TLC Shares the Fast-Paced Lives of "NASCAR WIVES"
January 9, 2009
(Los Angeles, Ca.) Each week, millions of people get on track with NASCAR, following the high-speed drama of America's most popular form of racing. TLC takes these fans inside the rarely seen world of the families racing week to week with the premiere of NASCAR WIVES on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 10 PM ET, following the network's broadcast of the 2009 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT. Debuting as a one-hour special, NASCAR WIVES will return as a series in late Spring 2009.
NASCAR, the most popular spectator sport in the United States, is known for its intense competition and high-stakes excitement. The one-hour special NASCAR WIVES drives home the sport's energy, thrills, disappointments and constant challenges by following women balancing their own busy lives with the demands of helping their husbands compete in a 200 mph thrilling race where the cars can collide and occasionally plow into the retaining walls.
"Viewers turn to TLC for an insider's view into uncommon lives, and NASCAR WIVES will give an unprecedented look at what happens on and off the track," explains Eileen O'Neill, president of TLC. "NASCAR is a remarkable and respected brand to partner with, and we look forward to exploring both the heart and adrenaline that keeps its fans � 40% of which are female � coming back for more." Some of the women profiled in NASCAR WIVES include:
Kelley Earnhardt � A part of racing royalty, Kelley manages the career of her brother, Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, and his business JR Motorsports, while also raising her two young daughters.
Delana Harvick � A successful, no-nonsense businesswomen who lives racing 24/7, Delana is co-owner in KHI Racing with her husband Kevin, who has 11 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins, including the 2007 Daytona 500.
Shana Mayfield � Returning to Clemson University to finish her degree while adjusting to the reality that husband Jeremy, a 15-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran, might see a season without racing.
Angie Skinner � Married to Mike, who competes in NASCAR's top three national series, Angie is an author, TV/radio personality, and her husband's business manager. A veteran racing wife, Angie has two stepsons.
"NASCAR is a family sport and a traveling road show, with a tight knit group of competitors barnstorming the U.S.," said Jay Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, NASCAR Media Group. "Throughout a 10-month season, the drivers' wives are the glue holding together each racing family. They are strong and independent women with their own ambitions and goals who maintain their individual identities while supporting their highly visible husbands. NASCAR Wives provides an honest and emotional peek into their experience with our sport."
NASCAR, celebrating 60 years in 2008, holds 17 of the top 20 highest-attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2-rated regular season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico, and consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series.
NASCAR WIVES is produced by NASCAR MEDIA GROUP for TLC. Howard Lee is VP Production & Development Executive at TLC.
About NASCAR Media Group
NASCAR Media Group is responsible for managing all of NASCAR's broadcast and ancillary media rights as well as creating original content and programming. As such, this division of NASCAR manages the sport's network relationships, develops relationships to integrate NASCAR into mainstream entertainment and is the exclusive rights holder of NASCAR event footage. Through its internal production group, NASCAR Media Group delivers the Sight, Sound and Emotion of NASCAR� through TV and film productions, home video products and marketing efforts supporting sponsors, tracks and teams. In 2007, NASCAR Media Group teamed with CMT Films to produce the critically-acclaimed feature length movie DALE, the only authorized documentary about racing icon Dale Earnhardt.
About TLC
TLC's innovative docu-series and reality-based programming include favorites Jon & Kate Plus 8, Little People, Big World, What Not to Wear, and LA Ink. The channel introduced Miss America Reality Check in 2008, which helped drive the Miss America Pageant to its highest rating in years. TLC defined home design with Trading Spaces and continues to renovate the genre. TLC's daytime lineup includes the Emmy Award-winning A Baby Story. The channel is available in more than 96 million homes in the US, nearly 8 million homes in Canada and through the website at www.tlc.com. TLC is part of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries.
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