‘Honoring The Drive’ Set To Recognize Senator Jon Kyl In Phoenix On November 8th!

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced today that  United States Senator Jon Kyl will be presented with the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame’s “Outstanding Achievement Award” at PIR’s ‘Honoring the Drive’ charitable fundraiser on November 8 at the Arizona Biltmore. ‘Honoring the Drive’ marks the start of NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup semi-final week in Phoenix.

NASCAR personalities, including 7-Time champion Richard Petty, “The King”, and Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, will be on-hand to honor Senator Kyl’s exemplary career serving Arizona and our nation in the U.S. Senate.

“Senator Kyl has been involved with racing and Phoenix International Raceway since he was a young man,” said Sperber.  “His support of racing over the years has been critical to the growth and health of the sport.”

Turner Television (TNT) and SPEED Channel personality Ralph Sheheen will be hosting the evening’s festivities. In addition to recognizing Senator Kyl’s career and contributions to motorsports, ‘Honoring the Drive’ will be raising funds for the non-profit West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame and The MVP Foundation.

Phoenix International Raceway’s ‘Honoring the Drive’ will be held at the legendary Arizona Biltmore Resort at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 8. Tickets for the event are $250 a piece and will provide attendees with the chance to spend an evening with honored NASCAR guests while enjoying food & beverage, as well as an exclusive charity auction.

Tickets for Phoenix International Raceway’s ‘Honoring the Drive’ are available online at www.themvpfoundation.org. Interested sponsors for the event can contact Phoenix International raceway at 602-463-5400.

Tickets to the Nov 8-11 AdvoCare 500 NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway are also available, with prices starting at just $25. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.PhoenixRaceway.com or call 1-866-408-RACE.

Watch the Semi-Final Race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at PIR on Sunday, Nov. 11. Tickets for the entire Nov. 8-11 NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at PhoenixRaceway.com/Tickets or by calling 1-866-408-RACE (7223). For more information, visit PhoenixRaceway.com, Facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway and Twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway.

About The MVP Foundation

The MVP Foundation is an Arizona-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that leverages the power of professional sports to provide opportunities, support and resources to children and families in need.

Fox Sports Arizona & PIR Announce New Partnership!

FOX Sports Arizona and Phoenix International Raceway have agreed to a new partnership that allows the regional sports network the ability to showcase Arizona’s premiere motorsports venue.

The historic track hosts the Southwest’s biggest racing events and has become one of NASCAR’s fastest and most exciting stops in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Beginning this Wednesday (Oct. 10), racing fans will be able to relive some of PIR’s best races in recent memory when FOX Sports Arizona debuts its new “Phoenix International Raceway Classics” series.

Produced to highlight past races at the venue won by NASCAR legends and get fans ready for this year’s Advocare 500 Weekend at PIR (Nov. 11-13), the first show will take viewers back to the 2003 Checker Auto Parts 500 that was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The series will offer four different one-hour episodes hosted by Valley resident Chris Neville, who is part of NASCAR’s coverage on TNT and SPEED TV.

Other races that will air in the series include the 2006 Subway Fresh 500 won by Kevin Harvick, the 2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500 won by Jeff Gordon and the 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500 won by Mark Martin. Here is the complete schedule:

Oct. 10 @ 7:00 pm        2003 Checker Auto Parts 500
Oct. 15 @ 7:00 pm        2006 Subway Fresh 500
Oct. 24 @ 7:00 pm        2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500
Oct. 30 @ 7:00 pm        2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500

With the victory in 2007, Gordon tied Dale Earnhardt with his 76th all-time win and he recently said this about the moment, “What stands out to me is winning that race, tying Dale Earnhardt and carrying the No. 3 flag. That was a big deal. I looked up to Dale so much, admired him, respected him, to accomplish anything that he did in this sport was huge, so we wanted to honor him.”

When also asked a few weeks ago about his 2009 victory in Phoenix, Mark Martin said “That race was real special because it certainly looked like I wouldn’t win another race in my career at that time and it had been a few years since I’d won.”

This new agreement will also have FOX Sports Arizona produce a half-hour program in the Spring that highlights all the happenings from the 2013 Subway Fresh Fit 500. Phoenix International Raceway is one of just 12 tracks to host two Sprint Cup Races in one season and this program will bring to light everything that happens on not only the 1.0-mile oval, but off the track and outside PIR during race week. The air date and time for the show will be announced at a later date.

“Our new partnership with Phoenix International Raceway expands FOX Sports Arizona’s coverage of the local sports scene even further and strengthens our reputation as the network Arizona sports fans turn to first for comprehensive local sports programming,” said Brian Hogan, FOX Sports Arizona Sr. Vice President & General Manager.

“We’re tremendously excited to work with FOX Sports Arizona on a project that showcases many of the dramatic victories that have occurred at PIR over the years,” said Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber.  “It will be a real treat for fans to watch some of these historical accomplishments as we draw closer to our 2012 semi-final race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup – the AdvoCare 500.”

In addition to the Sprint Cup Races, PIR is also home to the Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, K&N Pro Series West and the first NASCAR Mexico Series race to ever be held in the United States on March 1, 2013.

FOX Sports Arizona televises the most regional sports action in the state and is the exclusive cable television home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Cardinals, Northern Arizona University and Phoenix Mercury. FOX Sports Arizona is currently seen in 2.5 million households in Arizona & New Mexico and can also be seen across the country via home satellite services. And for even more coverage of the local sports scene, log onto www.foxsportsarizona.com, www.twitter.com/foxsportsaz and www.facebook.com/foxsportsarizona.

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.