NASCAR Ratings Move Into Fast Lane

In December, NASCAR announced an eight-year, $4.48-billion television deal that goes into effect in 2007 and provides an annual TV income of $555 million. Only the NFL’s $3.735 billion yearly TV income, the NBA’s $767 million and baseball’s $713 million rank higher.

In an era of generally declining TV ratings, NASCAR household ratings have increased more than 20% over the last five years. NASCAR proved good to go again last weekend, when NBC got a rating of 11.3 for the Daytona 500 -- a record for a NASCAR event.

Fox will be drafting off of all this good news as it begins its NASCAR Nextel Cup season with Sunday’s Auto Club 500 at California Speedway in Fontana.

Dick Glover, NASCAR’s vice president in charge of broadcasting, said, “I think a testament to how well we’re doing as a sport is that our two biggest stars, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., were not in the championship chase last year and we still had our highest-rated season.

“I think there is a combination of things responsible for our success. The competition on the track with good, young drivers is better than it has ever been. Our broadcast partners have really stepped up with their production. Sometimes forgotten is the job Speed [Channel] has done since Fox took it over, especially in the past six months.

“And I think another factor is how we have been embraced by the mainstream media.”

Fox will use more than 60 cameras and 100 microphones to cover Sunday’s race. Mike Joy will call the race with analysts Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds, who is a former crew chief. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond will be in the “Hollywood Hotel” for the pre-race show, and covering the pits will be Jeanne Zelasko, Dick Berggren, Steve Brynes, and Matt Yocum.

In addition, Fox on Thursday said it had signed Waltrip to a multi-year contract extension.

Short Waves

With Todd Blackledge having left CBS to work on ESPN college football telecasts with Mike Patrick, CBS has hired Gary Danielson away from ABC to replace Blackledge. Danielson will work with Verne Lundquist on Southeastern Conference games. ... Look for FSN West to announce next week that it will be changing the name of FSN West 2 to FSN Prime Ticket.

The ESPN2 nightly telecasts of the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race are an example of competing networks working together for the good of a sport. ESPN2 is using OLN cycling commentators Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll, generally considered the two best in the business. The Tour of California ends Sunday with circuit races in Redondo Beach. Sherwen said he has been impressed by just how well-organized the race has been. ... OLN’s international cycling schedule begins March 5 with the Paris-to-Nice race.

Curt Gowdy, who died this week, was largely responsible for Chick Hearn’s leaving Peoria, Ill., for Los Angeles in 1956. Gowdy had worked with Hearn on a couple of NBA telecasts for NBC and told the head of NBC Sports, Tom Gallery, he should hire Hearn. Gallery took Gowdy’s advice and hired Hearn to do the nightly sports for Channel 4. Hearn ended up doing USC football as well, and of course, later the Lakers.