ABC to air four NASCAR specials

ABC News is set to air at least four one-hour documentaries charting the behind-the-scenes drama of the NASCAR season this summer. The shows are set to focus on a range of issues, including the marketing of the motorsport.

Michael Bicks, a veteran of more than 20 years with ABC News, will serve as executive producer of what's being called NASCAR in Primetime.

Bicks emphasized he had been talking to NASCAR about this project for about two years, which predates ABC/ESPN's NASCAR rights deal. The news and sports divisions work independently, he said. ESPN is in the first year of an eight-year deal to televise NASCAR. They are doing everything they can to hype NASCAR in an attempt to avoid the financial bloodbath NBC experienced on their NASCAR deal. However, if NASCAR TV ratings keep falling rivers of red ink appear inevitable.