[ad_1]
NASCAR is offering to extend the charter system for seven years concurrent to its new media rights agreement, according to four sources familiar with the talks, as teams fight for something closer to a permanent status for their version of franchises.
Sources say NASCAR’s offer is to extend the system from 2025 through 2031. Teams want the system locked into NASCAR’s rules in perpetuity, along with getting additional guaranteed media revenue. As a middle ground, teams are open to something resembling an “evergreen” status where they keep the charter permanently as long as they meet a list of requirements that would be agreed on with NASCAR, such as running every race. NASCAR and the RTA had no comment on the specific terms being discussed when contacted.
Recently at Daytona, NASCAR declined to show up to a Race Team Alliance meeting to discuss a new deal, while teams revealed they had retained antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler. The original charter agreement was negotiated in 2015, the first year of NASCAR’s current 10-year media rights agreement that expires after 2024. It was designed to give teams a form of enterprise value they never had. While charters are essentially like franchises, NASCAR is noticeably different from major stick-and-ball leagues in that teams have no equity in the league itself and are instead independent contractors.
Still, teams believe making their charters permanent should be a natural next step of the sport operating more like a league. Charters have increased 11-fold in value since the system began. The most recent one was sold by Live Fast Motorsports to Spire Motorsports for slightly less than $40M. Many of NASCAR’s team owners are in their 70s and 80s, and at least some of them believe this is their chance to lock in enterprise value that can last for their family through generations, sources say.
———
THIS YEAR, THE ‘Speed Showcase’ at Port Royal Speedway serves as the first ‘big one’ of the year on the calendar for the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco.
On Fri.-Sat., March 15-16, the stars of the STSS will chase the first $50,000-to-win main event on the 2024 schedule.
The March date is the make-up to the rained out 2023 edition, which was slated for its traditional mid-October date last year.
In what will be just the second STSS race of the year in the Northeast, Modified racing’s best will do battle for 75-laps and ultimately the $50,000 top prize.
With the race being a make-up date, it holds the place of the ‘23 Ollie’s Elite Series Championship, along with Round No. 2 of the NJ Quality Drywall South Region for 2024. Ollie’s Overall Championship points will also be up for grabs for racers.
In three previous editions of the $50K-to-win ‘Speed Showcase,’ Mat Williamson (2020), Stewart Friesen (2021), and Matt Sheppard (2022) have claimed the biggest prize the STSS South Region has to offer.
Along with the STSS Modifieds, the STSS Crate 602 Sportsman will take part in what is the biggest Crate 602 Sportsman event of the year on the STSS.
They go for 50 laps in search of a $4,000 winner’s share in Round No. 2 of the Belmont’s Garage South Region.
The New York-based Pro Stocks are also on tap for the weekend of racing, going 25-laps for a $1,250 top prize to round out the racing program for the weekend.
Saturday’s feature events will be preceded by B-Mains (as needed) to set the final starting field for all three divisions.
Friday’s racing program features 15-lap Qualifying Races for the STSS Modifieds, 12-lap Qualifying Races for the STSS Crate 602 Sportsman, and 8-lap heat races for the Pro Stocks to set the stage for Saturday’s main events.
Friday night will go under the moniker of ‘Bob Hilbert Sportswear Qualifying Night’ for the STSS ‘Speed Showcase.’
An Open Practice session will take place Friday morning before racing begins on Friday night.Sunday, March 17 is reserved as a rain date for the event.
The entire weekend of racing – and every STSS event in ’24 – will be broadcast live on FloRacing (www.floracing.tv) via the annual subscription.
A side note. I have been using floracing.tv and enjoying it.
———
MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY, Mohnton, officially kicks off the 2024 season March 16th with the Spring Swap Meet. This is a great time to sell unwanted items and/or buy parts for your next project.
The month of March will also feature on-track action with two Test-N-Tune dates. These will feature a Gamblers Race for our bracket racers who want some seat time before the Sunoco E.T. Series ramps up. The dates for the Test-N-Tunes are Saturday, March 23rd and Sunday, March 31st.
