Increased NASCAR Coverage On Australian Television In 2009

Increased NASCAR Coverage On Australian Television In 2009



As a result of the significant and ever-growing interest in Australian NASCAR driver Marcos Ambrose, Australian viewers will enjoy unprecedented NASCAR television coverage in 2009.

For the first time, Australian free-to-air television will telecast both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying and ‘happy hour’ (final practice) on Network Ten's new 24-hour sports channel, ONE.








Before ONE’s launch in late March, NASCAR Nationwide Series and selected Sprint Cup coverage will be seen on Ten-HD. ONE will also carry the full NASCAR Nationwide Series and show weekly one-hour highlights packages from both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.

ONE will also broadcast four of the biggest Sprint Cup races of the season live and in high definition; the Daytona 500 (including both Gatorade Duels), the Coke Zero 400, also from Daytona International Speedway, the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the season-ending Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Pay-TV network FOX Sports will continue to broadcast the full Sprint Cup Series live across it’s three channels as well as highlights packages from both the Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series.

This season Ambrose will embark on his first season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the premier division in NASCAR, driving the #47 entry of JTG Daugherty Racing. It will be his fourth season in NASCAR since moving from Australia to the United States after winning two consecutive V8 Supercar titles in 2003 and 2004.

“It’s great that Australian fans will get to see even more NASCAR coverage on their TV screens in 2009,” said Ambrose.

“It was not long ago that Australian motorsport fans had little-to-no coverage of NASCAR. To think that we are now at a stage that practice and qualifying will now be televised is just fantastic.

“I’m really pleased that my family, friends and fans back in Australia will be able to follow both my progress and the Sprint Cup Series in general even more closely in 2009.

“The internet has brought international fans even closer to NASCAR and we will continue to work hard on my own website, MarcosAmbrose.com, and our fan newsletter this season. But if you can’t get to a NASCAR race and see the spectacle and racing first-hand, certainly seeing it live on television in high definition is the next best thing.”

2008 saw a full season of NASCAR shown on Australian free-to-air television for the first time, with the entire Nationwide Series shown on Ten-HD. Hourly highlights packages for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series were also shown weekly on Ten-HD.

For a full rundown on the 2009 NASCAR television schedule please click on the TV screen below. Please check local guides for specific programme scheduling.



THE BREAKDOWN:

ONE (Ten HD) ...

- Sprint Cup qualifying live whenever possible
- Sprint Cup 'happy hour' (final practice) live whenever possible
- Nationwide Series races live whenever possible
- weekly one-hour highlights packages from the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series
- the following Sprint Cup races live;
8 February 2009 - Budweiser Shootout (Daytona International Speedway)
13 February 2009 - Gatorade Duels (Daytona International Speedway)
16 February 2009 - 51st Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway)
5 July 2009 - Coke Zero 400 (Daytona International Speedway)
27 July 2009 - Allstate 400 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
23 November 2009 - Ford 400 (Homestead-Miami Speedway)

FOX Sports ...

- all Sprint Cup races live whenever possible
- weekly highlights packages from the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series


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