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NASCAR on television in the 1980s

Before the existence of ESPN,^[1] live coverage of NASCAR Winston Cup races on television was limited. CBS^[2] covered the Daytona 500, the June race at Michigan and the July race at Talladega. ABC^[3] usually did the Atlanta race in the spring.

List of races televised[edit]

1980[edit]

• The Los Angeles Times 500 was switched from Sunday to Saturday to accommodate live CBS Sports coverage.

• OnMay 29, 1980, CBS paid a fee of roughly US$50,000 or $100,000 to Charlotte Motor Speedway to broadcast the World 600 NASCAR stock car race. Benny Parsons edged out Darrell Waltrip to win a grand prize of $44,850 in a race that was watched by perhaps 3.7 million viewers on the network.^[23]

• Prior to the original 1999 contract between NASCAR and NBC, the network aired races such as the National 500atCharlotte Motor Speedway from 1979^[24][25][26]to1981,^[27] the 1981 Mountain Dew 500^[28]atPocono International Raceway, the Winston 500atAlabama International Motor Speedway from 1983^[29][30]to1985, and the Miami 300^[31] and Pennzoil 400atHomestead-Miami Speedway in both 1999^[32] and 2000.^[33]

1981[edit]

• ESPN broadcast its first race in 1981, from North Carolina Motor Speedway^[61] (its first live race was later in the year at Atlanta International Raceway), and TNN followed in 1991. All Cup races were nationally televised by 1985; networks struck individual deals with track owners, and multiple channels carried racing action. Many races were shown taped and edited on Wide World of Sports and syndication services like Mizlou and SETN, but almost all races were live by 1989.

1982[edit]

• From 1982to1984, USA Network broadcast the UNO Twin 125s^[73][74] (now the Gander RV Duel). USA used CBS'^[75][76] crew, graphics and announcers. USA also aired the Atlanta ARCA race in 1985 and televised several NASCAR Busch Series races in the late 1980s.

1983[edit]

• During its coverage of the 1983 Daytona 500, CBS introduced an innovation which director Bob Fishman helped develop – a miniature, remote-controlled in-car camera called RaceCam.^[88][89] Fishman^[88][90] directed every Daytona 500 telecast on CBS, with the exception of 1992, 1994 and 1998 because Fishman was away directing CBS' figure-skating coverage for the Winter Olympics.

• TBS broadcast the Richmond spring race, held the week after Daytona Speedweeks, from 1983 to 1995, as well as the fall races at Rockingham (1985-1987), Atlanta (1983-1985) and Riverside (1982-1987).

• TNN started showing races live in 1991,^[91] but it had aired taped coverage of a few Winston Cup races in the 1980s on its American Sports Cavalcade program.

1984[edit]

• Special Events Television Network (SETN) is the name of a defunct syndicated television package that broadcast tape delayed NASCAR races from 1984to1988. SETN aired races (typically from Martinsville and Pocono as well as from Rockingham, Charlotte, Richmond and Daytona for good measure) that didn't have live television deals at the time. The broadcasts were aired on tape delay because certain promoters still feared that live telecasts would hurt their gate.

1985[edit]

• All Cup races were nationally televised by 1985; networks struck individual deals with track owners, and multiple channels carried racing content. Many races were shown taped and edited on Wide World of Sports and syndication services like Mizlou and SETN, but almost all races were live by 1989.

1986[edit]

1987[edit]

1988[edit]

• After SETN folded, one Pocono race a year was produced by Jim Wiglesworth on pay-per-view for Viewer's Choice (now In Demand) from 1988to1990. They were not a huge success, as fans were reluctant to pay for what they could see last week for free. The Viewer's Choice shows were noteworthy in that they premiered viewer phone-in questions during the races.

1989[edit]

• At the 1989 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 NASCAR event, ESPN/ABC broadcaster Dr. Jerry Punch was reporting from the pit stall of Richard Petty when a fire broke out, injuring two crew members who Punch proceeded to treat on the spot. Following the incident, in which several items of Punch's clothing were singed or melted, ESPN mandated that its pit reporters wear fire-retardant suits. Other networks have since adopted the practice.^[256]

References[edit]

See also[edit]

• List of Daytona 500 broadcasters
• List of Wide World of Sports (American TV series) announcers
• List of events broadcast on Wide World of Sports (American TV series)
• NASCAR on television in the 1960s
  • NASCAR on television in the 1970s
  • NASCAR on television in the 1990s
  • NASCAR on television in the 2000s
  • NASCAR on television in the 2010s