Overnight ratings for Fox’s broadcast of that Sunday’s UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway were up 1.9 percent over last year’s figures. This year’s race drew a 5.5 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research and an 11 market share, compared with a 5.4/10 in 2006, according to Street and Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily and the jayski.com webpage.

Then we got this from Fox. That Sunday’s (3/11/07) NASCAR on FOX event from Las Vegas hit the jackpot, posting an impressive 6.3/13 (10.5 million viewers) National rating, according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research. Sunday’s 6.3/13 is up +2 percent over last year’s 6.2/12 for the same race on FOX, and was by far the top-rated sporting event of the weekend. NASCAR on FOX from Las Vegas outrated CBS’ NCAA Selection Show by +47 percent (6.3/13 vs. 4.3/9 ), the largest margin ever recorded between the two events. Sunday marked the third-straight year in which NASCAR on FOX from Las Vegas has out-pointed the same-day NCAA Selection show on CBS . Ratings for Sunday’s race on FOX opened at a 5.5/13 and grew steadily throughout the broadcast, peaking at a 7.6/14 (13.1 million viewers). Despite direct competition from the NCAA Selection Show on CBS, Sunday’s race also enjoyed substantial gains among the younger male demos:

Las Vegas 400 (2007 vs. 2006)
M18-24 - UP +100 percent (2.6 vs. 1.3)
M18-34 - UP +24 percent (3.6 vs. 2.9)
M18-49 - UP +6 percent (5.0 vs. 4.7)

The following came from the ESPN front office via the stockcargazette.com newsletter. After four races of ESPN’s new NASCAR agreement, the Busch Series is averaging 2,234,000 households, including a big jump from last year’s audience for that Saturday’s race from Las Vegas, the first of six in 2007 to be aired on ABC. The broadcast earned a 2.4 rating and averaged 2,699,000 households, an increase of 58 percent compared to the same race in 2006 (1,713,000 homes). Also, ESPN2’s three races are the network’s top three ratings of 2007. The telecast of the season-opening event from Daytona International Speedway was ESPN2’s most-viewed auto racing telecast ever with 2,200,600 household impressions (2.4 rating). It was the seventh-most-viewed telecast overall in ESPN2 history, with a larger audience than anything the network aired in 2006.

ESPN’s eight-year NASCAR agreement provides benefits far beyond the race telecasts and television alone. This past weekend, the motorsports section of ESPN.com enjoyed 79 percent more traffic than the same weekend a year ago (739,000 page views, up from 414,000). For the season to date, racing content has generated nearly double the number of page views per day than 2006 (up 98 percent, from 199,000 to 393,000). ABC will also televise the March 24 event from Bristol Motor Speedway which should kick up the ratings even more because it will capture the additional audience that does not subscribe to cable.

This story came from Variety and the stockcargazette.com webpages. NASCAR has revved up its first multi-episode primetime series for broadcast, a six-hour behind-the-scenes report from ABC News on the grueling competition and its effect on the drivers. The tentatively titled “NASCAR in Primetime” series is also noteworthy in that “it’s the first time NASCAR has ever surrendered editorial control over something they cooperated in,” said Michael Bicks, the 20-year veteran of ABC News who will serve as executive producer.

No NASCAR official or driver will be able even to view the tape before it goes on the air — a remarkable concession, said Bicks, because “control is how NASCAR operates.” Before Columbia could start shooting “Talladega Nights” or Disney could kick off “Herbie: Fully Loaded,” both of which received NASCAR’s cooperation, Bicks said the studios had to submit their scripts to the association for approval.

Sarah Nettinga, NASCAR’s managing director for entertainment, said, “We’re giving ABC News deep access into our sport because we want it to tell dramatic stories that are relatable to the average man or woman.” NASCAR’s hope, she continued, is that people who never watch an auto race will change their mind after viewing the Alphabet docu series. ABC’s Bicks said NASCAR was willing to relinquish total control because “it trusts us to be fair.”

But it also didn’t hurt that ABC’s ESPN sibling has signed a humongous $2.2 billion license fee to carry NASCAR events during the second half of the season for the next eight years. (Fox and TNT share NASCAR events throughout the first half of the year.)

The docu started shooting last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the goal is to have it completed in time for scheduling in the summer. If lots of people watch it, Bicks said, ABC News will go back and produce another batch of NASCAR episodes for next year.

Gillette is taking its “Young Guns” group of marketable NASCAR racers beyond the 30-second commercial and into reality TV. The razor maker is producing a prime-time reality show called “Fast Cars and Super Stars: Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race.” The show is slated to air on ABC in June leading up to the NBA Finals. The show will follow members of the “Young Guns,” such as Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch, as they train other celebrities, including skateboarder Tony Hawk and surfer Laird Hamilton, to become race-car drivers. The series will be made up of six 30-minute episodes and a one-hour finale. The show gives Gillette, which is a unit of Procter & Gamble, valuable branding throughout the series. This came from the Boston Herald.

