NASCAR on Monday announced new start times for Sprint Cup Series race broadcasts for the 2011 season.
Most pre-Chase races will start at one of three times: 1 p.m. for the East Coast, 3. p.m. for the West Coast, or 7:30 p.m. for night races (all times Eastern.) The sole exception will be the Coke 600 which will start a t 6 p.m. As the longest race in the season it needs the earlier time.
Chase races are also being rescheduled: six of the first seven will start at two p.m., while the final three, Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead, will start at 3 p.m.
NASCAR senior vice president Paul Brooks said that the timeslot changes will strike “the right balance between keeping the start times in familiar slots and highlighting the races down the stretch, building more excitement at the end of the season.”
The announcement also confirmed SPEED, FOX, TNT, ABC, and ESPN as NASCAR’s 2011 broadcast networks.
SPEED will broadcast the Duel at Daytona and the All-Star race.
FOX will carry the Budweiser Shootout plus the first 13 races, from the Daytona 500 through Kansas. TNT then takes over for the next six races starting with the Pocono 500.
ESPN has 14 of the remaining 17 races with ABC airing three including the final pre-Cup race, the Richmond 400. ESPN will broadcast all the Chase events.
Nationwide races will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, with the exception of the Bubba Burger 250 at Richmond, which will air on SPEED.
The Camping World Truck Series will air entirely on SPEED, for the ninth consecutive season.
Most pre-Chase races will start at one of three times: 1 p.m. for the East Coast, 3. p.m. for the West Coast, or 7:30 p.m. for night races (all times Eastern.) The sole exception will be the Coke 600 which will start a t 6 p.m. As the longest race in the season it needs the earlier time.
Chase races are also being rescheduled: six of the first seven will start at two p.m., while the final three, Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead, will start at 3 p.m.
NASCAR senior vice president Paul Brooks said that the timeslot changes will strike “the right balance between keeping the start times in familiar slots and highlighting the races down the stretch, building more excitement at the end of the season.”
The announcement also confirmed SPEED, FOX, TNT, ABC, and ESPN as NASCAR’s 2011 broadcast networks.
SPEED will broadcast the Duel at Daytona and the All-Star race.
FOX will carry the Budweiser Shootout plus the first 13 races, from the Daytona 500 through Kansas. TNT then takes over for the next six races starting with the Pocono 500.
ESPN has 14 of the remaining 17 races with ABC airing three including the final pre-Cup race, the Richmond 400. ESPN will broadcast all the Chase events.
Nationwide races will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, with the exception of the Bubba Burger 250 at Richmond, which will air on SPEED.
The Camping World Truck Series will air entirely on SPEED, for the ninth consecutive season.
