MIKE JOY, DICK BERGGREN TO ANCHOR NASCAR TOYOTA ALL-STAR SHOWDOWN BROADCAST TEAM ON SPEED CHANNEL

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- For fans watching from home on Nov. 11-12, the 2005 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway will be covered by a veteran broadcast crew on SPEED Channel – a crew that knows NASCAR’s short track scene well.

Veteran NASCAR broadcaster Mike Joy will provide play-by-play commentary, something he’s been doing at NASCAR races since 1981. Joy spent 14 years with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and anchored the first live NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series telecasts on both ESPN and the former TNN Network. Prior to joining the NASCAR on FOX broadcast team, Joy anchored CBS’s NASCAR coverage after working for 15 years as a pit reporter.

Before moving onto the national scene, however, Joy learned his trade on the short tracks of New England, where he worked as the public address announcer at several local speedways and learned his love of short track racing.

Joining Joy in the booth, to provide color commentary, will be Dr. Dick Berggren, who is also part of the NASCAR on FOX team and executive editor of Dick Berggren’s Speedway Illustrated magazine. Berggren has been a familiar face to fans over the years, as a pit reporter on FOX, ESPN, TBS, TNN and SPEED Channel. Like Joy, however, Berggren’s roots are on America’s short tracks. Berggren has driven Sprint Cars, Supermodifieds and Stock Cars – and built engines, maintained cars and that won dozen of events.

SPEED Channel’s pit reporters for the Toyota All-Star Showdown will once again include Ralph Sheheen and Jim Tretow. Sheheen has covered all forms of motorsports from swamp buggies to Formula One, highlighted with a list of "firsts" including the first live coverage of the NHRA's prestigious U.S. Nationals (TNN) and the first live coverage of the World of Outlaws Knoxville Nationals (TNN). Sheheen has also worked on CBS as a Daytona 500 pit reporter.

Tretow was the color analyst on SPEED Channel’s American Speed Association (ASA) National Tour coverage and has also worked as a play-by-play and pit reporter. Tretow’s voice is known to fans as he works as public address announcer at NASCAR, IRL and USAC events at Daytona International Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway as well as hosting a radio show in Milwaukee, Wis. Tretow is also the Public Relations Director at The Milwaukee Mile.

“Once again, SPEED has assembled a top-notch team,” said Rick Miner, SPEED Channel Senior Vice President of Programming/Production. “This group has a depth of knowledge at all levels of stock car racing that is unmatched.”

Joy, Berggren, Sheheen and Tretow will team up to deliver the third annual live broadcast of the Toyota All-Star Showdown to viewers across the nation. The special post-season invitational event includes the top 10 drivers from each of the four series that comprise the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division (includes Midwest, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest Series) along with the top 15 drivers from the two series in the NASCAR Grand National Division (Busch North and West Series). Drivers are competing for nearly $500,000 in prize money.

The event begins with twin 50-lap qualifying races on Friday night, Nov. 11, with live SPEED Channel coverage at 11:00 p.m. (ET). The main events will be held Nov. 12, beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET) on SPEED.

SPEED Channel is the nation's first and foremost cable network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED Channel delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in nearly 70 million homes in North America, SPEED Channel is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country, the home to NASCAR TV and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on-demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, visit www.speedtv.com.

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