NASCAR Podcast
Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Race to Air on Alternate Channels in Seven Markets
NASCAR fans in seven affected markets will watch ABC’s telecast of Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on alternate channels through arrangements made by their local ABC affiliates.
Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart Wins 2012 ‘Best Driver’ ESPY Award
July 12, 2012
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 12, 2012) –Tony Stewart, three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ, last night took home the 2012 ESPY for “Best Driver” at the 20th annual ESPY Awards on ESPN, beating out four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti, F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and NHRA champion Del Worsham.
Stewart put together an epic Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in what proved to be one of the most exciting seasons in NASCAR history last year. Stewart won five of the 10 races in the Chase, narrowly edging out Carl Edwards in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to take home the title.
“I am thrilled to win the ‘Best Driver’ award after what turned out to be a great NASCAR season last year. I was fortunate enough to be able to take the checkered flag when it mattered most,” said Stewart. “There were some great drivers and great champions in this category, so I cannot thank the NASCAR fans and everyone who voted enough for their unbelievable support.”
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ESPN Breaks Cable Viewership Record with NASCAR Telecast from Daytona
With an average of 4.4 million people watching, ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25 has broken the previous record as the most-viewed race ever on cable television for the series.
The race telecast earned a household coverage rating of 3.3, averaging 4,433,249 viewers in 3,304,012 households, breaking the record of 4,271,365 viewers in 3,170,109 households set for ESPN’s telecast of the Daytona race in 2010.
Ratings and viewership for the Daytona telecast were up 37 percent from ESPN’s telecast of last year’s race, which earned a 2.4 household coverage rating and averaged 3,246,875 viewers.
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Ray Evernham Returns to ESPN as NASCAR Analyst
Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham is returning to ESPN as a NASCAR analyst for the 2012 season.
Evernham will join ESPN’s team at Daytona Speedweeks and will be part of NASCAR Countdown before the NASCAR Nationwide Series race that airs on ESPN on Saturday, Feb. 25, at noon ET. He also will appear on NASCAR Now and SportsCenter from Daytona as ESPN’s multimedia platforms surround the opening of the NASCAR season.
Evernham, who won three championships and 47 races as crew chief for Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, will be an analyst on NASCAR Countdown for many of the 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races that will appear on ESPN networks in the second half of the season. In addition to his work on NASCAR Now and SportsCenter, he will help call several NASCAR Nationwide Series races from the booth.
Evernham was an analyst for ESPN from 2008-2010 but left prior to the 2011 season when he took a consulting position with Hendrick Companies, a management company that oversees strategic initiatives for chairman Rick Hendrick, who also owns Hendrick Motorsports.
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NASCAR Fines Kurt Busch For Actions At Homestead-Miami Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 25, 2011) – NASCAR has fined Kurt Busch $50,000 for his actions during the Nov. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR determined that Kurt Busch violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing – inappropriate hand gesture; abusive language) of the 2011 NASCAR Rule Book.
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Penske, Kurt Busch respond to Homestead outburst against Dr. Jerry Punch
In issuing the penalty, NASCAR cited Kurt Busch’s “poor judgment in making an inappropriate hand gesture” when he drove his car into the garage early in the race after it experienced transmission problems. In addition, NASCAR said Kurt Busch showed “disrespect towards a media member,” an incident that followed similar inappropriate media confrontations earlier in the season.
The Final Lap Weekly 