WSLM and Motor Racing Network is poised to kick off its 47th year of motor sports coverage this weekend from Daytona International Speedway as NASCAR begins a new season.
Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited was the first of 71 races MRN – “The Voice of NASCAR” – will deliver to WSLM and through live streaming at wslmradio.com.
Motor Racing Network’s schedule from “The World Center of Racing” will encompass 10 days of action culminating with the 58th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 21 with the broadcast beginning at Noon on WSLM 97.9 FM.
“I”m proud to bring another year of NASCAR action to the racing fans around the WSLM listening area,” said Becky White, owner. “WSLM has always been known for racing action, being one of the first stations to bring open-wheel racing to the airwaves back in the 50s and 60s with local tracks and broadcasts from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
White said WSLM broadcasts all NASCAR Sprint Cup, Xfinity and Truck races via MRN and PRN as well as the Brickyard 400 via the Indy Radio Network, making it the only station in the Kentuckiana area to include all these races.
“Some stations carry a portion of the races, but WSLM has the entire schedule, which makes it nice for our listeners to listen to the entire season,” said White.
This year’s programming from Speedweeks will honor the memory of long-time MRNannouncer Barney Hall, who passed away last month at the age of 83. Each race broadcast will include a moment of silence at Lap 45 to commemorate Hall’s 45 years of service with the network.
Eli Gold, host of MRN’s pre-race show, will remember Hall in an essay that will air before Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited. Barney also will be featured in Motor Racing Network’s pre-race coverage of the 58th Daytona 500.
“We’re all still grieving over the passing of Barney Hall and we miss him dearly,” said MRNPresident and Executive Producer David Hyatt. “Speedweeks will feel a little empty this year. But in many ways, I’m certain Barney will be with us for every lap. I applaud Programming Director Ryan Horn and his team for assembling the elements that will help us all remember once again just how special Barney was – not only to MRN but to NASCAR.”
Live coverage of Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited will start at 7 p.m. (EST). MRN’s Speedweeks programming will include live coverage of Daytona 500 Qualifying Presented by Kroger on Sunday afternoon, when the front row will be set for the season-opening Sprint Cup Series race.
On Monday night, there’ll be a one-hour special titled “DAYTONA Rising: The Future Is Now,” chronicling the $400 million frontstretch redevelopment of Daytona International Speedway.
Tuesday night, Gold will host a special airing of “NASCAR Live” from Outback Steakhouse in Daytona Beach, Fla., with NASCAR President Mike Helton the featured guest.
The cornerstone of the network’s Speedweeks coverage from Daytona will be a stretch of five race broadcasts in four days beginning with the Can-Am Duel twin qualifying races for the Daytona 500 on Thursday, Feb. 18, in primetime.
Coverage of the Feb. 19 NextEra Energy Resources 250 in the Camping World Truck Series will begin at 7 p.m. Tyler Reddick is the defending race winner, Erik Jones the reigning series champion. The following day, MRN will broadcast the PowerShares QQQ 300 XFINITY Series opener at 3 p.m. Ryan Reed won last year’s race while Chris Buescher, his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, was crowned series champion in 2015.
Speedweeks concludes with coverage of “The Great American Race,” the season-opening Daytona 500, on Sunday, Feb. 21. Joey Logano is the defending race winner. Kyle Busch will open his bid for a second consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship.
From 27 tracks in North America, MRN will deliver live coverage of 71 races spread across NASCAR’s three top national series: Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Trucks.
Veteran announcers Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle will anchor the majority of events, which will include the Sprint All-Star Race from Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and the season-ending Ford Championship Weekend from Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
In addition to its award-winning race coverage, MRN will broadcast all Sprint Cup Series practice sessions from the 12 International Speedway Corporation-owned tracks, Dover International Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway during All-Star Weekend in May.
Motor Racing Network’s 2016 broadcast schedule will once again conclude with live coverage of the Sprint Cup Series Awards from Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 2, with live streaming at MRN.com and on the MRN App.
2016 MOTOR RACING NETWORK / Race Schedule
(NSCS/Sprint Cup Series, NXS/XFINITY Series, NCWTS/Camping World Truck Series)
All times Eastern, subject to change
Feb. 13 Sprint Unlimited (NSCS, 7 p.m.)
Feb. 14 Daytona 500 Qualifying (NSCS, 1 p.m.)
Feb. 15 “DAYTONA Rising: The Future Is Now” (7-8 p.m.)
Feb. 16 “NASCAR Live” on location in Daytona Beach, Fla. (7-8 p.m.)
Feb. 17 “NASCAR Live” Special Edition from Daytona Beach (7-8 p.m.)
Feb. 18 Can-Am Duel at Daytona (NSCS, 6 p.m.)
