In-Progress At Irwindale: Toyota All-Star Showdown On SPEED

Saturday night at 10PM Eastern Time SPEED will offer NASCAR's Toyota All-Star Showdown live from Irwindale Speedway in California.

Mike Joy and Dr. Dick Berggren will handle the announcing duties, with Ralph Shaheen and Jim Tretow covering pit road. The telecast is scheduled for three hours.

This special NASCAR event is the conclusion of the racing season for NASCAR's regional racing series. This Grand National Division showcases young and rising stars, as well as featuring the established regional stars from around the nation.

This page will host your comments about this unique telecast. To add your comment, simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the instructions. Please read the rules on the right side of the main page before posting. Thanks again.

TV Notes For Martinsville: RaceDay vs. Countdown

The battle of the NASCAR pre-race shows is going to be shaken-up this Sunday at Martinsville.

RaceDay fans should note that this weekend SPEED has been forced to shift the program away from its normal start time of two hours before the event.

The Brazilian Grand Prix is is the final Formula-1 race of the season on SPEED, and it starts live at 11:30AM. This means no RaceDay, as there is no SPEED2 for simultaneous distribution of two different TV programs.

It is a shame that the Fox family did not simply move RaceDay to the Fox-owned FX Cable Network and let it air at its normal time.

So, an earlier edition of RaceDay is going to be on the air from 9:30 to 11:30AM on Sunday. It could make for a very different show with absolutely nothing going-on at the track during those two hours. This move is a huge impact to a major show on SPEED at a crucial time in the NEXTEL Cup "Chase for the Championship."

This change benefits the struggling NASCAR Countdown show on ABC, which hits the air at 1PM Eastern Time for a thirty minute program. If ESPN had been pro-active, this would have been a great day to have the full one hour edition of this show with no NASCAR TV competition. It will be interesting to see how all this plays-out.

NASCAR TV Ratings Are Down: What Would You Suggest To ESPN/ABC?

The TV ratings for Charlotte show the continued decline in viewership for the NEXTEL Cup Series. This is not what NASCAR had in mind when they made a deal with the top sports television corporation in the world to telecast their "Chase for the Championship."

There have been hundreds of articles written this year at The Daly Planet about a lot of TV issues relating to NASCAR. We have talked about the Fox Sports, TNT, SPEED, and ESPN/ABC portions of the TV package. So, with only a couple of weeks left in the 2007 season, what can ESPN do right now to help their ratings?

Please think before you post, and keep your comments focused on this one question. I assure you that the key people from ESPN will read your comments. I think they will be amazed at the intelligence of the NASCAR fans and The Daly Planet readers. The time for change is now.

So, what would you do this Sunday at Martinsville to pump-up the ratings and get NASCAR fans and casual viewers interested in watching this sport?

To add your comment, simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the instructions. There is nothing to join, and we do not require (or want) your email address. Please read the rules for posting on the right hand side of the main page, and then offer your opinion here at The Daly Planet. Thanks again.

In-Progress At Martinsville: Craftsman Trucks On SPEED

Saturday on SPEED the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will run one of their highest-profile events of the season. Joining the Truck Series regulars will be several Cup Series drivers and also several open-wheel stars continuing to make the transition to NASCAR.

SPEED will begin the day with NASCAR Live at 10:30AM Eastern Time to update the weather and the activities at the track from Friday. NASCAR Live is hosted by John Roberts.

The Truck Series activity begins at 11:00AM with live qualifying, which is scheduled for one hour. Later in the afternoon at 2:30PM, SPEED begins the race coverage with The Set-Up pre-race show hosted by Krista Voda.

The event coverage begins at 3PM, and features Rick Allen in the booth along with Phil Parsons as the analyst. On pit road will be Adam Alexander and Bob Dillner will continue to sub for Ray Dunlap who has been suspended by the network until the TX race. I do not have current information about Michael Waltrip's participation in the race coverage.

This page will host your comments about SPEED's Truck Series coverage. You may add your comment before, during, or after the programs. Please read the rules on the right side of the main page before posting. To comment, simply click on the COMMENTS button below, and follow the instructions. There is nothing to join, and we do not require your email address.

We just want your opinion of the NASCAR TV partners performance this season. Thanks again for taking the time to stop-by.