SPEED Channel President Jim Liberatore announced in May 2005 the hiring of Chris Long from Fox Sports in Los Angeles. As VP of Studio Production, Long's responsibility is to give each SPEED studio show their own content, look and personality. Described as one of the hardest working and most creative producers when he was at Fox Sports, Long has a passion for NASCAR making him a perfect fit for SPEED.

With shows like NASCAR Nation, Wind Tunnel and Inside Nextel Cup seeing the most changes, the Spin Out Zone had the opportunity to ask Erik Arneson, Director of Public Relations at SPEED Channel about the shows and other SPEED related questions.

SOZ: SPEED Channel has become a major player in sports broadcasting by covering all sorts of motor sports including a large number of NASCAR events and special NASCAR programming. What type of viewer growth has SPEED experienced over the past three years?

SC: When FOX purchased the network, it was available in about 45 million homes; SPEED Channel is now in more than 67 million homes in the US, 4.9 million in Canada and we just announced a deal to deliver programming to Latin America through Fox International Channel. Throw in the addition and growth of video on-demand and the recently announced Internet broadband initiatives, and SPEED is among the fastest growing networks in the country. Ratings, profit and growth are all up from 2004.

SOZ: Cooperation between competing networks is uncommon, however the current NASCAR broadcast partners (FOX/SPEED and NBC) seem to have formed a successful relationship. With that said, it's been rumored that ABC/ESPN could replace NBC as a NASCAR broadcast partner in the future. From SPEED's perspective, does it matter who the broadcast partners are or is there a value in one partner over another?

SC: Only when it comes to qualifying and practice coverage. SPEED Channel has a separate contract with NASCAR for its magazine shows that extends through 2012. ABC/ESPN is a major player in the world of sports, but I imagine we’d all play fairly nice in the sand box. Most people noticed that ESPN had a major presence at Daytona for the first time in years and FOX had to sign off on that. It serves all of us better if the sport is being covered well on all levels on all available outlets.

SOZ: It's no secret to see the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series growing in popularity. With some of the biggest names in NASCAR racing in this extremely competitive series, will SPEED continue to be the exclusive home of the Craftsman Truck Series in 2006?

SC: We have a contract that goes through the 2006 season. That said, I think when the new television deal is announced, it will include an announcement on the television future for the truck series. SPEED has grown the series quite a bit in the short time we’ve had it. The 2-plus Nielsen rating the series scored this year in Daytona still stands as the highest-rated show ever on the network. SPEED ranks the NCTS as the top series currently on the network and has every intention of staying committed to it.

SOZ: Fans who watch SPEED Channel's "Inside NEXTEL Cup" will soon see a host change. Allen Bestwick mentioned on Monday's show that he would be leaving the program. Could you tell us why the change, who will host the "Inside NEXTEL Cup" program and should fans expect changes to the expert driver panel?

SC: A lot of thought went into changing the longest running NASCAR show on the network. There is a certain audience comfort level with the current cast and many viewers feel like they are just hanging out with friends when they watch INC. The changes being made are aimed at taking a little more control of the show and giving the viewers a true “inside” look at the weekend’s race. Dave [Despain] will replace Allen for the Chase and Johnny will be replaced by a driver currently racing in Cup. Mikey and Kenny both stay on. The feeling with switching hosts was to get a personality that could keep the show a little more focused on the purpose at hand without letting it ramble off too far from the point. There has been some “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comments, but we thought we could give the viewer a little more than they were getting. NASCAR fans are notorious for being against change of any kind, so we’ll have to wait and see if they hang in there with the new lineup … my bet is most will like it.

SOZ: Fans no longer have a daily hard news program dedicated to NASCAR after the change in format to the "NASCAR Nation" program. As NASCAR approaches the chase for the championship, has SPEED looked at adding a hard news program or an update segment to the programming line-up?

SC: There will be a new show on Thursday night dedicated totally to the Chase for the Cup … news, stats, updates, perspectives from all over the world of racing … also, talks are underway for a racing news show that would cover more than just NASCAR added to the weeknight lineup next year.

So, the viewers have NASCAR Nation, Beyond the Wheel and this new show on Thursday, Trackside and qualifying on Friday, NASCAR Performance, practice sessions and NASCAR Live on Saturday, NASCAR This Morning, NASCAR News, NASCAR Victory Lane and Wind Tunnel on Sunday, Inside Nextel Cup, NBS 24-7 and NASCAR Nation on Monday … Tuesday has NASCAR Nation … Wednesday has NASCAR Nation … so, in reality, Tuesday and Wednesday are the only days of the week when you don’t have shows that will deliver the latest news from the track … if your a fan of NASCAR and can’t find at least one show you like on SPEED Channel, I’d be surprised. All of the shows are designed to be different, so it is unlikely any one person will like ALL of them. Pick the ones you like and enjoy.

SOZ: I'd like to get SPEED's assessment on a few programs that have seen a major overhaul. First, give us an assessment on the new "NASCAR Nation." The change to the program took place on June 27th, so overall how well is the program being accepted internally and externally?

SC: It is exactly what it was supposed to be all along – an entertainment based NASCAR show. It scored a .40 Nielsen rating last Monday, the highest rating for the show in either format, and much higher than the average rating for the old Totally NASCAR. Like any show, the chemistry will keep getting better and the content will continue to get stronger. We have a half-dozen shows with drivers and crew chiefs talking to hosts or pit reporters at the track. We wanted to offer the casual viewer something different than a discussion of brakes at Martinsville. And as a single-feed cable network, to get the show on at 7 p.m. on both coasts, it has to run again at 10 p.m. on the East Coast. If we were a two-feed network, we might not run it twice a night. But it is what it was designed to be, so we’ll see who tunes in.

SOZ: Same assessment for "Wind Tunnel." The change in the format took place at the beginning of the racing season. It went from a Monday-Thursday program in 2004 to an extended version aired only on Sunday nights in 2005.

SC: Ratings have been about the same, but I think we are expecting a lot of the race fans to start their day at 11 a.m. with NASCAR this Morning, watch the races, watch Victory Lane, watch Speed News and still have energy or time left for Dave … Wind Tunnel, more than any show, defines the network and the addition of a weekday edition of the Tunnel is not out of the question.

SC: Two things – first, we just signed a deal with NASCAR to be able to offer NASCAR Victory Lane, NASCAR Beyond the Wheel and a 10-minute highlight reel from all of the weekend’s NASCAR events on VOD. There is not a lot of this “fast-turn” programming available on VOD, so this puts us out in front of the game in the industry. Beginning next week, if your cable company has VOD offerings, you will be able to select any of these shows and many others to watch at your convenience.

The Spin Out Zone would like to thank Erik for his time and for the opportunity of asking him about SPEED. For more information about SPEED Channel please click HERE and to learn more about SPEED's VOD (Video on Demand) please click HERE.

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