Speed Channel will have plenty of coverage

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SPEED to deliver more than 70 hours of coverage from Daytona

NASCAR THIS MORNING BACK AS NASCAR RACEDAY

"NASCAR's Daytona Speedweeks has been a signature event for our network since 2002, when Fox launched the re-branded SPEED," said Hunter Nickell, SPEED Executive VP and General Manager. "There is a unique pride and energy that everyone at the network is a part of for two weeks in February, and this year marks our most ambitious effort to date -- 10 days, 70-plus hours, live action, comprehensive documentaries — the total Speedweeks package.

"SPEED does big-event motor sports programming better than anyone else," Nickell added. "It's in our DNA. It's the 10-year anniversary of the network, and the fifth year of NASCAR on SPEED, so the viewers should expect something special this year. And they are going to get it."

In addition to live coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race (Feb. 17, 8 p.m. ET), the IROC race (Feb. 17, 6 p.m. ET), the ARCA race (Feb. 11, 4 p.m. ET), SPEED also will air multiple practice and qualifying sessions from all of NASCAR's three major divisions. SPEED favorites, including Trackside, Inside Nextel Cup, NASCAR Live!, NASCAR Performance, SPEED News and NASCAR Victory Lane also will be on-site, with a new high-energy pre-race show entitled NASCAR RaceDay set to make its Daytona debut.

"NASCAR RaceDay will take the team from NASCAR this Morning and add several new segments, including tech reports from crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Bootie Barker, off-track items from Vicki Johnson and Craig Reynolds and long-form interviews with the weekend's storymakers," said Chris Long, SPEED VP of Studio Production. "John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace will continue to anchor the show and offer their no-holds-barred perspective, something our viewers have come to expect from SPEED. NASCAR RaceDay will set the tone for the entire weekend."

SPEED will have multiple stages on-site, including its 53-foot mobile stage truck just outside the main tunnel entrance, a central location inside the track in the FanZone and a third stage positioned atop the viewing garage in the NASCAR Nextel Cup team area.

"It's all about bringing the fans at home into the middle of the action," Long said. "We want them to feel like they are totally immersed in the Daytona experience."

SPEED also has multiple specials planned for Speedweeks, including NASCAR Five Years Later, a look at NASCAR five years after the loss of Dale Earnhardt, a Daytona documentary hosted by Dave Despain, a look back at Toyota's NASCAR experience and Champions Quest, a one-hour special on the Rolex 24 at Daytona efforts of NASCAR champions Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace.

"In concert with the expansion of SPEED's off-track efforts during Speedweeks, we will once again bring all of the on-track action to life with the insights of the best analysts and play-by-play broadcasters in NASCAR," said Rick Miner, SPEED SVP Programming & Production. "SPEED's ability to pull from FOX, NBC and SPEED's own talent group gives the NASCAR fan the best 10 days of auto racing coverage of the year."

As part of its coverage, SPEED will announce the 2005 SPEED Channel Driver of the year with a special one-hour program on Feb. 15 beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

SPEED, celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2006, is the nation's first and foremost cable network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in nearly 70 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on-demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.