All-Star Race on SPEED
“We started thinking about this year’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race about 30 seconds after Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line at last year’s event," said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. “This event is all about having a great time, celebrating the sport we are all very passionate about. When fans finish watching All-Star Week on SPEED, we want them to feel totally spent … like they just left the greatest party they’ve ever experienced."
Highlighted by live coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge (May 15, 9 p.m. ET), the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race (May 16, 8 p.m. ET), a special three-hour NASCAR RaceDay Built by The Home Depot (May 17, 4 p.m. ET), the NASCAR Sprint Showdown and the 24th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race from Lowe’s Motor Speedway, SPEED’s weeklong coverage will culminate in 48 consecutive hours of All-Star coverage beginning at 6 a.m. ET on May 16.
Krista Voda will return to host All-Star coverage on SPEED, with Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds in the booth for race coverage. Steve Byrnes will host coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge with help from Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond and Bob Dillner.
In addition to live coverage of on-track action, including all practice and qualifying efforts for the weekend’s races, SPEED will offer multiple special programs, including Making the Race, Countdown to All-Star, Hometown Heroes with Wendy Venturini and special All-Star editions of This Week in NASCAR, Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain, Trackside, NASCAR Performance, Tradin’ Paint, The SPEED Report, NASCAR Live!, NASCAR in a Hurry and NASCAR Victory Lane.
Last year, in its inaugural year as home to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, SPEED scored its highest rating in network history, earning a Nielsen Media Research mark of 3.53 (2,480,000 Households). The event, now in its second of eight seasons on SPEED, peaked at 4.37 (3,064,000 Households) and held a 4-plus rating for the final 90 minutes of the telecast.