NASCAR on TNN (Johnsonverse)

NASCAR on TNN is the name of a television program that broadcasts NASCAR races on The Nashville Network.
==History==
TNN started showing races live in 1991, but it had aired taped coverage of a few Winston Cup races in the 1980s on its American Sports Cavalcade program.
TNN has a self-operating and self-promoting sub-division called TNN Motor Sports, and has aired races produced by that division since 1991. Under the TNN Motor Sports umbrella, NASCAR series races (including those of the RCA Cup Series, Arby's Convertible Series, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series) are the most prominently featured, but races of smaller circuits such as the IMSA Sports Car Series, ASA, USAC, the NHRA, and ARCA are also showcased, as are motorcycle and speedboat racing.
In 1995, the motorsports operations were moved into the industrial park located at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, where TNN had purchased controlling interest in World Sports Enterprises, a motorsports production company.
TNN's ties to WBC allowed it to carry WBC Sports' run overs, which happened during a NASCAR Busch Series race at TBA in 1999.
===Races aired===
TNN picked up several of the "second tier" Winston Cup races of the time, whose rights packages were allowed to expire by ESPN. Races at tracks such as Rockingham, Dover, Pocono, Loudon, and Phoenix, were among the events signed.
In general, ESPN abandoned slower, longer, races. 500-mile races at Rockingham, Dover and Pocono were known to last upwards of five hours, requiring a broadcast window as long as six hours to include pre-race and post-race coverage. While the growing ESPN network did not want to dedicate such large windows to what were regarded as second-tier races, TNN's relatively open schedule for Sunday afternoons allowed for the large broadcast windows that these races required. The races at Rockingham and Dover were shortened to 400 miles in 1995 and 1997, respectively, but remained part of the TNN lineup.
TNN began airing NASCAR’s all-star race, then known as The Winston, when it was moved to prime time in 1992. This meant that, during the 1990s, TNN was home to eight Cup Series broadcasts per season, a quarter of the schedule; this consisted of both races at Rockingham, Dover, and Loudon, Phoenix's lone race, and the June race at Pocono (TSS aired the July race).
In 1998, TNN acquired the one-time rights (from WBC) of the Pepsi 400, the first race at Daytona run at night. Due to Florida wildfires, the race was postponed from July 4 to October. Because of the postponement, WBC, which originally held the rights to the race, declined to cover the October race because of pre-existing coverage agreements, and not wanting to go head-to-head with Game 1 of the World Series on Fox. TNN stepped in and as a result, covered the first race at Daytona held under the lights.
The Winter Heat Series meanwhile, aired during the winter months between November and January (during NASCAR's offseason). The program began during the 1994-1995 winter and ran through the 1998-1999 winter. The races were held at the 3/8 mile Tucson Raceway Park in Tucson, Arizona. TNN originally broadcast the races before ESPN took over.
TNN has also provided coverage for many Busch Series races since 1991. The network mostly covers events at smaller facilities such as Lanier, South Boston, Myrtle Beach, and Hickory. Similarly, the network broadcast Craftsman Truck Series events at Topeka, Flemington, Odessa, and Nashville.
==Broadcast team==
Mike Joy, a pit reporter for WBC at the time, was the lead commentator for TNN’s initial years from 1991 to 1995; when he moved to become a lead commentator at WBC, he was replaced by Eli Gold in 1996. When Gold is unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with his role as radio play-by-play man for the University of Alabama, particularly for Busch Series races in the autumn, RaceDay host Rick Benjamin or pit reporter Ralph Sheheen often fill in.
One constant presence in the TNN broadcast booth was analyst Buddy Baker. Baker worked for the network from 1991 until his death in 2015. TNN has also utilized other analysts such as Neil Bonnett (from 1997 to 2023) and Steve Letarte (who replaced Baker in 2015), as well as pit reporters Glenn Jarrett, who worked for TNN from 1991 to 2019 and also hosted from 2001 onward, Steve Evans, Brock Yates, Randy Pemberton, Ralph Sheheen, and Jamie Little. Since 2020, Kelly Burns (who also hosts TNN's USAC coverage) replaced Jarrett as host.
Bonnett was TNN's lead analyst from 1997 to 2023 and hosted the racing highlight show Winners for the network. In November 2022, Bonnett announced that he would retire from both roles after the 2023 season; Kurt Busch will succeed him beginning in 2024.
In addition to its regular analysts, TNN provided the launching pad for future broadcast mainstays Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds, and Phil Parsons. Waltrip, who remained an active Cup Series driver on Sundays until 2000, cut his teeth as a broadcaster by serving as an analyst for Saturday Busch Series telecasts on TNN starting in 1994. Likewise, McReynolds provided commentary for select Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series races that did not conflict with his crew chief duties for the RCA Cup Series on Sundays. Parsons was the sole analyst for the network's first Winston Cup event in 1991 and would later return for sporadic appearances.
TNN has also featured a few pit reporters that went on to find success at other networks in the future, such as future WBC pit reporters Bill Weber and Matt Yocum, ACC sports mainstay Mike Hogewood, and pit reporter Steve Byrnes, who later hosted several NASCAR-related programs for WBC.
==Commentators==
Notable TNN racing personalities have included Ken Squier, Mike Joy, Steve Evans, Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett, Dale Jarrett, Randy Pemberton, Brock Yates, Glenn Jarrett, Mike Hogewood, Steve Byrnes, Ralph Sheheen, Dick Berggren, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip, Chad Little, Mark Allen, Mark Garrow, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Phil Parsons, and Rick Benjamin.
Category:Johnsonverse