More on NASCAR TV shows

Rumors include the end of the Trackside series on SPEED which was drastically changed last season into an unwatchable mess. Shows like RaceDay, RaceHub and Victory Lane are set to return. Bob Varsha is stepping into the former Leigh Diffey role and handling sports cars on SPEED beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Diffey departed SPEED for NBCSN where he will handle Formula One and IndyCar telecasts. There have been no announcements on the TNT and ESPN portions of the Sprint Cup Series TV package changing hands. Rumors include FOX wanting the six TNT races and NBC perhaps interested in the ESPN package. You may remember that ESPN also televises the entire Nationwide Series. The current TV deal expires after the 2014 season.

NBC expected to make push for NASCAR rights: The shift to a less passive audience that would rather interrelate with a race telecast than just watch comes as NASCAR negotiates its next television contract. The current deal expires after the 2014 season and by the time '15 rolls around the TV landscape could look very different. FOX has already renewed its agreement through 2022 to the tune of $300 million per year, or $2.4 billion over the eight years. That's a significant bump up from the $220 million Fox is currently paying for a package of races that includes the Daytona 500. Despite a drop in ratings, an increase is also expected from other television entities for the remaining components of the contract, which include 23 other Sprint Cup races, ten inside the Chase, and the entire Nationwide Series schedule. Incumbents TNT and ABC/ESPN are expected to again jump back into negotiations but a wild card has come to the table in the form of NBC. Desperate for quality and popular live sports programming for its NBC Sports Channel, the Peacock Network is expected to make a substantial play for a big piece of the NASCAR pie. But while the dollars may turn out to be greater in the NBC proposal, at this point the network could not match the exposure and publicity NASCAR receives from the "World Wide Leader" in sports. As part of the mighty ESPN machine, NASCAR enjoys a hefty amount of promotion on not just auto racing-related programming but a wide range of content across a variety of television, radio and online platforms.(Motor Racing Network)(12-24-2012)

SPEED to have live coverage of Daytona testing: In just three short weeks, SPEED and SPEED.com will be live from the high banks of Daytona International Speedway when Preseason Thunder kicks off the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. SPEED and SPEED.com offer live coverage of the Jan. 10-12 test session in its entirety with SPEED live from all afternoon sessions and Speed.com streaming all morning sessions.
John Roberts, Jeff Hammond and Matt Clark host SPEED's on-air coverage from the studio above pit road at the start/finish line at Daytona. Steve Byrnes calls the on-track action during the morning sessions (9 am to 12 pm/et) on SPEED.com alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Kenny Wallace, while Hermie Sadler and Wendy Venturini handle reporting duties. Rick Allen assumes the play-by-play chair for the afternoon sessions (1-3 pm/et and 3-5 pm/et) while the NASCAR on FOX and SPEED crew of Waltrip and Larry McReynolds take over the TV booth duties. Bob Dillner and Matt Yocum report from pit road and the garage. SPEED.com NASCAR Editor Mike Hembree will be on site to provide coverage and perspective as well.
Special editions of NASCAR Race Hub will air Jan. 10-11 at 6 pm/et from Daytona to recap all the on- and off-track action. Furthermore, NASCAR Race Hub offers new episodes from the SPEED Studios Jan. 21-24 at 6 p.m. ET during the week of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Sprint Media Tour. The program's 2013 season premiere is slated for Feb. 4 at 6 pm/et (Monday-Thursdays at 6 pm/et). Additionally, SPEED Center, hosted by Adam Alexander, continues to keep fans updated on all things across the motor sports world, beginning with its 2013 premiere on Jan. 6 at 7 pm/et.

Events, schedule, Times for Budweiser Speedweeks 2013 at Daytona International Speedway

For the fourth straight year, the 55th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24, NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race, is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time (TV – FOX Sports, Radio – MRN Radio).