Feb. 19 Daytona International Speedway (NCWTS, 7 p.m.)
Feb. 20 Daytona International Speedway (NXS, 3 p.m.)
Feb. 21 Daytona International Speedway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
Feb. 27 Atlanta Motor Speedway (NCWTS, 4 p.m.)
March 12 Phoenix International Raceway (NXS, 2 p.m.)
March 13 Phoenix International Raceway (NSCS, 1:30 p.m.)
March 19 Auto Club Speedway (NXS, 3:30 p.m.)
March 20 Auto Club Speedway (NSCS, 2:30 p.m.)
April 2 Martinsville Speedway (NCWTS, 2 p.m.)
April 3 Martinsville Speedway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
April 23 Richmond International Raceway (NXS, 12 p.m.)
April 24 Richmond International Raceway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
April 30 Talladega Superspeedway (NXS, 2:30 p.m.)
May 1 Talladega Superspeedway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
May 6 Kansas Speedway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
May 7 Kansas Speedway (NSCS, 6:30 p.m.)
May 13 Dover International Speedway (NCWTS, 5 p.m.)
May 14 Dover International Speedway (NXS, 1:30 p.m.)
May 15 Dover International Speedway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
May 20 Charlotte Motor Speedway (NCWTS, 7 p.m.)
May 21 Charlotte Motor Speedway (NSCS, 7 p.m.)
June 4 Pocono Raceway (NXS, 12:30 p.m.)
June 5 Pocono Raceway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
June 10 Texas Motor Speedway (NCWTS, 8:30 p.m.)
June 11 Michigan International Speedway (NXS, 1 p.m.)
June 12 Michigan International Speedway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
June 18 Iowa Speedway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
June 19 Iowa Speedway (NXS, 1 p.m.)
June 25 Gateway Motorsports Park (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
July 1 Daytona International Speedway (NXS, 7 p.m.)
July 2 Daytona International Speedway (NSCS, 6:30 p.m.)
July 7 Kentucky Speedway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
July 20 Eldora Speedway (NCWTS, 7 p.m.)
July 30 Pocono Raceway (NCWTS, 12:30 p.m.)
July 30 Iowa Speedway (NXS, 7:30 p.m.)
July 31 Pocono Raceway (NSCS, 12:30 p.m.)
Aug. 6 Watkins Glen International (NXS, 1:30 p.m.)
Aug. 7 Watkins Glen International (NSCS, 1:30 p.m.)
Aug. 13 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (NXS, 3 p.m.)
Aug. 17 Bristol Motor Speedway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
Aug. 27 Michigan International Speedway (NCWTS, 12:30 p.m.)
Aug. 27 Road America (NXS, 2:30 p.m.)
Aug. 28 Michigan International Speedway (NSCS, 1 p.m.)
Sept. 3 Darlington Raceway (NXS, 3 p.m.)
Sept. 4 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (NCWTS, 2 p.m.)
Sept. 4 Darlington Raceway (NSCS, 5 p.m.)
Sept. 9 Richmond International Raceway (NXS, 7 p.m.)
Sept. 10 Richmond International Raceway (NSCS, 6:30 p.m.)
Sept. 16 Chicagoland Speedway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
Sept. 17 Chicagoland Speedway (NXS, 3 p.m.)
Sept. 18 Chicagoland Speedway (NSCS, 2 p.m.)
Sept. 24 New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NCWTS, 12:30 p.m.)
Oct. 1 Dover International Speedway (NXS, 2:30 p.m.)
Oct. 1 Las Vegas Motor Speedway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
Oct. 2 Dover International Speedway (NSCS, 1 p.m.)
Oct. 15 Kansas Speedway (NXS, 3:30 p.m.)
Oct. 16 Kansas Speedway (NSCS, 1 p.m.)
Oct. 22 Talladega Superspeedway (NCWTS, 12:30 p.m.)
Oct. 23 Talladega Superspeedway (NSCS, 1 p.m.)
Oct. 29 Martinsville Speedway (NCWTS, 1 p.m.)
Oct. 30 Martinsville Speedway (NSCS, 12 p.m.)
Nov. 4 Texas Motor Speedway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
Nov. 11 Phoenix International Raceway (NCWTS, 8 p.m.)
Nov. 12 Phoenix International Raceway (NXS, 3 p.m.)
Nov. 13 Phoenix International Raceway (NSCS, 1:30 p.m.)
Nov. 18 Homestead-Miami Speedway (NCWTS, 7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 19 Homestead-Miami Speedway (NXS, 3 p.m.)
Nov. 20 Homestead-Miami Speedway (NSCS, 1:30 p.m.)
Dec. 2 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards in Las Vegas, 8 p.m.
