Wind Tunnel

Last night Sunday August 11th was the last night of Wind Tunnel with Dave Dispain. Despite the heavy coverage of NASCAR it was about the only TV programing that gave any news about all forms of motorsports. I read on another motorsports forum that Fox 1 (the new name for Speed Channel) will not be broadcasting any form of racing other then NASCAR which it sponsers. I have also read Speed Center will also be canceled. I personally will miss Wind Tunnel. Has anyone heard of any plans by Velocity or NBC Sports for a similar program? Are there any good Pod Casts for motorsport news?

Dave said something about "exciting future plans" on the Wind Tunnel facebook page the other day. i'm sure he's under contract to Fox, so they will find a place for him..

IMSA just announced plans to broadcast races on Fox next year.

United sports car and continental tire sports car challenge will be on fox sports 1/2 nest season. NBC sports has indycar, f1, and world challenge.

Speed had already cut him from 1 hr to 1/2 hr ... hardly enough time to read the multiple results, much less any in depth reporting

hope they find something meaningful for him to do

A few years ago Wind Tunnel did a segment covering the SCCA Solo Nationals.

How do you ruin Speedvision? Turn it into Speed Channel.

How do you ruin what's left? Turn it over to Fox.

E36 M3, I need cable now...

fidelity101 wrote: E36 M3, I need cable now...

lol.. No, you don't...

Internet... Racing coverage has to be there somewhere.

That really sucks. Dave has always been my go to guy for good inside info in the world of motorsports.

I am sure that there is a magazine out there that would benefit from his incite that say gets published 8 times a year.. . . . . Say as a contributor every now and then? Hint Hint HINT... . .

I did not know it was the last show. I would have watched it I had other things to do and figured I would catch him next week.

The whole fox sports 1 is going to be good for Fox but bad for motorsports. However it has proven that there just is not a market for a motorsports only TV channel.

I think there is a market for a motorsports only TV channel. I think it proves there's not a market for NASCAR TV, which is what Speed gradually became. The only shows that didn't have some sort of nascar tie in or weren't outright infomercials were Moto GP, Motocross or LeMans coverage. I think Formula 1 went away because Fox didn't know how to tie it up to NASCAR. Even their GrandAm coverage was affected by the NASCAR tie up. I hope some of the reality themed shows go away, as they are a bit annoying to me, but they probably wont.

Dave Despain is very, very good at what he does.

06HHR wrote: I think there is a market for a motorsports only TV channel. I think it proves there's not a market for NASCAR TV, which is what Speed gradually became. The only shows that didn't have some sort of nascar tie in or weren't outright infomercials were Moto GP, Motocross or LeMans coverage. I think Formula 1 went away because Fox didn't know how to tie it up to NASCAR. Even their GrandAm coverage was affected by the NASCAR tie up. I hope some of the reality themed shows go away, as they are a bit annoying to me, but they probably wont.

you didn't watch rally cars, motocross, or monster trucks when they were on SPEED?

Not a monster truck fan, I think I mentioned Motocross in my post and haven't seen SPEED advertise any WRC highlights in the last few months. Anybody who knows what the old Speedvision was like before the acquisition by FOX can attest to how diverse the old programming was compared to now. My gripe isn't really with all the NASCAR coverage, but I could really do with out all the reality themed shows that are on the channel now. I even got tired of "Pinks" and I like drag racing.. Dave Despain was a light in the wilderness of SPEED, and I will miss Wind Tunnel..

More "fringe" sports like the WRC may need to find other avenues to get viewers.

Right now, I really enjoy what Red Bull has been doing with world cup mtn bike racing. They are actually streaming DH races LIVE on RedBulltv.com and then allowing replays on demand, (thus killing about 2 hrs of my day every other Sunday).

The broadcasts are surprisingly well done for what is obviously a fairly low-budget affair. There are broadcast commentators, multiple cameras and post-race interviews. While I won't say it'll make converts out of non-DH racers (I think much of the enjoyment depends on the viewer knowing how difficult it really is compared to how it looks on TV), it's a good example of how a sport that doesn't really get much TV coverage can get itself and its sponsors in front of more viewers.

Fuel TV will be turning into Fox Sports 2 which is what Grand Am and Conti Series will be broadcast on for the rest of the year. Some cable providers don't offer Fuel TV some only offer it in SD, but for the most part we are all getting screwed. I watched the RA Conti race on Speed2.com and it's in Fox Sports 2 format, same announcers, etc. I have a feeling most racing broadcast will be on Fox Sports 2 and that will be the car/racing station that no one will get or will have to pay for premium channels to get.

That's disappointing. I enjoyed his show, especially when Robin Miller was on. The two make a good combo, even if Miller is a bit snarky--and I like some snark.

I hope Dave finds a new venue for a show.

Been calling/watching since day 1. Always thought it was cool that Dave was willing to take a young kid's calls and listen to my opinion as though I was any other caller. A class act.

I will really miss the show. I was truly disappointed when he got cut to 30 minutes. Hell, I remember when it was on 4 days per week!

It's too bad "The Racing Network" never took off. I wonder what will happen to all the old shows Speed may or may not hold the rights to? Things such as Legends of Motorsport, Victory by Design, F1 Decade, American Muscle Car, and "Car and Track." Speedvision used to be the E36 M3. I'd attribute Speedvision and Autoweek magazine to forming me into the gearhead I am today (with much direction from my dad, of coarse).

Loved Legends of Motorsport, was really cool to see the vintage footage. And David Hobbes was a really good commentator...