Media Notes: Truck race to be shown live on CBS in LV

Tim Graham

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The Carquest Auto Parts 420k won't be a sellout, but it won't be a blackout either.

Las Vegas viewers will be able to watch the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Sunday on CBS affiliate KLAS Channel 8. The race is scheduled to hit the airwaves at 12:15 p.m. as the second part of a racing doubleheader that starts at 9 a.m. with the NASCAR Busch Grand National finale in Homestead, Fla.

Both events will be shown live across the country, unlike IndyCar or Indy Racing League network events, which are tape delayed to be shown within the same time block in each time zone.

"We want to broadcast so the largest number of people are able to see the event," said series spokesman Owen Kearns, Jr.

"If the Busch race runs long, CBS will cut to Las Vegas for the start of that race and use a split screen or bounce back and forth between the two. CBS is not going to leave anybody hanging with the (Busch) event and yet they're not going to not show the start of our race."

According to Kearns, the Craftsman Truck Series is doing well in the ratings, especially when taking into account the fact that it's only 2 years old.

"Considering we were starting this series from scratch just a year ago, the ratings have been decent, right about where they should be and they'll only continue to grow," Kearns said. "They run the gamut from high points to around 2.0, 2.5. It really depends on counter-programming."

This week's ratings, however, aren't expected to do well. Both NBC and Fox offer NFL games, while ABC has figure skating and golf.

"The NFL is the big gorilla," Kearns said. "I know that IndyCar shuts down right around September so it doesn't have to go up against the NFL, but we feel like we owe it to the fans to be able to come to the maximum number of racetracks across the country, and because of that we run from March to the early part of November."

Static

* ROME AXED: Sports smacker Jim Rome was given the boot by KVEG 840-AM Tuesday. The caustic Southern Californian lost his 10 a.m.-1 p.m. shift to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, now on from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The change is another in the plan of parent company American Radio Systems to broaden KVEG's audience base. "We've gotten a couple hundred calls, but it's been a lot better than I thought it would be," KVEG executive assistant Cindy Johnson said. "I got over 500 calls myself when we dropped G. Gordon Liddy, and that didn't include any other people who answered the phone, our Feedback Line or anything like that." KVEG's only regularly scheduled sports programming is Scott Ferrall, who airs weeknights from 7-9 p.m.

* ESPNEWS DEBUT: While Prime Cable will not be carrying ESPNEWS right away if at all, local viewers will have the chance to watch the inaugural hour of the network when it debuts Friday. Big brother ESPN (Prime Cable Channel 19) will simulcast the first ESPNEWS shift at 4 p.m. In addition, NHL hockey and college basketball games shown on ESPN2 (Prime Cable Channel 31) will feature ESPNEWS simulcasts during intermissions and halftimes.

* FLIGHTING IRISH: CBS (KLAS Channel 8) will be in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday to broadcast Notre Dame's game against Navy, which airs at 9 a.m. There will be an Irish influence in the broadcast booth as well, as former New York Giants cheerleader Phil McConkey will serve as a special analyst for the event, joining play-by-play man Tim Ryan.

* SPINNING THE DIAL: ESPN reached the 70 million household mark, or 72.5 percent of the country, according to the Nov. Nielsen Cable Universe estimates. In addition, ESPN2 is available in 39.2 million homes, or 40.4 percent. In the past 12 months, ESPN2 has grown 50 percent. ... Want a good scare for Halloween? Tune in to TNT (Prime Cable Channel 18) to see Nancy Kerrigan in "Halloween on Ice" today at 5 p.m. I bet she goes as a horse this year, or maybe John Elway.

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