Business in racing: NASCAR banquet getting makeover with new location, network
Las Vegas will be the host city for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series awards banquet this year. // Gary Shook, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
Now here may be something to be thankful for: In a recent NASCAR press release announcing comedian Frank Caliendo’s role as host of the season-ending Sprint Cup banquet and awards show in Las Vegas, Caliendo says: “I’m on the pole, but don’t worry. Even though we’re in Vegas, I’m not dancing.”
With that worry out of the way, fans may be wondering if there is any way the ceremony can be held under the four-hour mark. Not this year.
The banquet will still be a marathon, but it is getting a makeover this year. As NASCAR fans know, it’s moving from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York to the Wynn Las Vegas. And in TV terms, the Dec. 4 crowning of the champion migrates to Speed from ESPN, where it last was seen languishing on sister network ESPN Classic.
The move to Speed appears to make sense for a number of reasons. At Speed, the banquet becomes a prime property. At ESPN, it was an afterthought to be wedged in somewhere amid college basketball and “SportsCenter” and all the rest.
NASCAR and ESPN agreed a move would benefit both sides, but the last-minute hop to Speed left little time for the new network to weigh in on the ceremony. “The die is cast for this year,” says Steve Craddock, Speed senior vice president of programming. “So many things were already in place by the time we got involved, we couldn’t [change] anything this year. We’ll be making a list to make suggestions” for the future.
Craddock’s last remark reflects Speed’s wish to carry the Sprint Cup Series banquet on a continuing basis. Those talks are under way, he says.
The season-ending banquet has long posed TV problems. Like almost every awards show, it runs longer than most viewers like, making it hard to keep them watching.
Acceptance speeches long ago devolved into sponsor and team name-checks, draining any potential drama from the proceedings. And attempts to spice things up with entertainers — beware, Mr. Caliendo — have also led to mixed results.
Speed probably has the best shot to make matters more palatable. As a sister network to Fox, it can draw on a large team of racing personalities (hello, Darrell Waltrip), as well as a reputation for in-depth NASCAR coverage. Even this year, with few audibles allowed, Speed is doing its best to create related programming to make the banquet a bigger TV event.
Four 30-minute specials highlighting the best moments, races and personalities of the 2009 season will air beginning at 5 p.m. on Dec. 4, followed by the 2-hour Camping World Truck and Nationwide series banquet at 7 p.m. Live coverage from Las Vegas immediately follows, with all four hours airing live and the twice more in repeats.
Craddock points to the three-hour time difference between Vegas and the East Coast as a challenge. Network execs are toying with the idea of airing the banquet live on the West Coast in future years and a day later on the East Coast to give it a better time slot.
Assuming Speed retains the broadcast rights, Craddock envisions the banquet becoming a signature show much like the blanket coverage of Daytona Speedweeks and the spring all-star race. In both of those cases, Speed has created a number of shows around those events while also putting a different spin on regular programs during those weeks to give it a major-event flavor.
“We can guarantee that we will make it a priority,” Craddock says.
