NASCAR HOTPASS™, Exclusively on DIRECTV, Brings Fans Into the Cars and Pits of Top Drivers and Racing Teams, Capturing the Drama and Decisions That Make or Break NASCAR Races

New NASCAR HOTPASS Service, Only on DIRECTV, to Debut at 2007 Daytona 500 (Photo: Business Wire)

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Setting another new benchmark in TV sports programming, DIRECTV will produce a world’s first for NASCAR fans by taking them deep inside America’s fastest-growing spectator sport, allowing them to ride shotgun with their favorite drivers, through a new television service - NASCAR HOTPASS™ only on DIRECTV. DIRECTV and NASCAR signed a three-year deal to offer the service exclusively to DIRECTV customers.

Each week during the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, NASCAR HOTPASS™, only on DIRECTV, will put race fans behind the wheel, in the pits and around the track with their favorite NASCAR drivers and teams, by offering five fully-produced channels allowing fans to follow five different drivers from the green to the checkered flag during every race. Each of the five dedicated driver channels will offer multiple camera angles, real-time statistics, in-car audio communication and a dedicated announcer team. The new HOTPASS service, combined with race day telecasts and nascar.com coverage, will give fans the most comprehensive and powerful NASCAR experience possible.

While the NASCAR viewing experience to date has focused predominately on the race and the ongoing battles taking place on the track between teams, the new DIRECTV service will bring to life the drama that exists within each racing team as they execute the decisions that make or break a race. Much like in football where the play-by-play decisions of coaches provide drama for the millions of “armchair” quarterbacks as they predict and analyze what the team will do next, such is the case with NASCAR HOTPASS only on DIRECTV™ as fans are privy to the dialogue and strategy involved in every critical move.

“NASCAR fans are the most passionate and committed fans in all sports,” said David Hill, president, DIRECTV Entertainment. “Their depth of knowledge of what it takes to win is matched only by their commitment to their favorite driver. We’re giving the fans of five drivers a race, the chance to live the entire race sitting next to their favorite driver. They’ll hear driver conversations with the spotter and crew chief, they’ll hear and experience every decision, and watch every move they make—right or wrong. For NASCAR fans, this is the ultimate thrill ride. Like the crew chief, they’ll know where the driver stands in the field because both the network broadcast and the driver cameras will be on the same screen. It’s a whole new way of looking at NASCAR.”

"NASCAR is always breaking ground in presenting new ways for our fans to become fully immersed in the NASCAR experience. DIRECTV is a company consistently on the leading edge of sports television innovations, so this was a perfect fit,” said Dick Glover, vice president of Broadcasting and New Media, NASCAR. “We’re thrilled to have DIRECTV as the exclusive distributor of this exciting new programming service and are confident that together we will make NASCAR HOTPASS™ a must-have for every race fan. Research shows that products like this increase both the number of people watching a race and the time they spend viewing.”

A team comprised of 70 professionals with sports’ broadcast experience will bring DIRECTV’s exclusive NASCAR HOTPASS™ to life each week and will offer fans the following features for the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Season:

Five dedicated driver channels, each channel dedicated to broadcasting one NASCAR driver throughout the race Multiple screens on each driver channel devoted to the following: