Uniform Start Times for Cup Series
NASCAR and its television broadcast partners announced uniform start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2010. NASCAR worked closely with FOX, Turner, ESPN/ABC and the tracks on this project for the fans. The race start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2010 in the Eastern and Central regions of the country will begin at 1 p.m. ET, West Coast events will begin at 3 p.m. ET, and night races will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. (The one exception is NASCAR's longest night race, the Coca-Cola 600, which will have the same 5:45 p.m. ET start time.) Following the invocation and national anthem, the green flag will drop at approximately 15-20 minutes past the hour after each listed race start time. A total of 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2010 will be held at an earlier time compared to 2009, with 20 races moved to 1 p.m. ET, including the Daytona 500.

Moving up the start of "The Great American Race" two-and-a-half hours will produce the earliest start time for the Daytona 500 since 2003, when the race was also scheduled for 1 p.m. Five races move earlier to a 3 p.m. ET start and three races start earlier at 7:30 p.m. ET. In making the decision for earlier, more uniform start times, NASCAR consulted its Fan Council, comprised of 12,000 avid fans who serve as a sounding board on important topics. Half of NASCAR avid fans said they are often unclear about what time NASCAR races actually start. When given the chance to choose a start time, more than two-thirds of avid NASCAR fans preferred early Sunday afternoon.


What's your opinion on this? Will you tune into the CUP Series more if the times are consistent? Would you have prefered to have NASCAR switch to Saturday night races? Would if have helped to have the Truck races line up with consistent times?

Hmm...I think the tried-and-true fans will figure out when the races will run on a weekly basis, but for the casual viewer it will provide a more stable format. I believe starting most races around 1 pm or earlier in the evening will benefit those in attendance the most! Most fans travel hours to get to a track and have to also put up with the additional time to exit with all that traffic backed up...in order to get back to work by Monday. Earlier starting times can only help these people and may also generate better attendance.

For me personally, it will not cause me to watch more races...rather I'll take it as a courtesy to know when most races will begin.

As for the trucks...they need to start those night races earlier!!! How many people want to start watching a race at 9:45 pm??? The last one didn't begin till 10:15 because of the lighting problems at the track. UGH! I really like the night races, but at a more reasonable time, say like, 7:30.

I think more consistent times in all three series would be a win-win situation for everybody.

Nancy

Thanks for saving me some typing, Nancy. Your first two paragraphs are pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

Boy am I gonna upset some people but sorry...

I do like a consistent starting time and also the fact they are moved up in many instances..

what I would like to see though is that the west coast races be run so they are shown at 1 pm east coast time.....think about it IF they can watch all the other races at 10 am they should be able to go to the races at 10 so we can see them at our normal time...as they would be watching them at there normal time....it bugs me that we always are really seeing ALL sporting events on the east coast that are played out on the west coast when we should be getting some well earned sleep time....I hate it when the Phillies play out there I never know until the next day how they made out..

fair is fair.....you see them on an earlier time basis....we can go to the track and watch them at that same time...

AGAIN SORRY.....

This is long overdue and is different than the rumored 2:00 EST start time, better if you ask me.

I think it is a good idea, and it will help folks associate a certain time with the idea that the NASCAR race is on, like we do with 1pm and 4pm kickoffs on Sunday's for the NFL and 12:30 pm and 3:30pm kickoffs for College Football on Saturdays. Even if I don't know what games are on, sometimes I turn on the TV at those times and flip around to see who's playing. Jumping around on the start times is tough on the casual fan. So I think this is a good move.

i love this idea...more consistent and less pre race show is always a great thing..hated having 3 hours of pre race for the Daytona 500 lol

I think it's a good idea. It won't make me watch more as I watch about all of them anyway. I would love to see all Saturday night races, but I don't think that will ever happen.

The only thing I don't like is the earlier starting time of the Daytona 500. I've really enjoyed the end of the race under the lights.

Mike <><

This is in my category of no-brainers. I think it's a great idea and I think it will improve viewership and attendance. I know it will make me watch more. For 1:00pm starts I don't mind watching the race and then having the rest of my evening versus screwing up the whole day. I'd also like NASCAR to put me on their fan council so I can make some other recommendations.

-Rick

NASCAR'S decision will make it less confusing, for me, as to when I will need to set my DVR. I do not waste my entire Sunday afternoon watching races that are too long and have way too many commercials. Recording them allowes me to fast forward through all of the hype & commercials. I am glad that they did not decide to run more Saturday night races, as I believe that this night belongs to the local tracks, such as Berlin. Lastly, I wish that the Truck Series would set a standard start time, as I'm old and can't stay up for the late races, although it really hasn't mattered much since JB was injured.
Larry