Start times for the other remaining events of Budweiser Speedweeks 2013 at Daytona International Speedway are as follows:

•    The 51st anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race, Jan. 26-27, 3:30 p.m. (SPEED)
•    The Lucas Oil 200 ARCA Racing Series, Saturday, Feb. 16, 4:30 p.m. (SPEED)
•    The Daytona Shootout  non-points event, Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m. (FOX)
•    Daytona 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger, Sunday, Feb. 17, 1 p.m. (FOX)
•    Budweiser Duel At Daytona, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m. (SPEED)
•    NextEra Energy Resources 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Friday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. (SPEED)
•    DRIVE4COPD 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Saturday, Feb. 23, 1 p.m. (ESPN)


The season-opening 55th annual Daytona 500 will mark the debut of the new 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. Dubbed “Gen 6,” the new-look sixth generation cars highlight greater brand identity for the manufacturers.

NASCAR Makes Revisions To Its Competition Personnel Structure From NASCAR Communications

In an effort to strengthen and grow its racing series for 2013 and beyond, NASCAR announced Tuesday several revisions to its Competition personnel structure. The following changes will take effect in 2013:

• Joe Balash, who has served as the NASCAR Nationwide Series director since 2004, will be assuming a new role as International Competition Liaison. This position will be the NASCAR point of contact for competition-related matters relative to the NASCAR Toyota (Mexico) Series, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the Euro Racecar, NASCAR Touring Series and other international competitions and series in which NASCAR may be involved and/or considering involvement. Balash now will report to Richard Buck, who has been promoted to managing director, Competition GRAND-AM and managing director, Touring Series NASCAR.
• Wayne Auton, who has served as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series director since 1995, will assume the role of NASCAR Nationwide Series director. Auton will continue to report to John Darby, managing director, competition and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series director.
• Chad Little, currently NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour series director and director of Racing Development, Mexico, will serve in the role of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series director. Little also will report to Darby.
• Brad Moran, currently NASCAR Canadian Tire Series director, will serve in the role of director of Touring Series, NASCAR, reporting to Buck.
• With the increasing integration between NASCAR, GRAND-AM, American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Euro Racecar, NASCAR Touring Series, these moves are designed to strengthen all of the sport’s racing series, both at the national and international levels.
• “We recently completed a thorough, strategic review of all of our racing series and believe the changes we’re announcing today will further strengthen our overall racing and offer us the best opportunity for growth,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “Joe (Balash) is terrific at building relationships with track operators, sponsors and other key stakeholders, and he will be an excellent fit in his new role. I’m also pleased our system allowed us to promote our talent up the ranks, as is the case with Wayne (Auton), Chad (Little) and Brad (Moran). I think this shows that we have a great deal of depth in our series director leadership roles and these moves reflect that depth and versatility.”
• George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president regional and touring, highlighted the fact that these moves will aid NASCAR as it continues to focus on expanding its reach beyond the United States.

“Our sport is ever-evolving and we plan to grow in regions of the world where an increasingly strong appetite exists for NASCAR racing,” said Silbermann. “Joe (Balash) certainly will help us achieve our international goals which not only include conducting our existing series at a best-in-class level but also attracting new partners for global exhibitions and/or series.”

The NASCAR Toyota (Mexico) Series continues to attract top young driver talent and for the first time, the series will race on U.S. soil in 2013, when it kicks off its season March 1 at Phoenix International Raceway. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 is growing in popularity and the maiden season of Euro Racecar, NASCAR in 2012 exceeded the sport’s expectations.

Parker Kligerman drives for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013

It was announced Today that the 22-year-old Parker Kligerman will be driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series. Kligerman will pilot the No. 77 Toyota Camry for the entirety of the 33-race schedule. Further details regarding sponsorship for Kligerman's No. 77 Camry will be announced at a later date.

Kligerman started driving in Truck Season in 2010

Kligerman will started fresh for the 2013 season with new team and everything. He should us in the truck series that he could win races and go after the championship im sure he will do that again next year.

