NASCAR Hot Pass
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NASCAR Hot Pass is a pay-per-view television package available exclusively on DirecTV in the United States and on various cable & satellite providers in Canada. It debuted at the 2007 Daytona 500, which aired on February 18 of that year.
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[edit] Features
NASCAR Hot Pass includes a view of the race from a driver's in-car camera, unedited communications between the driver, crew chief, and spotter, and telemetry showing the car's speed and horsepower. Part of the screen also includes the live nationwide race broadcast.
[edit] Format
There are five Hot Pass channels, each dedicated to a particular driver. The drivers will vary from race to race and will depend on a number of factors, including driver popularity and past performance on a given track.[1] In addition, for some races, one driver will be selected based on an online vote.[2]
Viewers can switch from the Hot Pass audio with its own announcers and coverage, to the audio from the network broadcast, except during commercials. During a commercial break, Hot Pass will show the national broadcast on a large screen while the action continues to be shown on a smaller screen.
Beginning with the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 on March 11, a new audio option will be available in which viewers can listen to real-time communications between the driver and his team.[2]
[edit] Drivers covered at each race
| Race | Channel 795 | Channel 796 | Channel 797 | Channel 798 | Channel 799 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daytona 500 | Tony Stewart (43rd) | Jimmie Johnson (39th) | Kevin Harvick (winner) | Michael Waltrip (30th) | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (32nd) |
| Auto Club 500 | Jeff Gordon (2nd) | Juan Pablo Montoya (26th) | Elliott Sadler (24th) | Matt Kenseth (winner) | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (40th) |
| UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 | Kurt Busch (26th) | Kasey Kahne (35th) | Denny Hamlin (3rd) | Dale Jarrett (33rd) | Carl Edwards (6th) |
| Kobalt Tools 500 | Mark Martin (10th) | Tony Stewart (2nd) | Greg Biffle (41st) | Jimmie Johnson (winner) | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (14th) |
| Food City 500 | Elliott Sadler (27th) | Kevin Harvick (4th) | Jeff Gordon (3rd) | Kurt Busch (29th) | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (7th) |
| Goody's Cool Orange 500 |
[edit] Announcers
The following announcers were assigned to the Hot Pass channels during the 2007 Daytona 500:
- Channel 795, showing Tony Stewart: Brad Sham and Ray Dunlap
- Channel 796, showing Jimmie Johnson: Hermie Sadler and Pat Patterson
- Channel 797, showing Kevin Harvick: Adam Alexander and Randy Pemberton
- Channel 798, showing Michael Waltrip: Barry LeBrock, Doug Rice and Marty Snider
- Channel 799, showing Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Rick Allen and Phil Parsons
It is assumed that the same announcers, except Sham, will call all races for Hot Pass throughout the season, even as the driver lineup changes. Sham will miss some races due to his play-by-play commitments to the Dallas Cowboys and Westwood One radio. Mike Joy told Speedcouch, a NASCAR media website, in February 2007 that he has been offered play-by-play for at least some races once NASCAR on FOX ends in early June.[3] Matt Yocum has covered some races for Hot Pass as well, including the March 18 race on channel 796, which featured Tony Stewart. Stewart and Yocum are co-hosts of a weekly show on the official radio channel of NASCAR, on Sirius Satellite Radio. A recent USA Today report stated that George Michael, former host of the syndicated Sports Machine and sportscaster at WRC in Washington, D.C. and Darrell Waltrip are also in negotiations to cover future races for Hot Pass.[1]
[edit] Nascar iN Car
Nascar Hot Pass is similar to another service called Nascar iN Car. Nascar iN Car was started in 2003 by iN Demand Networks and was exclusive to digital cable subscribers for three years. [2][3]
Nascar iN Car has been discontinued since the introduction of Nascar Hot Pass. Nascar Hot Pass has performed better than Nascar iN Car. This year Nascar Hot Pass has 100,000 subscribers than Nascar iN Car last year. Nascar iN Car had 30,000 subscribers last year. The price for a season of Nascar iN Car is the same as Nascar Hot Pass [4]
[edit] Notes
- The Daytona 500 was offered on a free preview basis to all DirecTV subscribers.
- Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon replaced Stewart and Johnson on channels 795 and 796, respectively, when Stewart and Johnson dropped out of the Daytona 500.
[edit] Pricing
The annual price is $99 per year, paid in two monthly installments of $49.50 each. As with all other DirecTV PPV sports packages, there is expected to be an annual renewal discount for subscribers with an account in good standing.
[edit] Availability
NASCAR Hot Pass is available through the following cable and satellite providers:
- United States:
- DirecTV (Exclusive provider in US)
- Canada:
- Bell ExpressVu
[edit] See also
- NFL Sunday Ticket (DirecTV exclusive)
- Mega March Madness (DirecTV exclusive)
- MLB Extra Innings (DirecTV quasi-exclusive)
- NBA League Pass
- NHL Center Ice
- MLS Direct Kick
[edit] References
- ^ SpeedCouch posting, late January 2007
- ^ a b http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=81290
- ^ http://www.speedcouch.com/behindthemic/MikeJoy.html
[edit] External link
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