GRAND AM 9DAYTONA, FLA.) - SPEED, FOX Sports Team Again To Offer Unprecedented Coverage of the Rolex 24

For the second consecutive year, motorsports fans across the nation will be able to catch Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 stars battle with and against racing superstars from around the world on network television as SPEED and FOX Sports will combine to offer 17 hours of television coverage from the 46th Rolex 24 At Daytona January 26-27.

At 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 26, the Rolex Sports Car Series will hit the national FOX Sports airwaves for 90 minutes of coverage from the “World Center of Racing.” Bob Varsha will host coverage for both the FOX and SPEED coverage, joined in the booth by former racers David Hobbs and Dorsey Schroeder, who will provide analysis, and Leigh Diffey, who will deliver play-by-play. Brian Till, Calvin Fish, Chris Neville and Andrew Marriott will be reporting from the Daytona International Speedway pit lane.

In addition to the network coverage, the first 90 minutes of the event will be simulcast on the 1,400-square foot News Astrovision by Panasonic Screen prominently located at One Times Square in New York.

“The Rolex 24 has re-emerged as the event I fell in love with when I first covered it for television in the early '80's,” Varsha said. “Back then, everyone, and I mean everyone, converged on Daytona in January to shake off the winter blues. Why that magic went away is a long story, but Grand-Am has recaptured it.”

SPEED’s coverage of the Rolex 24 will encompass two parts totaling 15.5 hours of coverage. Part 1 airs from 2:30 to 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 26, with programming returning to SPEED on the morning of Sunday, January 27 beginning at 6:00 a.m. ET and continuing through the checkered flag and post-race interviews.

The 17 hours of coverage is a two-hour increase from last season.

“A return to FOX Sports is obviously a positive addition to the outstanding SPEED coverage for the Grand-Am Rolex Series and the Rolex 24,” said Grand-Am President Roger Edmondson. “We continue to believe that the Rolex Series is the most exciting road racing anywhere in the world, and feel certain that the viewers who see the race on FOX and carry over to the SPEED coverage will feel the same.”

The Rolex 24 At Daytona will feature Rolex Series champions such as Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Scott Pruett, Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and Jorg Bergmeister racing wheel-to-wheel with NASCAR champions Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch, Indy 500 winners Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon and Buddy Rice and defending Rolex 24 Champions (co-driving with Pruett) Juan Pablo Montoya – also a former Indy 500 Champion – and Salvador Duran.

Along with the television coverage, SPEEDtv.com will offer exclusive insightful Rolex Sports Car Series news and analysis from testing to the checkered flag at the Rolex 24, plus behind the scenes reports and driver blogs, photo galleries and more, updated throughout the event.

The Grand American Road Racing Association, which operates and sanctions the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series, is the premier road racing organization in North America. The 15-race 2008 Rolex Series and the 11-race KONI Challenge Series calendars deliver professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International. With title sponsorship support from Rolex Watch USA and presenting sponsorship from Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the Rolex Series showcases emerging and legendary drivers from around the globe and thoroughbred racing machines from the industry's leading constructors and the world's top automobile manufacturers. Learn more about Grand-Am at www.grand-am.com.