The Connecticut native has registered five top-10 finishes in 18 career Nationwide Series starts. He posted two top-10 finishes in three starts this season, including a career-best seventh-place finish in the July race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

"Everyone at Toyota and TRD speaks very highly of Parker, and they were a big part of why were able to bring him on board here at KBM," KBM general manager Rick Ren said. "Although he has only driven a handful of races with these new Nationwide Series cars, he has participated in a lot of testing the last few years, and we feel like he will be able to come in and be able to use that knowledge to help us to continue to make improvements to our program."

"Our Nationwide Series program really seemed to hit its stride the last 10 races of the season — won a couple of poles, led a bunch of laps and were in contention for the win almost every week," said Busch, who was behind the wheel for eight of the final 10 races. "We feel like we'll be able to carry that momentum into next year and come out of the gates stronger than we did in our first season."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski likes 2013 cars

Day 1 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was good day for testing.  Everyone was happy with there cars, but one person out of nine that were testing today was very happy with his car and that would be Dale Earnhardt Jr.! Dale Jr was ready for 2013 season may be the best season he could have seen being in the chase this year.

Earnhardt, who was having his best season in six years before he missed two races because of concussions, he was pumped and ready to test those new 2013 cars!!



Your 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski and Penske Racing also could be even stronger with the new car and a new manufacturer.

The signs came during Tuesday's test, the first for teams with NASCAR's new package for non-restrictor plate tracks, at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt said "The car had a feel similar to what made him more comfortable behind the wheel prior to the COT (Car of Tomorrow) that was used from 2007 through 2012."


The 2013 car has a new body style to increase manufacturer's identity. It also will conform to rules designed to help racing at intermediate tracks.

Cars will be 160 pounds lighter and will adhere to additional rules on rear suspension and tire camber.


Teams participating in the test included:

• Hendrick Motorsports, 
• Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, 
• Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing, 
• Richard Childress Racing, 
• Richard Petty Motorsports,
• Stewart-Haas Racing 
• and Wood Brothers Racing. 

Testing will continue tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a break for lunch at noon.

Eury Jr. named Stremme's crew chief at Swan Racing

Tony Eury Jr. has been named crew chief for David Stremme at upstart Swan Racing.

The team was purchased by Brandon Davis in early September, and the new owner is using the offseason to put together the pieces needed to make the No. 30 Toyota competitive.

Eury's hiring Monday is part of that process. Eury won 19 Sprint Cup races with Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and was most recently Danica Patrick's crew chief in the Nationwide Series at JR Motorsports.

He is a cousin of Earnhardt Jr. and a co-owner of JR Motorsports, but a difference in philosophy between Eury and Earnhardt led to a late season split.

Davis purchased the assets of Inception Racing, which was a start-and-park team last season.

Joey Logano bring new Spotter to 2013

When Sprint Cup teams roll into Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2013 car test, Tab Boyd will debut in his new role as spotter for Joey Logano and the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford.

 Boyd also will assume spotter duties for Sam Hornish Jr. on the Nationwide Series tour and work as a fabricator for Penske Racing during the week.

Boyd has worked as a spotter for the last decade, most recently with Danica Patrick. The 35-year-old Pensacola native worked at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing where he took on the same role with Juan Pablo Montoya prior to the 2012 season.

ARCA Announces 10-Race TV Schedule for 2013

Officials from ARCA and FOX Sports Media Group jointly announced at the International Motorsports Industry Show the 2013 television schedule for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, comprised of 10 events to be televised live or on a same-day delay on SPEED.

The 2013 ARCA television schedule will open on SPEED on Saturday, February 16. Live flag-to-flag coverage of ARCA's 50th consecutive annual event at the world-renowned Daytona International Speedway will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Other events scheduled for live and/or same-day SPEED coverage in 2013 include races at:

• Talladega Superspeedway on May 3; 
• Toledo Speedway on May 19;
• Pocono Raceway on June 8 and August 2;
•  Michigan International Speedway on June 14; 
• Chicagoland Speedway on July 21; 
• Iowa Speedway on September 7; 
• Kentucky Speedway on September 20; 
• and the season finale at Kansas Speedway on October 4.

