By Lou Modestino
Will things get better for NASCAR in 2013?
Now that all the changes that Brian France had made in NASCAR are back to what they were originally, will there be a turn around for NASCAR? We’re being told that the economy is improving and that we are on the road to a substantial recovery. Yet from many people’s points of view, this recession is far from over. At any rate, how will France’s so-called changes affect ticket sales and TV ratings?
Ticket sales for NASCAR events may continue to be a tough sell, but TV ratings could uptick provided that competition improves and fans like the new look of the race cars. The Sprint Cup racers will now resemble the showroom models, and fans may better be able to relate to them. In spite of the economy, positive changes in NASCAR could transfer into confident buyers coming forth to buy tickets or simply return as TV watchers.
Bob Varsha will take the reins this season as host of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race coverage on SPEED beginning with the network’s live coverage of the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 26 at 3 p.m. “His predecessor, Leigh Diffey, is a tremendous talent and did great things for our coverage, and now with Bob, we are in a position to elevate the Rolex Sports Car series even further. I have worked with Bob for 13 years now and he is among the very best at what he does. He truly is one of the elite voices in all of motorsports not just at SPEED, but anywhere in the world.”
Joining Varsha in the booth for the Rolex 24 at Daytona are Brian Till (play x play), Calvin Fish (analyst), Dorsey Schroeder (analyst), Tommy Kendall (analyst) and Justin Bell (analyst/roving reporter). In the pits, SPEED will have Chris Neville, Jamie Howe, Matt Yocum and Andrew Marriott.
“Joining the SPEED broadcast team for the full Grand-Am season is something of a homecoming for me,” Varsha said. “I began my career with the old Camel GT sports car series, and the Rolex 24 was the first major international racing event I covered for television. Making it even better is the fact that I’ll be at the tracks on race weekends once again. It’s no secret that much of our international racing coverage originates from the studio these days, so I’m really looking forward to speaking with people, kicking tires and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of racing cars again.”
Producing SPEED coverage of the iconic endurance race for the 12th time, coordinating producer Greg Oldham returns to Daytona for the 25th time since 1986.
SPEED.com, which streams multiple on-board cameras throughout the entire 24 hours, takes over live-event coverage during the overnight hours. In addition, SPEED.com auto racing editor Marshall Pruett and contributor John Dagys will provide trackside reports, photo galleries, Web video features and blog updates throughout the race.
SPEED and SPEED.com broadcast schedule for the Rolex 24 at Daytona (All times Eastern and subject to change):
o Jan. 26 from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. live on SPEED
o Jan. 26/27 from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. on SPEED.com
o Jan. 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on SPEED
Following the race in Daytona, Varsha leads the SPEED Grand-Am team of Schroeder, Fish, Till and Neville to the exciting new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for race No. 2 on the schedule March 2.
In addition, SPEED will air a one-hour special entitled Continental Tire Presents: The 24 Hours of Daytona on Jan. 20 at 9 p.m. ET. The program chronicles last year’s 50th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Coming off a season of increased year-to-year Nielsen ratings (11% w/households, 30% w/M18-49, 31% w/M35-54), SPEED opens the 2013 racing calendar with live coverage of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, race from Anaheim on Jan. 5 at 9:30 p.m. ET, with extended, live pre-race beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Now in its seventh year together, the SPEED broadcast team of host Ralph Sheheen, analyst and Hall-of-Fame rider Jeff Emig and pit reporter Erin Bates — joined regularly by Supercross legend and SPEED analyst Ricky Carmichael — takes on this year’s storylines heading into the opener:
We managed to read THEN JUNIOR SAID TO JEFF, The Greatest NASCAR Stories Ever Told by the late David Poole, Jim McLaurin & Tom Gillispie. The book was jam packed with short stories about a multitude of NASCAR drivers from NASCAR’s beginnings and early years right through the present day with contemporary drivers. The updated version was released in October of this year. All three authors knew their way around NASCAR and they gave behind the scenes insight to the various driver personalities as well as those various track personnel and race parts suppliers.
It’s a semi-hard cover book and is easy reading for the race fans and won’t take a very long time to get through it. We really enjoyed it. It’s offered by Triumph Books, at 814 North Franklin St., Chicago, Illinois 60610. Call 312.337.0747. It’s priced at $14.95 and has 1 color photos throughout and is 256 pages long. You can also check it out for further details at www.triumphbooks.com on the internet.
Check out Jayski.com to see what’s happening in the world of motorsports during this offseason.