NBC TV wants NASCAR in New York

NBC Sports president Ken Schanzer has called for a stock-car oval to built in the New York area to secure NBC's six-year investment in NASCAR racing, which now draws TV ratings in America second only to the NFL. A track in the USA's top media market is one of NASCAR's chief goals now that it has replaced the Winston cigarette brand with Nextel Communications as the title sponsor of its headline series, and shifted races to major markets from smaller Southern cities

Sep 18, 2003, 7:47 PM

Since 1997, NASCAR has added races in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas and Kansas City. It now has races in each of the top 10 US media markets except New York and San Francisco. A race in New York will expose millions of new fans to the series and gain the attention of some of the 75 'Fortune 500' companies in the area.

International Speedway Corporation (which owns or operates 11 of the 23 tracks that currently stage Winston Cup races) and its commercial rival Speedway Motorsports have both been looking for New York sites for more than three years.

The TV coverage of the series is shared. NASCAR has been able to secure a six-year, $1.2bn deal with NBC and Turner Sports, and an eight-year, $1.6bn agreement with Fox.