SPEED Returns as 'Home' for GRAND-AM; Set to Air All Rolex Series Events in 2012

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SPEED will continue to be the television home of GRAND-AM Road Racing in 2012, televising all 13 Rolex Sports Car Series events either live or on a same-day delay basis.

Current plans call for live coverage of 10 races, beginning with 15-and-a-half hours of coverage from the 50th Anniversary running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29 at Daytona International Speedway.

The Rolex 24 kicks off the 2012 season on SPEED with a one-hour pre-race show at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Jan. 28 before rolling into the first seven-and-a-half hours of the race. (3:30-11 p.m.) Live coverage resumes at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29. A new component will enhance the Rolex 24 telecast: live video from the overnight portion of the race on SPEED.com through a number of camera streams and a running leaderboard.

Among the season's highlights will be coverage of the three events in the North American Endurance Championship, a new competition involving the Rolex 24, the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen on July 1 at Watkins Glen International and the three-hour Rolex Series debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27. The Rolex 24 and the Sahlen's Six Hours will be live; the Indianapolis race will be shown on the afternoon of July 27, on a delayed basis.

Other live coverage this season: Homestead-Miami Speedway on April 29, New Jersey Motorsports Park on May 13, Detroit Belle Isle on June 2, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 9, Road America on June 23, Watkins Glen International on August 11, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on September 9 and Lime Rock Park on Sept. 29.

Same-day delayed coverage is currently planned for Barber Motorsports Park on March 31 and Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Aug. 18.

"GRAND-AM continues to grow and so does our television coverage," said GRAND-AM CEO Ed Bennett . "It's all about the fans … working with a great partner like SPEED serves those fans while reflecting the ever-increasing interest in GRAND-AM."

SPEED's coverage plans for the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge are expected to be announced in the near future.

SOURCE GRAND-AM Road Racing

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