That got your attention, didn’t it? (The F1 report is down below.)
Several days before NASCAR star Tony Stewart took on the World of Outlaws sprint car regulars at Ohsweken Speedway and beat them (that happened Wednesday night at the Six Nations Reserve track near Brantford), another Sprint Cup regular, Kasey Kahne, was racing with the Outlaws at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania.
This is what happened: watch video here
Kahne survived but it was a close call and his NASCAR employers might be having a talk with him, even as we speak, considering that the NASCAR circus is in Indianapolis for a race Sunday.
Stewart and Kahne are throwbacks to the old days of barnstorming racing drivers, or "Outlaw" drivers, who didn’t race regularly at a particular track or in a particular series but showed up now and again to beat the regulars and make off with the prize pot, which was usually large, which attracted them in the first place.
The locals didn’t like ‘em in the old days and – if truth be told – the regular Outlaw tour drivers today probably don’t really like ‘em all that much either. I mean, Tony and Kasey might be okay guys but Stewart won $10,000 at Ohsweken Wednesday night and that’s a pay packet any one of the other tour regulars would have been very happy to pocket.
The World of Outlaws series is at Brockville Speedway tonight and in Drummondville, Que., tomorrow night. Stewart and Kahne won’t be there.
By the way, an aside: If Kahne is not in the NASCAR Chase for the Championship, it is a good bet he will be in an Indy car at Las Vegas in mid-October for that final IZOD IndyCar Series race in which a $5 million bonus will be paid to any outsider (or "Outlaw") who can beat the regulars.
FORMULA ONE GOING TO PAY TV
I have been suggesting for some time now that as more and more countries balk at continuing to pay extortion money in the millions to Bernie Ecclestone for the pleasure of presenting F1 races on their home soil, the chances of making you and me pay to watch the races on special pay TV channels has been increasing.
Well, the penny dropped today when it was revealed that Britain’s BBC (where TSN gets its signal) will only carry half the races next year and the rest will go on Sky TV, which is a pay TV channel in Britain that charges more than 30 British pounds a month ($45 a month Canadian) for its sports package of soccer, rugby and – now – F1 races.
Canada was the first to call Berni’s bluff and is now paying a sanctioning fee that is significantly lower than it was previously. We lost our race for a year but it paid off (at least in the short term). Other countries are starting to follow suit. Australia has served notice it no longer will pay up, as has the local and state government where the Nurburgring is located in Germany, and so-on. Even Malaysia, Singapore and China have been rumbling about the costs. (It seems that only the newbies, India and the U.S., are willing to fork over outrageous amounts, but give them a few years and they'll see the light.)
F1 is going to have to get the money from somewhere, so guess what? Get ready to shell out.
It’s too early to say what the implications are for Canadian fans in the short term but I’ll bet you right now that within five years (and maybe a lot sooner), you’ll have to pay Rogers or Bell a pretty penny to watch those races.
They already have Major League Baseball packages you can buy, and NHL and NFL packages, and WWE wrestling pay-per-view and MMA pay-per-view.
How does F1 pay-per-view sound?
Meantime, it’s still free (okay, you have to pay a cable fee to get "free" TV, but you get my drift) and you can watch qualifying from Hungary tomorrow at 7:55 a.m. and the race on Sunday at the same time – all on TSN. Lewis Hamilton’s still hot, with Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel rounding out the top five in practice today.
NASCAR, of course, is in Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400 (TSN Sunday at noon; green flag at 1 p.m. approx.) The Camping World Truck Series will race on SPEED tonight at 7:30 – they’re at Lucas Oil Raceway (which used to be Indianapolis Raceway Park) – and the Nationwide Series will race on TSN2 Saturday night at 7:30, also at the Lucas Oil track.
No IndyCar this week. They go to Mid-Ohio next weekend for a double-header with the ALMS.
How does F1 pay-per-view sound?