ARCA's relationship with SPEED reaches back to April 20, 1997, when the network (then Speedvision) covered the ARCA Racing Series race at Indiana's Salem Speedway. Since then, SPEED has aired 198 ARCA Racing Series events.

Year-over-year broadcast ratings spiked in 2012, highlighted by substantial improvements in key demographics. The full season of the ARCA Racing Series finished up +22 percent with households (0.44 vs. 0.36), one tenth or +31 percent with males 35-54 (0.42 vs. 0.32), and +50 percent with males 18-49 (0.24 vs. 0.16) from 2011.

Sweetening the solid story with males 18-49, nine out of 10 races were up year-to-year during the season. Additionally, this was the second most-watched season of ARCA in terms of total viewers since SPEED began subscribing to ratings in 2002 (P2+ impressions), averaging 464,000 viewers for the season; the most-watched season was in 2010 with 608,000 viewers, featuring Danica Patrick's stock car debut). Excluding the February Daytona race, which was down year-over-year, it was the most-watched season of ARCA on SPEED since the network began subscribing to ratings in 2002 with 363,000 total viewers.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned 30 ARCA national champions in 60 seasons since 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season.

Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Having completed its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in four professional touring series - the ARCA Racing Series, the ARCA CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series, and new in 2013, the ARCA Midwest Tour - in addition to local weekly events at Ohio's Toledo Speedway and Michigan's Flat Rock Speedway.

Swam Racing joins NASCAR in 2013

Swan Racing led by team owner Brandon Davis will field the No. 30 Toyota driven by David Stremme and attempt the full NASCAR Sprint Cup season in 2013. The team has been fielding cars for Stremme since Talladega this past October. The team entered four races in 2012 with their best finish at the October Talladega race coming home 33rd.


"Swan Racing is here to race competitively every week – the days of starting and parking are over. I am confident that we are putting together the personnel to one day produce a championship contender," said Davis.

The team has hired NASCAR veteran Steve Hmiel to be director of competition.

Hmiel was most recently competition director at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

"Steve is among the best and brightest technical experts in the NASCAR garage area. His experience and expertise will be a crucial part in Swan Racing's success," said Davis.

The team purchased the assets of Inception Racing earlier this year and is located in Mooresville, N.C.; the team will get its engines from Triad Racing Technologies.

Stremme has 165 career starts in the Sprint Cup series with three top 10 finishes, all those coming in 2007.

NASCAR Sprint Cup testing for 2013

Sprint Cup teams will be allowed to test:

• Dec. 11-12 at Charlotte Motor Speedway 
• Jan. 10-12 at Daytona International Speedway 
• Jan. 17-18. again at Charlotte Motor Speedway

To go along with the Daytona test, the speedway will have a Fan Fest that will include autograph sessions from 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. on Jan. 10.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is scheduled to have a Goodyear Tire Test at Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday October 9th, 2012. This event will be FREE and open to the public.

Drivers scheduled to test:

• 16-Greg Biffle, 
• 18-Kyle Busch, 
• 42-Juan Pablo Montoya 
• 27-Paul Menard.

Gate 4 will be open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, coolers are allowed (no glass or alcohol) Texas Motor Speedway all the other activities announced last week have been canceled. (10/9/12)

Tire test at Phoenix UPDATE #2: Goodyear will conduct a tire test Wednesday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Teams participating include

• 1-McMurray
• 2-Keselowski 

UPDATE: The testing will be Tuesday and Wendesday. Additional teams include:

• 11-Hamlin 
• 14-Stewart
• 27-Menard 
• 78-Busch 
• 99-Edwards

There will be more info on Nationwide and Truck testing when they come out with it.