NASCAR fans have clamored in recent years for fewer commercials or at least for networks to follow in the footsteps of Turner Sports, who in 2000 presented the majority of its commercial breaks with a split-screen showing racing action. Turner has done so annually for it’s July telecasts at Daytona International Speedway, but the other 35 races all featured the traditional breaks that seemed to pop up at just the wrong times.
↵Near the end of Sunday’s race in Dover, fans got their wish, as FOX Sports did one commercial break in split-screen (thanks to Pizza Hut, FedEx, and series sponsor Sprint). The move was wildly popular and could be a staple of the network’s upcoming telecasts.
↵Now today, ESPN has announced “NonStop NASCAR,” which will debut during the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. At or near the halfway point of each race, telecasts will move to the split-screen format to allow fans to keep following the race.
↵For the full announcement and a virtual image of what the screen will look like, follow this link.