As NASCAR’s popularity peaked in the early 2000s, several media outlets were cashing in on the sport’s growing appeal at the time. Former driver Kenny Wallace looked back at one such instance of a network covering NASCAR during that era and how the eventual demise of one of its most popular shows came to be.
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Talking about the NASCAR: RaceDay (broadcast on the now-defunct Speed channel), Wallace remembered how the pre-race show was a phenomenon trumping various other sports’ ratings such as IndyCar and F1. However, the program, despite its huge popularity and fanbase, was taken off the air in 2013. Wallace explained the reason behind the decision in a recent video:
“It cost $800,000 per show to operate it. Satellite time is not expensive back in those days. We had big stages, we had big screen TV set up outside, a lot of employees, and when you put it all together it just cost a lot of money,” said Wallace.
Another reason for the eventual demise of the first pre-race show in the sport’s history was FOX Sports’ push to take over the Speed network. With the Speed channel only broadcasting racing action at the time, FOX wanted to rival fellow network giants such as NBC Sports by launching a channel that covered all sports, not just NASCAR.
This gave way to the birth of FS1 after the takeover was officially completed. Wallace also confirmed the fact and added, “They killed it because they wanted to start a new network, FOX Sports 1. Eric Shanks (current FOX Sports CEO) the president walked right up to me and he was very sad and he said, ‘Kenny I’m sorry. I did not want to get rid of NASCAR Raceday.'”
Hosted by John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer, and Wallace at the time, the program is a pioneer in broadcasting that inspired modern-day NASCAR pre-race coverage. It provided a basis for a network such as FOX to build on in the future.
Beginning in August 2013, after the official takeover, the program was shortened from a two-hour broadcast to just an hour. The modern rendition of the program continued to go on air until the 2024 racing season, with stock car personalities such as Jamie McMurray and Bobby Labonte hosting it.
