Canadians will be able to see every 2005 Nextel Cup event via TSN, FOX or NBC – and every Craftsman Truck Event via SPEED Channel. The Sports Network (TSN), Canada's premier cable sports broadcaster, has released its 2005 schedule of NASCAR Nextel Cup event broadcasts. TSN will air 20 Nextel Cup race events this year. Their schedule will include some of the major races like the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte, the Pepsi 400 from Daytona, the Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis, the Sharpie 500 night race from Bristol, the UAW-GM Quality 500 from Charlotte, and the Ford 400 season finale from Homestead. More importantly, TSN will air every Nextel cup event which will be shown on the FX or TNT cable services in the U.S. Hence, with TSN filling in the gaps in the US network schedule, every 2005 Nextel Cup race, including the all three non-points events, will be available to Canadian cable or satellite subscribers. In addition, NASCAR has announced that the SPEED channel, which is available in Canada via cable or satellite service, will again provide broadcast coverage of every NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

When it comes to the NASCAR Busch Series, things are not so rosy for Canadians. Of the 36 Busch Series races scheduled for 2005, only ten will be available via US-based networks. There will be five Busch Series races on each of FOX and NBC through the 2005 season. The remaining 26 races are scheduled to be aired on the cable-only FX and TNT services which are not available to Canadian residents. In 2004, the Rogers Sportsnet, a Canadian regional cable sports service, carried 18 Busch Series races, reducing the number of Busch Series races not seen in Canada to eight. Rogers Sportsnet has not yet announced its plans for the 2005 NASCAR season.

(Race Fan TV)

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