NBC to televise Daytona 500 in high definition

ATLANTA -- NASCAR has entered the world of HDTV.

NBC announced this week that their broadcast of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 will be in high definition, the first such broadcast of NASCAR's premier series.

"NASCAR has long been at the forefront of broadcast technology and it is only appropriate that the 'Great American Race' -- the Daytona 500 -- be the first auto race broadcast in High Definition," said Ken Schanzer, President, NBC Sports.

Mike Wells, the director of TNT and NBC's racing broadcasts, is also excited about the broadcast.

"To be able to raise the bar, it's a great thing for us," said Wells. "Fans are going to be able to see things that they've never seen before on a racing broadcast. We're all very excited."

In addition to the Daytona 500, NBC Sports will provide live coverage of the Hershey's Kisses 300 NASCAR Busch Series race in high definition on Saturday Feb. 14 at Noon ET.

Wells, a 17-time Emmy Award winner, has directed NASCAR, F1, CART, IMSA and sprint car races.

Wells was the director of ESPN's Emmy-award winning "Speed World" series and weekly auto racing magazine show "Speedweek."

"When I'm sitting at home watching a show in HD I think about how great NASCAR will look using this technology," Wells said. "And there's no better race to get started with than the Super Bowl of stock car racing -- the Daytona 500."

The HDTV broadcast will be produced in 1080i HD format with Dolby Surround Sound using the same HD mobile production unit that will produce the Super Bowl in High Definition two weeks prior and will feature the audio and commentators from NBC's standard production.

	Mike Wells

"We're not going to change a lot of what we do, because the vast majority of our audience doesn't have HDTV, so we have to keep that in mind," said Wells. "But fans that have it will see the action in a different way."

As of now, there are no plans for NBC to brodcast other races in HDTV. Still, Wells says the possiblity exists.

"We're looking at it," Wells said. "We're walking before we can run. It's all about finances and it has to make fiscal sense."

The announcement comes on the heels of NASCAR unvieling its "Chase for the Championship." The new format will take effect after the first 26 races of this season. The drivers in the top 10 and any other within 400 points of the leader will earn a berth in what NASCAR has dubbed the "Chase for the Championship."

Those drivers will have their point totals adjusted. The first-place driver will begin the final 10 races with 5,050 points, the second driver 5,045 and so on, with incremental drops of five points for all those involved in the championship showdown.

All 10 races of the "Chase" will be broadcast on NBC or TNT.

"We have the Daytona 500 every other year," said Wells, "but every year, we have the championship, and we're really excited about the new system."