Test-N-Tunes are open to all! Take on the Grove and see what your car can do. Race car, daily driver, project car….all are welcome. You never know what you’ll see on a Test-N-Tune at Maple Grove. Every car needs a little track time after a long winter, even those jet cars. Went faster than expected? We have a fully stocked Speed Shop to handle all your safety equipment needs. Maple Grove’s concession stand is open on Test-N-Tune dates.
Powerball, the Official Lottery Game of NASCAR®, has announced the return of its highly-anticipated national promotion, the NASCAR Powerball Playoff. First introduced last year, the season-long Powerball promotion will, again, culminate with four lottery players winning a VIP trip for two to NASCAR Championship Weekend™ in Phoenix, Nov. 8-10, and a 1 in 4 chance to win $1 million during a special drawing televised live from the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race™ on Sunday, Nov. 10.
“We’re excited to offer our players this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the exhilaration of NASCAR Championship Weekend first-hand, in addition to the chance of becoming a millionaire on the spot!” said Drew Svitko, Powerball Product Group Chair and Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director. “Players should follow their local lotteries for information on how to enter. As always, every time you buy a Powerball ticket, a portion of that purchase stays in your home state to support good causes.”
The national Powerball® promotion will begin at the state level with participating lotteries holding in-state contests and second-chance drawings throughout the 2024 NASCAR regular season to form a national pool of entrants. Entry periods and method of entry will vary by lottery. At the end of the NASCAR regular season, 16 semi-finalists will be drawn from the national pool to advance to the Powerball Playoff drawings, with no more than one semi-finalist per lottery advancing.
The Powerball Playoff drawings are a series of elimination drawings that mirror the elimination rounds of the NASCAR Playoffs™. In the NASCAR Playoffs, the top 16 drivers at the end of the regular season are eligible to compete for the Championship title. After each Playoff round, the bottom four drivers are eliminated until the field of eligible drivers decreases from 16 to 12 to 8 to 4.
Likewise, the NASCAR Powerball Playoff begins with 16 national semi-finalists. As the NASCAR Playoffs field of drivers is reduced, Powerball will reduce its playoff field of semi-finalists eligible to win the $1 million grand prize. Through a series of elimination drawings, the field of semi-finalists will be reduced from 16 to 12 to 8 to 4 – with the remaining four finalists winning a VIP trip for two to the NASCAR Championship Weekend™ at Phoenix Raceway and entry into the $1 million drawing in Victory Lane.
The results of each Powerball Playoff drawing will be revealed during select race broadcasts, beginning with the Round of 16 announcement on Sept. 1 during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500™ race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C. Cash prizes will be awarded to all 16 national semi-finalists based on their elimination position, ranging from $2,500 to the $1 million prize.
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli is thrilled to announce its 2024 broadcast package will include live coverage of every National Championship race this season. Continuing its partnership with MAVTV, Trans Am’s TA/XGT/SGT/GT and CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series events will air live on MAVTV’s linear television network and its Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) channel, MAVTV Select.
In addition to live broadcasts of the events, 60-minute highlight shows will air Thursdays on MAVTV in primetime following each race weekend, with the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race airing at 8:00 p.m. ET and the TA/XGT/SGT/GT race airing at 9:00 p.m. ET as part of MAVTV’s ‘World of Racing’ programming block. Other Trans Am programming includes the docuseries Road to Glory, which tracks the progress of teams and drivers in the paddock.
In addition to the MAVTV broadcasts, live streams will also be available for all National Championship events on Trans Am’s YouTube channel (@TheTransAmSeries) and the SpeedTour TV YouTube channel (@SpeedTourTV).
Veteran commentator Jonathan Green returns to the broadcast booth as lead announcer. Green will be joined by a variety of co-hosts offering expert analysis throughout the season. Ben Cissell will once again serve as pre-race, post-race and pit-road reporter.
———
Ernie Saxton is an auto racing contributor for MediaNews Group. He co-founded the Eastern Motorsports Press Association, served as public relations director for Grandview Speedway for 47 years, and is in multiple halls of fame for his promotion and journalism related to the sport. He has announced races at more than 100 tracks, and he is the only person to have announced a race at Madison Square Garden. Email him at ESaxton144@aol.com.
[ad_2]
Source_link
