My father, who is a die hard, old school race fan wrote this up and I couldn't have agreed more.

SPEED?
The first recollections I have as a race fan was sitting in my father's lap listening to the '57 Indy 500 on the radio. Just out of diapers, it didn't really bother me this was the only racing media that existed. My love of racing grew as we listened to those broadcasts. When he could get his hands on Speed Sports News, we could somewhat keep tabs on the racing world. As I grew up ABC's Wide World of Sports brought a late Indy 500, Monaco, and the Daytona 500. Coverage of auto racing was so bad you didn't realize it was bad...it was just what it was.

My dad an ex-northeast-midget driver, would take me to the “Moody Mile,” for USAC roadsters on the dirt, or Watkins Glen for the Formula One, and SCCA sports car races. We saw Bob Bondurant's last race at the top of the “esses,” scared a teenager to death. Didn't do much for Bob either.

Along came ESPN, my God as race fans my father and I both died and went to heaven. They showed racing from everywhere, every type. They raced stuff I didn't even know raced. Today we have ESPN, ESPN2, I won't add all the other ESPN networks, SPEED, Versus, and I'll be damned if the racing coverage is only marginally better than ABC Wide World of Sports back in the day. I guess because I'm old to some, you will have to explain what PINKS, Living the Low Life, Pass Time, Wrecked, and Bull Run, to name a few, have to do with SPEED.  If I want reality shows I'll watch the four networks, I don't need Satellite for that crap. I pay my satellite provider for the privilege, which would not be why I paid extra for SPEED. The variety of racing in this country and the world could keep a 24 hour Racing channel running 365 days a year and never show the same event twice, why would you show this.... junk? One scenario that ain't all bad, SPEED keeps going as they are and I save 10 bucks a month on my satellite subscription.

My father has since passed away, we missed one together, '73 I was on Submarine patrol, yet I am still religious about the Indy 500. Now my son and I have found our own time to be cherished. The 24 Hours of Le Mans. Your 24 Hour coverage got us together, (Thank God for DVRs) and we haven't missed a minute of the coverage since. Years ago you started sticking useless NASCAR coverage and worse in between. Why would a network wrought with racing fanatics and drivers take racing off the air to watch Practice??? Do me a favor, NASCAR's killing itself quick enough. Race fans (different from NASCAR fans), are getting tired of the pure volume of NASCAR coverage.

Please, my number One concern for writing is bring back racing. One network needs to give us racing! We have food and nature networks. For God's sake, networks that do nothing but sell stuff! WHY can't you give me racing? I implore any network, or anyone who has money who wants to start a network, put racing on it . Any kind of racing, from Aircraft to Swamp Buggys, Australian V8s to European Touring Car racing. The Dirt series of the Northeast US, to the once immensely popular California Sprint and Midget series, i.e., Thursday Night Thunder. You will have at least two avid watchers, I'm sure world wide, it will be a few more than that. Sorry if this got a little long...remember I'm old to some.

As an aside, Larry, I will miss you a lot. Robin Miller (keep agitating), and Chris Economaki (live forever), Rule. Long Live SPEED Sport News.

Here Here, similar memories for me; I'm not quite that old first Indy I can recal anything is about 1963.
Don't forget the hydroplanes.
We have all made this same plea. Most have given up.
Maybe Versus will come to the rescue, although that won't help me, I'm pretty sure they aren't in Canada and if they are my cable provider doesn't have it.

Wow, all I can say is wow! BBKIWI hit the #### nail on the head. I want to see racing cars, which in my mind is the world's ultimate reality show. Not to be morbid but there is nothing more "real" than a mistake at 180 or 200MPH.
The problem with SPEED is that the guys at the top are not car guys. If I ever see that little fat turd on Unique Whips again it will be too soon.

Thanks to DVR (VCR, whatever), I still get plenty of Racing viewing with whats on Speed. Seems obvious their current variety of shows increases their viewership, keeps them $$ healthy, which gives us the GREAT racing events & hilite shows on weekends.

>> BUT GETTING MAYBE a 1 hr or so NON NASCAR RACE EVENT REPLAY on West Coast Weeknight(s) would be VERY WELCOME! <<

Cheers

Abso-freaking-lutely! Give us more SCCA, GP2, formula 3, touring cars and semi trucks from Europe, Australian (some of those mates are nuts!),......

I am so sick of NASCAR's BS and the over-the-top coverage that SPEED gives to it that I rarely watch any of the races.


ALMS, Koni challenge and Rolex are, without a doubt, the best racing series I have seen on TV in 15+ years.

SPEED: why don't you create a spinoff channel for all your other filler programs

Pinks has to be the dumbest show I've ever heard of. You have a Christmas tree, use the @#$%^&* *&^%#@!@ thing. Don't give me some lame host flapping his arms.

Also, why don't you get some real reporters like Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, Dave Despain,... that have actual knowledge and/or experience in racing. Leave the darn eye candy, just-out-of-journalism-college cuties to the over the air networks.


Anything available on Dish Network or Direct TV that is racing 24/7?

Sadly, no...

swb31763 - 30 May 2009 10:27 AM

Abso-freaking-lutely! Give us more SCCA, GP2, formula 3, touring cars and semi trucks from Europe, Australian (some of those mates are nuts!),......

I am so sick of NASCAR's BS and the over-the-top coverage that SPEED gives to it that I rarely watch any of the races.


ALMS, Koni challenge and Rolex are, without a doubt, the best racing series I have seen on TV in 15+ years.

SPEED: why don't you create a spinoff channel for all your other filler programs

Pinks has to be the dumbest show I've ever heard of. You have a Christmas tree, use the @#$%^&* *&^%#@!@ thing. Don't give me some lame host flapping his arms.

Also, why don't you get some real reporters like Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, Dave Despain,... that have actual knowledge and/or experience in racing. Leave the darn eye candy, just-out-of-journalism-college cuties to the over the air networks.


Anything available on Dish Network or Direct TV that is racing 24/7?

Agreed. Split Speed into the NASCAR Network and The Automobile Channel. Then maybe someone will come along and revive Speed the way it was supposed to be.

Agreed on the hosts. Racecasts should be done by experts. They do that for football, baseball, hockey, basketball, and NASCAR broadcasts. It should apply to all sports.

Over and over and over again....
Same old question. Same old answer. $$$$.

I love all the experts that that suggest that someone else should start a seperate all racing channel. I submit: If you're so sure that the moola is there to be had, why aren't you doing it and raking it all in????

jimclark - 31 May 2009 07:58 PM

Over and over and over again....
Same old question. Same old answer. $$$$.

I love all the experts that that suggest that someone else should start a seperate all racing channel. I submit: If you're so sure that the moola is there to be had, why aren't you doing it and raking it all in????

Or, why hasn't someone else??????????

Yeah.....whay he said.

i just think its the old speedvision fans that were hoping that speed would be 24/7 racing, not the nascar channel or american idiot on wheels. sure i know that nascar pays the bills and all the reality shows cost less than what bernie would charge for one season of f1 legends, but there is less racing on speed vs reality shows, nascar pre-race, nascar this and nascar that. it just gets old after a while. that's all.