Ronald Reagan was in his first term as President. Being on line meant waiting your turn. Pasta was still called spaghetti. And current NASCAR Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, then 11, was more than four years from having a driver's license.
The year was 1983 and it was the last time ESPN televised a NASCAR Winston Cup race from Richmond International Raceway. When the network's SpeedWorld crew returns for the NASCAR Winston Cup Pontiac Excitement 400 Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m. ET they will find a very different track than the one they left. The old half-mile facility was replaced in 1988 with a 3/4 mile facility.
ESPN host and lead commentator Bob Jenkins is looking forward to returning to Richmond. "I've heard great things and I'm excited about going there and seeing the improvements for myself," he said.
ESPN racing analyst Benny Parsons won 21 races in his 25-year Winston Cup career, including twice in Richmond -- 1978 and 1981. "They had a racetrack in the early 1980's that reminded us of auto racing in the 1960s," Parsons said. "Now they have a facility that will show us what racing will be like in the 21st century."
The racetrack won't be the only thing that's changed, however. ESPN, then in under 24 million homes, is now the nation's largest cable network, reaching more than 70% of U.S. television households with 68.1 million subscribers. The network has been joined by ESPN2, America's fastest growing cable network in 1994-95, now seen in 29.9 million homes in (more than ESPN in 1983).
ESPN/ESPN2's racing schedule for the NASCAR weekend in Richmond follows.
Date Time (ET) Network Telecast
March 1 2:30 pm ESPN2 Qualifying: NASCAR Winston Cup Pontiac Excitement 400 (L)
6 pm ESPN2 Qualifying: NASCAR Winston Cup Pontiac Excitement 400 (R)
7 pm ESPN2 RPM 2Night (L)
March 2 12 am ESPN SpeedWeek (S)
1 pm ESPN2 NASCAR Busch Series: (L)
Hardee's Fried Chicken Challenge 250
March 3 12 am ESPN NASCAR Busch Series: (S)
Hardee's Fried Chicken Challenge 250
10:30 am ESPN2 RPM 2Day (L)
12:30 pm ESPN NASCAR Today (L)
1 pm ESPN NASCAR Winston Cup Pontiac Excitement 400 (L)
9:30 pm ESPN2 RPM 2Night (L)