Again in 2007 several auto racing events being presented at NASCAR sanctioned Grandview(PA)Speedway will have television coverage. RCN-4, headquartered in the Lehigh Valley, will offer tape delayed television coverage of five events at the one-third-mile, banked clay Berks County oval. “This is great news for the racers that compete here on a regular basis,” said promoter Bruce Rogers. “This gives the sponsors of our racers and our event sponsors great exposure on this popular cable television outlet. It also introduces viewers to the excitement of short track auto racing. It is a great opportunity to grow the sport.”

The opening night show on Saturday, April 7th, will be the first of five events offered to RCN-4 viewers. A 40-lap championship event for NASCAR Modifieds will top the show that will open the 45th season of racing. The Late Models will offer their always exciting racing action topped by a 20-lap feature race. Opening night will also include a Tribute to Smokey Warren.The veteran racer is battling brain cancer and has no health insurance. Drivers will be going into the grandstands to collect money for the popular racer to help defray some of the medical treatment costs. RCN-4 will show the tape delayed coverage at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10th; Friday, April 13th at 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, April 24th at 9:30 p.m. and Friday, April 27th at 7:30 p.m.

Other events being given the RCN-4 treatment during the 2007 season include:

Saturday, May 19th featuring NASCAR Modifieds and Late Models
Saturday, June 9th featuring the NASCAR Modifieds and Late Models
Wednesday, July 18th featuring the DIRT Modifieds in the 100 lap Traffic Jam Thunder on the Hill promotion
Saturday, August 4th featuring the Stauffer Construction Forrest Rogers Memorial 50-lapper for NASCAR Modifieds plus the Late Models

The longstanding and historic relationship between the IndyCar Series and ESPN continues in 2007 with ESPN2’s live primetime telecast of the Saturday, March 24, event from Homestead-Miami Speedway. ESPN is in its 12th year with the IndyCar Series and ESPN on ABC will celebrate its 43rd year at the Indianapolis 500 in May.

The entire 17-race season for the IndyCar Series will appear on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN on ABC. The 2007 television schedule will include seven events on ESPN on ABC, five on ESPN and five on ESPN2. The networks will also cover Indianapolis 500 qualifying May 12-13 and 19-20.

In addition, ESPN2 will be on the air live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway with SportsCenter at the Indianapolis 500. The 30-minute show will air each weekday at 5:30 p.m. starting May 7 with updated news and information, as well as coverage of practice, leading up to the May 27 race.

The ESPN alliance dates back to the series’ inaugural 1996 event and with ABC’s’ first broadcast of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race in 1965, a relationship that is the second-longest in sports between a network and sports property. Only CBS and The Masters have been together longer.

All IndyCar Series telecasts in 2007 will continue to be enhanced with technology from Sportvision, Inc., the nation’s premier innovator of sports and entertainment products for fans, media companies and marketers. Data boxes in the race cars are used to track real-time telemetry, miles per hour and other data, helping viewers to better experience the extreme speed of IndyCar Series competition. The Sportvision pointers can also be used to help viewers identify cars when they are racing in a tight pack, as often occurs in IndyCar Series racing.

The popular “Side-by-Side” feature, used in IndyCar Series telecasts for the past two seasons, will also continue in 2007. During commercial breaks, a split screen format showing the advertisement on one side and racing action on the other allows viewers to not miss anything that might happen on the track during the break.

Bob Jenkins will return to ESPN to call the play-by-play of ESPN2’s coverage of the Indy Pro Series, the IndyCar Series’ feeder series, in 2007. Robbie Buhl and Mike King will complete the telecast team for the 16 races. Jenkins anchored ESPN’s coverage of NASCAR from 1981-2000 as well as working on the IndyCar Series telecasts after that. He also worked for the IMS Radio Network, anchoring the Indianapolis 500 broadcast from 1990-99.

ESPN2 has been the exclusive TV home of the Indy Pro Series since the series debuted in 2002. In 2007, the Freedom 100 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Carb Day (May 25) will be aired on the same day while the remaining telecasts will typically air on the Thursday or Friday following the race.

AMA Racing announced that Erin Bates and Jeff Emig will join Ralph Sheheen to form the announcing team on SPEED’s television coverage of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF.

