\/div>\n
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NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> and Ricky Craven<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> and ESPN the Magazine <\/em>senior writer Ryan McGee<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> will be panelists on NASCAR Now\u2019s <\/em>weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, March 1, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> will host the edition of ESPN2\u2019s daily NASCAR news and information program.<\/div>\n
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Nicole Briscoe<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/strong>hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now <\/em>airing Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 5 p.m. and Friday at 6 p.m. Briscoe also hosts the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Feb. 28, at 9 a.m. with a preview of that day\u2019s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mike Massaro<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/strong>and Marty Smith<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> will report from the speedway. .<\/div>\n
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NASCAR Now <\/em>is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN\u2019s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include reporters Marty Smith, Shannon Spake and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, 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, Marty Reid, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now<\/em>.<\/div>\n
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Drag racing fans can watch an hour of action featuring the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series\u00a0this \u00a0Saturday, February. 27, at 10 a.m. on ESPN2. The program will include highlights of the Sportsman cars and drivers from the recent event at Auto Club of Southern California Raceway in Pomona, Calif.<\/div>\n
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Here’s what else is happening on TV this weekend for gearhead action. Besides the ESPNs, Speed, HD Theatre, TSN2 and Fox will cover the NASCAR and other events from Vegas, Atlanta, Abu Dhabi and Sweden. Check out RaceFanTV.com for all of the details.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TV TIMESBy Lou Modestino(For 2\/26-2\/28\/2010) Last Sunday saw JJ take his fifth win at Fontana which is the good news. The bad news is who will keep JJ from taking another championship and prevent him from making 2010 as another boring year for the NASCAR Cup Series? Maybe Kevin Harvick if he and his team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-maine-racing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2096\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maineracing.com\/legacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}