(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) – Officials from FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) have announced a multi-year extension of the current television rights agreement between the two groups, with a minimum of 10 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards events televised either live and/or same-day delay each season.
In 2013, ARCA television coverage begins with the drop of the green flag on the series’ 50th appearance at the world-renowned Daytona International Speedway in February.
“ARCA has a very supportive group of race fans, and for over 15 years they have turned to us for their television coverage,” said Scott Ackerson, FOX Sports Media Group EVP, executive producer, and SPEED president. “We now look forward to continuing in that role over the coming years.”
ARCA’s relationship with SPEED reaches back to April 20, 1997, when the network (then Speedvision) covered the ARCA Racing Series race at Salem Speedway. Since then, SPEED has aired 197 ARCA Racing Series events, with tonight’s season-ending Kansas Lottery 98.9 scheduled as the 198th.
Year-over-year broadcast ratings have spiked by 24 percent in 2012, highlighted by substantial improvements in key demographics.
“We’re very encouraged by the completion of this deal,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “Fox Sports Media Group has shown its commitment to motorsports in a significant way this week, and we are especially pleased to make this announcement at the season finale to create some momentum as we move forward into 2013.”
The ARCA Racing Series season will close in tonight’s Kansas Lottery 98.9 at Kansas Speedway, with race action starting at 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. local) on SPEED. ARCARacing.com will also feature live timing and scoring coverage for the season finale.
2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time.
Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.