As announced in February, Sheheen will handle play-by-play duties. The veteran motorsports broadcaster will be supported by Bates who will serve as the pit reporter and Emig who will provide color commentary. Bates has solid credentials having covered both AMA Motocross as well as the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series. Emig has an illustrious racing history. He is a former multi-time AMA Supercross and Motocross champion, competed on Team USA in the Motocross des Nations six times, and was the 1997 AMA Pro Racing SPEED Athlete of the Year.

Also, 2007 marks the return of AMA Motocross to SPEED. Plans call for three of the 12 events to be carried live; a first for the series. Additionally, real-time webcasting will be carried on www.racerxill.com on the internet. The 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF begins May 19-20 at the Hangtown Motocross Classic from Sacramento, Calif. The championship will conclude Sept. 8-9 at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Calif.

NASCAR announced an expanded and comprehensive television broadcast package for 2007 with the NASCAR Grand National Division, which includes the Busch East Series and West Series. The television package features live coverage in high definition by HDNet, which began a partnership with NASCAR three years ago with its coverage of the NASCAR Grand National Division and thus provided NASCAR its first live television package for the series.

“NASCAR is proud to continue its relationship with HDNet and SPEED in providing coverage of the NASCAR Grand National Division to a national audience,” said NASCAR Managing Director of Racing Operations George Silbermann. “NASCAR fans across the country will be able to follow the next generation of our sport as the NASCAR Grand National Division moves into a new era as a developmental series for up-and-coming future stars of NASCAR.”

HDNet coverage will include seven consecutive races from the Grand National, West Series followed by seven consecutive races from the Grand National, Busch East Series. Bonus coverage of two combined races, featuring drivers from both series will be featured in May. By providing separate coverage of each series, fans will be able to follow the competition more closely.

“HDNet is very excited to extend our partnership with NASCAR and the Grand National Division,” said Mark Cuban, president and co-founder of HDNet. “The new enhancements to the series, coupled with our high-definition coverage is going to create an amazing experience for our viewers.” In addition to its live coverage of the NASCAR Grand National Division, HDNet will also re-air every NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race in high-definition each Thursday night following the race.

“NASCAR programming is an integral part of the HDNet experience and we are excited to extend our joint programming initiatives to include NASCAR NEXTEL Cup coverage,” said Cuban. “Together we will make a lot of NASCAR fans excited they bought an HDTV!” In addition, SPEED will provide expanded coverage of the NASCAR Grand National Division in 2007, as the network will air 23 races as part of its Racing Across America series, re-airing all 16 of HDNet’s live events while originally producing six others. SPEED’s coverage of the division will culminate with live post-season coverage of the prestigious NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown in October.

“SPEED is happy to be back with the NASCAR Grand National Division in 2007,” said Frank Wilson, VP of Production for SPEED. “It’s always interesting to give our viewers a chance to see some of the best racers at this level, whether they are up-and-comers or simply weekend warriors. There is a true passion for the sport in the NASCAR Grand National Division.”

Live coverage of the 2007 season kicks off with HDNet televising the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series season opener at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, on March 31. Meanwhile, SPEED will provide coverage of the season opener for the NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C., on April 28.

In addition to coverage of the NASCAR Grand National Division, HDNet will air the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on August 25, while SPEED will air the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire International Speedway on June 30 and the combination event with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Sept. 1.

From the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter comes this enlightening quote.

Yes, He REALLY Said That -J.R. Todd, NHRA Top Fuel driver, on losing crew chief Jimmy Walsh to Kenny Bernstein’s Funny Car team. “I know it can be a big soap opera out there and I was hoping to avoid it. But here I am right in the middle of it.”

Now let’s see what’s happening on the tube this weekend for motorsports action. The momentum continues to pick up as we get deeper into the racing season. Starting on Friday it’s Busch Final Practice at Bristol on ESPN2 at 2:30 p.m. Speed kicks in with Cup Practice from that same track at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s action starts at 10 a.m. with Speed’s NASCAR Cup Practice at Bristol followed by NASCAR Busch Qualifying from that same track at 11 a.m. Stay on Speed for the Cup Final Practice from Thunder Valley at 12:30 p.m. Speed continues on with the Grand Am Rolex from Homestead, FL at 2 p.m. while ABC kicks in the the Busch go from Bristol at 2:30 p.m. ESPN2 returns at 8 p.m. with the IRL Indy Cars from Homestead. Sunday’s highlights offer the AMA SuperX from Indy on CBS at noon. Fox has the Cup race from Bristol going off at noon. More biker action starts at 5 p.m. with the FIM 250 event from Spain followed by the MotoGP250 from that same track with both airing on Speed. Stay on that cable channel as the Speed Report goes at 7 p.m. with a weekend wrap-up followed by Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain starting at 9 p.m.

NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES AND NOTES.