Thursday, October 08, 2009

NASCAR ANNOUNCEMENT FOR 2010

NASCAR's announcement that its standardized start times for all races in 2010 was greeted with universal appeal, especially by media members.

The move from 2 p.m. to 1 p.m. for the start times at Pocono was roundly applauded.

Here are the particulars on the release:

NASCAR worked closely with FOX, Turner, ESPN/ABC and the tracks on this project for the fans. The race start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2010 in the eastern and central regions will begin at 1:00pm ET, west coast events will begin at 3:00pm ET, and night races will begin at 7:30pm ET. (The one exception is NASCAR’s longest night race, the Coca-Cola 600, which will have the same 5:45 p.m. ET start time.) Following the invocation and national anthem, the green flag will drop at approximately 15 – 20 minutes past the hour after each stated race event start time.

"NASCAR fans have been asking for earlier and more consistent start times, and we are making this change for our fans, beginning with the Daytona 500 next February," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “We are revisiting our sport’s tradition of earlier green flags, and the added consistency will make it easier for fans to know exactly when the races are being televised. Additionally, the new start times will help track operators get fans in and out of the track earlier in the evening. Many fans heading home from the race earlier will be able to eliminate the costs of an extra travel day.''

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