2009 NASCAR Television Broadcast Times Announced

Broadcast times for the 2009 NASCAR season have been announced, beginning with FOX’s broadcast of the non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona at 8:10 p.m. (ET) on Feb. 7 at Daytona International Speedway. The full broadcast schedules, including TV start times, for all three national series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – are below.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races will be seen on either FOX, TNT, ESPN or ABC. In addition, two non-points events – the Gatorade Duel at Daytona (2 p.m. ET on Feb. 12) and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (7:30 p.m. ET on May 16 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway), will be broadcast by SPEED.

FOX will broadcast the first 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup points races, beginning with the 51st running of the Daytona 500 (Feb. 15, 2 p.m. TV start time; green flag 3:20 p.m. ET) and ending with the May 31 event at Dover International Speedway at 2 p.m. (ET).

TNT will broadcast the next six events, beginning with the Pocono 500 at 2 p.m. (ET) on June 7 at Pocono Raceway and ending with Chicagoland Speedway’s LifeLock.com 400, July 11 at 8 p.m. (ET).

ESPN and ABC will broadcast the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup events. ESPN will broadcast six, beginning with the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at 2 p.m. (ET) on July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ending with the Sept. 6 event at Atlanta Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET).

ABC completes the season with 11 broadcasts, beginning with race No. 26, the cutoff event for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). ABC also will air the entire 10-race Chase. The season ends with ABC’s broadcast of the Ford 400 on Nov. 22 at 3:15 p.m. (ET) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. ABC will broadcast four events, ESPN will broadcast five and ESPN2 will broadcast 26. ESPN2 opens the season with the Camping World 300 at 1:15 p.m. (ET) on Feb. 14 at Daytona. New to the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule is a race at Iowa Speedway, held on Aug. 1 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN. ESPN2 also will broadcast the season-finale Ford 300 on Nov. 21 at Homestead-Miami (4:30 p.m. ET).

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with new title sponsor Camping World, returns to SPEED for a seventh consecutive season, beginning with the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. (ET) at Daytona. The season-finale Ford 200 on Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami begins at 8 p.m. (ET). SPEED will broadcast 23 of the 25 races.

For the third consecutive season, FOX will broadcast two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. The first will be at Auto Club Speedway on Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. (ET). The race is part of a NASCAR “double header” involving the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series (The NASCAR Nationwide Series race will be televised on ESPN2 at 7:45 p.m. ET). FOX also will broadcast the NCWTS Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 28 at 2 p.m. (ET).

Click the link below to download a complete broadcast schedule for all three NASCAR series:

2009-nascar-national-broadcast-schedules

Thank you to Jennifer Powell, NASCAR Public Relations, for this content.

Want to see more of Junior? You’re Gonna!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports to be featured in Nationwide Insurance 2009 marketing campaign!

And, NASCAR Nationwide Series sponsor introduces ‘Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash’ and NASCAR Nationwide Series ESPN ‘Driver Pick ’Em’ game at media day

Charlotte, NC — Nationwide Insurance announced today at NASCAR Nationwide Series media day that NASCAR racing superstar, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his company JR Motorsports will be featured in a new marketing campaign that will begin in February.

The company also introduced other activities related to the sponsorship, including the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash, which involves an increased winner’s purse at four NASCAR Nationwide Series races, and the NASCAR Nationwide Series ESPN ‘Driver Pick ’Em’ game presented by Nationwide Insurance, a weekly interactive competition for cash prizes that will be available on ESPN.com

Nationwide’s partnership with Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports, the company he owns that fields NASCAR Nationwide Series teams, will include TV and radio advertising. In the ads, Earnhardt Jr. talks about his family’s 30-year history with Nationwide. Earnhardt Jr, is a current Nationwide customer – as are many other members of his family. The campaign will also involve personal appearances with Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports driver, Brad Keselowski.

“My family has been with Nationwide for three generations,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “When they asked me to appear in the campaign I knew it was a good fit because I’ve always appreciated the relationship our family has had with our Nationwide agent. The service we have received as customers has been outstanding.”

Nationwide has created an interactive micro site, nationwide.com/dalejr, which will feature behind the scenes videos and photos from the recent ad shoot. The final ads will be available on this site in mid-February

The campaign is a departure from previous Nationwide ads featuring celebrities. Despite the obvious opportunity for a racing pun, the ad does not include the company’s famous Life Comes at You Fast line and is not intended to be humorous. It’s framed as a customer testimonial, and true story from a family with one of the richest traditions in NASCAR.

“When we considered our approach for 2009 the Earnhardt family’s long history with Nationwide presented us with a great opportunity to talk about how many of our customers stay with us for a lifetime,” said John Aman, associate vice president of sponsorships for Nationwide

“This is a serious time for Americans,” Aman said. “People are worried about the economy, their jobs, and their retirement plans – so we didn’t want to make a joke. We felt like this was an opportunity to tell an honest story about a real family who has been with Nationwide for generations because they appreciate the service and value Nationwide provided. This family just happens to include some of the greatest race car drivers ever.”

In years past, Nationwide has featured celebrities like Kevin Federline and Fabio during the Super Bowl.

“We’ve had success in building buzz with Super Bowl ads in the past,” Aman said. “At this point in time, we’re focused on developing a deeper relationship with NASCAR’s very loyal fan base as the official provider of auto, home and life insurance and through this new partnership with JR Motorsports.”

Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash
Nationwide also introduced the ‘Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash’ that will add $25,000 to the winner’s purse at the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Nashville Superspeedway Kentucky Speedway,  Iowa Speedway and Memphis Motorsports Park. Drivers eligible for this competition include full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers and series regulars who are not full-time drivers on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. If a driver who is not eligible wins one of the races, prize money will be rolled over to the next race in the competition. The program also includes a $50,000 season-end bonus to the eligible driver with the highest points total over the four races.

“We wanted to provide some additional support for drivers on our series,” said Aman. “We also hope that these bonuses encourage competition and contribute to more exciting racing for the fans.”

ESPN ‘Driver Pick ’Em’ presented by Nationwide Insurance
The Nationwide ‘Driver Pick’ Em’ contest is an interactive weekly contest on ESPN.com. Fans can log-in weekly to select the winners of 10 head-to-head match-ups for each NASCAR Nationwide Series races. The contest will include cash prizes for weekly and season-long winners.

ABOUT JR MOTORSPORTS:
JR Motorsports is the management company and racing operation for Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver and winner of more than 40 NASCAR-sanctioned races. JR Motorsports competes in multiple racing divisions, including the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2008, JRM enjoyed a breakout season with four Nationwide Series victories between its two teams. The JR Motorsports facilities are based out of Mooresville, N.C., and include the JR Nation retail store, Dale Jr. Fan Experience, Hammerhead Entertainment, and DEJ Realty. For more information on JR Motorsports, visit www.dalejr.com.

About Nationwide:
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world.  Nationwide ranks #108 on the Fortune 500 list.  The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto insurance, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.

Thank you to Hope Patterson, Nationwide Corporate Communications, for this information.

2008 NASCAR Nationwide Champions Celebration Photos

The 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Champions were honored in Naples, Florida just prior to Thanksgiving. Here are some photos from the weekend event provided by our good friend Nancy Smeltzer at Nationwide Insurance (Credit to Getty Images).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nancy501s/sets/72157609989523792/