It's been a whirlwind of NASCAR TV and media news for the last month. Here is a little reset of what we know and some of the things coming up.
SPEED is back on the air with NASCAR from Daytona on January 12. Three days of Sprint Cup Series testing will feature a morning and afternoon session. The 9AM activity will be carried only on the SPEEDtv.com website. The 1PM session will be live on SPEED.
The network is still working on final on-air talent line-ups, but Darrell Waltrip has already said he will be there for all three days. That kind of sets the tone.
On Sunday, January 22, SPEED will carry live the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremonies featuring Mr. Waltrip and the other inductees.
NASCAR RaceHub on SPEED returns the following Monday, January 23. Steve Byrnes will again be at the helm and the show has been scheduled for 6PM ET. The West Coast re-air details have yet to be announced, but look for 11PM again as the time.
SPEED closes out January with live coverage of the Rolex 24 from Daytona on the 28th. We will pass the on-air announcer line-ups along when we get them.
No word from ESPN on the role of Marty Reid for next season or any changes in the NASCAR announcer line-ups. A network spokesman told TDP that NASCAR Now will be returning in 2012 but there were no specifics provided.
While the Sports Business Journal reported that NASCAR will be buying back its digital (online) rights from Turner Sports, that deal is expected to be completed in 2012 and start with the 2013 season. Right now, nothing will change in terms of SiriusXM's NASCAR channel not being streamed online or NASCAR races being available on the Internet.
There you have it, just a snippet of the things going on right now as we work toward 2012 and a big reset of the NASCAR season. Sponsorship issues are dominating behind the scenes right now and it continues to be a very tough landscape to try and find dollars for racing.
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