I already pay Rogers for the TSN feed and will not pay a cent more to watch a sport that has gone from a spectacle to a spectacular parade. Moving wings, KERS, self destructing tires...humbug.
Posted by: JB | 07/29/2011 at 11:52 AM
Going to Pay TV will be the death of F1. Is it going to be relegated to the ranks of Pro Wrestling? I, for one, will not be buying some special "sports" package or paying-per-view to see it. Half the people who used to follow F1 years ago no longer do because it's just become so "weird" with all its arcane rules. Maybe Bernie will take it to the grave with him and a new series will evolve.
Posted by: John B | 07/29/2011 at 12:52 PM
It is a crappy decision by BBC to enter into this agreement with F1 (they could have waited - their current agreement with F1 doesn't expire until after the 2013 season).
However, this is only for the UK feed. If avoiding pay-per-view charges means that TSN has to pick-up the Speed TV feed, I'll willingly put up with Bob Varsha and the rest of his cohorts next year.
Posted by: Carlos | 07/29/2011 at 02:41 PM
I don't think Norris is right. In UK its just moving closer to what the rest of the world are doing. Its akin to moving NASCAR races or something from NBC/ABC/Fox/CBS to ESPN/TNT...You can still watch all those channel in the first group "over the air", which is free. But the latter group, even if they are included in basic cable, you already already "paying" for it from your cable subscription. Sky already mentioned that they are not going with a "Pay-per-view" format, and this is not even like a MLB network where you are paying a season package for a sport. In Canada and US F1 is already on Pay TV. Aside from a handful of races on Fox or CTV(do they still do that?), its carried on TSN/TSN2 in Canada and SPEED in US. Both of which are only available to cable subscriber...
Now the impact of UK viewer is much bigger though, as BBC is essentially "free"(they are paying for it when they bought a TV), now they are like us they have to get cable for it. I think the rest of the world is not going to be affected at all, unless they have different broadcast crew between Sky and BBC races...
Posted by: Andrew | 07/29/2011 at 02:42 PM
Well now, the latest as of 2:43pm this afternoon is that the BBC will show half the races live and the other half will be 'deferred' to later in the day. ie: tape delayed. So will TSN follow up with that guideline as well? Bernie also got some angry twitter messages regarding PAY TV but alleges viewership will grow and its good for the sport. Right on cue, Martin Whitmarsh (world class kiss up) cautiously agreed with Bernie. I have no doubt the teams will take a sweet cut of money home as well hence the backing of Bernie's statements.
Posted by: allenparkpete | 07/29/2011 at 02:47 PM
Both my wife and I are avid F1 viewers and have been for many years in spite of many motor racing fans not watching it any more. However, if I am to pay to watch F1 qualifying and racing, I want a better choice than TSN offers for their bush league coverage of F1 Qualifying and Racing in Ontario.
Speed's coverage of F1 is far more superior to the TSN option and to boot, they air the driver's interviews after both qualifying and the race, which is something TSN only does after the race if they think they do not have anything more immportant.
TSN is too interested in showing time and time again the same goal shots and tackles over and over again, as if we are dummies who did not see it the first time.
Thank you for the opportunity to air my TSN, F1 veiwpoint Norris.
Posted by: Art Moseley | 07/30/2011 at 09:43 AM
I already pay too much to Bell to get TSN and Speed.If F1 charge for the races I'll just enjoy a long lie-in in on Saturdays and Sundays.
I'm sure the viewer numbers will drop incredibly.
Posted by: Bill | 07/30/2011 at 02:55 PM
This is quite an unusual approach to this issue. They are right Formula One is going to pay! But I think it's not very usefull for their business. Though i can be wrong...
Posted by: avi to mp4 converter | 12/26/2011 at 03:28 AM
F1 Pay-per-view sounds great! This will definitely make a lot of F1 supporters happy. This way, a lot more people would be able to appreciate motor sports, and it would also be a good way to introduce others to the sport.
Posted by: Tari Ledsome | 05/29/2012 at 04:52 PM