MRN Will Broadcast Daytona Practices

Motor Racing Network is boosting its Daytona Speedweeks coverage by adding more than 14 hours of Sprint Cup Series practice to its broadcast schedule, the network announced on Thursday.

MRN will broadcast all the Sprint Cup practice sessions, which begin on Friday, Feb. 13.

AJ Allmendinger, a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver in 2014, will join Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle in the broadcast booth for the Sprint Unlimited on Feb. 14. MRN's coverage of the non-points, exhibition race will start at 7 p.m. ET.

MRN's coverage will be capped off with the 57th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 22. MRN will be on air at 12 p.m. ET.

The expanded slate for MRN will not just take place at Daytona. MRN will be broadcast live from Sprint Cup practices at each of the International Speedway Corporation-owned tracks as well as Dover International Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway during the All-Star weekend. MRN will also broadcast Sprint Cup Series qualifying from the same 15 venues.

Moore and Striegle will anchor the race-day coverage throughout the season. In addition to the announced return of Eli Gold and the additions of NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace and former Miss Sprint Cup, Kim Coon, to the network's coverage, turn announcers Mike Bagley, Dave Moody and Kyle Rickey as well as pit reporters Alex Hayden, Steve Post and Winston Kelley will be back for all the action.

MRN will have coverage of 25 Sprint Cup Series race weekends in 2015, as well as 21 XFINITY Series events and all 23 Camping World Truck Series events. Their coverage will conclude with coverage of the Sprint Cup Series Awards in Las Vegas in December.

Sprint Unlimited format unveiled

NASCAR announced that the season-opening 75-lap Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 14, will be split into two segments. A competition caution at lap 25 will separate the segments in the non-points event, scheduled for an 8:15pm/et start (live on FOX, Motor Racing Network Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). New this year, select fans will be paired with each crew chief for a random drawing to determine starting and pit road positions. The drawings will take place on Friday, Feb. 13 at the FDOT Main Stage inside the Sprint FANZONE beginning at 3:30pm. The field of 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will include 2014 Coors Light Pole Award winners, former Sprint Unlimited race winners and Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full time in 2014, and all 16 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers from 2014. If an eligible driver does not enter the race, the open position will be filled based on 2014 Championship driver points.

NBC Sports Group to broadcast regional touring races

NASCAR and NBC Sports Group announced an unprecedented broadcast line-up of NASCAR's popular regional touring series, with a 39-race telecast schedule for racing's premiere grassroots series as their landmark partnership begins this season. NBCSN's slate features all 25 K&N Pro Series races between the top developmental series, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The coming season will also see triple the television exposure from previous years for the stars and cars of the exciting Whelen Modified Tours, NASCAR's only open-wheeled division, which competes at historic short tracks from New Hampshire to North Carolina. A total of 14 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour events are included on this season's schedule. NBCSN's inaugural touring series event is the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season-opener at famed Florida short-track New Smyrna Speedway. The New Smyrna 150 will be contested on Feb. 15 and will air four days later on Feb. 19 on NBCSN. All 39 races are scheduled to be presented by NBCSN in one-hour shows the week following the event.(NASCAR)

Gordon talks more about TV plans

Four-time premier series champion Jeff Gordon was a guest Tuesday on "FOX & Friends," and he discussed more details of his new job as a FOX race analyst. "I am going to do three races this year for FOX and FOX Sports, XFINITY races," Gordon said. "I'm excited to get in the booth and see what it's like. Who knows what might come out of it?" Those three races comprise nearly a quarter of the 14 NASCAR XFINITY Series races that FOX and FOX Sports 1 will televise in 2015. When asked whether he would consider going into the booth full time after handing the reins of the #24 Chevy SS to Chase Elliott, Gordon reiterated that he'd be ready but knows he has a lot to learn this year. "I love to travel and I love racing," Gordon said. "I'm always going to be a part of Hendrick Motorsports. It's not going to be like focused on driving a race car, but I don't take it for granted. It is going to be tough to do, and we'll see. We'll find out this year."(NASCAR.com)

Fan hit by cable at Coca-Cola 600 sues Fox Sports, CMS

A fan who says he was injured when an overhead camera cable snapped and whipsawed in the grandstand during the 2013 Coca-Cola 600 has filed suit against Fox Sports and Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. Patrick Carpenter filed suit last week in civil court in Randolph County saying he was injured and scarred on his right arm and shoulder after the synthetic cable fell and was then snagged by passing race cars on the track. Patrick said he suffered permanent impairment of his right arm. Fox and the speedway declined to comment on the suit. Carpenter, represented by Michael Lewis and D. Stuart Punger of Winston-Salem, said in the suit that Fox and the speedway were negligent in not better inspecting and protecting spectators from the overhead cable and camera rig, called a CamCat. Carpenter was seated in the grandstand near Turn 4 when the accident occurred on Lap 121 of the May 26, 2013, race. About 10 people were treated after the accident. Carpenter is the first to file a suit. Fox suspended use of the camera rig at Sprint races and conducted an investigation into what occurred, although the remains of the cable were in poor condition after they were ensnared by 19 cars. Results of the investigation are not being made public because of litigation, said Fox spokesman Lou D'Ermilio. Carpenter's suit seeks more than $10,000 in damages.(Charlotte Observer)