Spike TV, HDNet to broadcast Trans-Am on the Tarmac

[Gregg Lengling]

by Justin Anderson


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Trans-Am on the Tarmac, Round 4 of the 2004 Motorock Trans-Am Series championship, will be broadcast on Spike TV with expanded coverage on HDNet. The race is part of the U.S. Bank Presents the Champ Car Grand Prix weekend and is scheduled for Friday, July 2 at 5 p.m. EDT.

Spike TV, which also broadcasts the Champ Car World Series, has expanded its 2004 motorsports programming to include the Trans-Am on the Tarmac race on tape-delayed basis in the popular "Dangerous Curves" timeslot. The event will air Sunday, July 11 at 1:30 p.m. on both the East and West Coasts. In other areas, please check local listings for availability and times.

The race will also air LIVE on Friday, July 2 at 5 p.m. EDT on the rapidly growing HDNet. HDNet is the first national television network broadcasting all of its programming in 1080i HD, the highest-quality format of high-definition television (HDTV). HDNet is available on most major cable systems, as well as many satellite providers.

Veteran play-by-play announcer Rick Benjamin and color analyst Jon Beekhuis will call the action from the booth, while veteran announcer Chris McClure and Becky Gordon will handle pit-reporting duties. Betelgeuse Productions, which also is responsible for the Champ Car World Series broadcasts, will produce the Trans-Am show.

The Motorock Trans-Am Series features closed-fendered, production-based, V-8-powered sports cars, competing on permanent road courses, and temporary street and airport circuits throughout North America. The Trans-Am Series is America's oldest continuously running road racing series and celebrates its 39th year of competition in 2004.

Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 87 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks owns and operates the cable television programming services: MTV, MTV2, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite , TV Land, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, and Spike TV, as well as The Digital Suite from MTV Networks, a package of thirteen digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.

HDNet Produces and televises more hours of HDTV sports, news and entertainment programming each week than any other network. HDNet is available on Adelphia Communications, Charter Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight Communications, Mediacom Communications, Time Warner Cable and several NCTC cable affiliate companies. HDTV provides the highest level of digital broadcast quality available, delivering a crystal-clear resolution in a widescreen 16:9 theater-like format (16 units wide by 9 units high, compared with the 4:3 format of standard television sets). All HDNet original programming is HD-PVR compatible, allowing viewers to pause and time-delay shows so that they can watch them when they want.