NASCAR on WBC (Johnsonverse)



NASCAR on WBC is an American television show that broadcast NASCAR races on WBC once in 1969, and again since 2014.

History
In 1969, WBC and Darlington Raceway struck a deal to broadcast the Rebel 400. The coverage, hosted by Chris Economaki, was the first NASCAR race broadcast flag-to-flag (in its entirety), though it is often overshadowed by CBS' telecast of the 1979 Daytona 500. The broadcast was so successful that WBC considered broadcasting more races as well, including the 1970 Daytona 500, but never did, due to WBC's desire to focus on their other sports. While he was running WBC (then known as JTV) during the 1980s, infamous CEO Phil Stacker seriously considered broadcasting NASCAR races on JTV, including the 1984 Daytona 500, which he would have hosted, due to him being a NASCAR fan himself, but opted to focus on broadcasting for other sports like MLB and NBA due to being unable to secure deals with any track, who feared that JTV's coverage would either be way too cheesy, heavily biased in favor of certain drivers, or both (incidentally, Stacker fully approves of current CEO Tim Johnson's leadership of NASCAR). WBC also considered broadcasting the 2001 Daytona 500, with Sheldon Johnson, Jr. as the play-by-play commentator, but the deal fell through at the last minute.

When Johnson Industries took full control of NASCAR in 2014, having owned the sport since 2009, WBC was added to the list of broadcasters alongside Fox, ABC, and Disney-owned ESPN. WBC's coverage was critically acclaimed, mainly due to how "CBS-like" the broadcasts were, with its broadcasting team being nicknamed "the Dream Team of NASCAR broadcasting", even sweeping the Sports Emmys in 2016 and 2017.

It is expected that when the current television broadcast contract goes up in 2024, all Cup, PrimeStar, and SuperTruck Series events will move to WBC.

Play-By-Play

 * Ken Squier (1969; 2014-present, Cup and PrimeStar Series events; alternates with Eli Gold for PrimeStar Series events)
 * Eli Gold (2015-present, PrimeStar Series events; alternates with Ken Squier)
 * Paul Page (2015-present, SuperTruck Series events; alternates with Bob Jenkins)
 * Bob Jenkins (2015-present, SuperTruck Series events; alternates with Paul Page)
 * Mike Joy (2017-present, Whelen Modified Tour and K&N Pro Series events)
 * Allen Bestwick (2016-present, SUV Series and Goodwrench events)
 * Rick Allen (2017-present, Elite Division and Dash Series events)
 * Leigh Diffey (2018-present; reserve broadcaster, will broadcast Brands Hatch races starting in 2019)
 * Vince Welch (2018-present; reserve broadcaster)
 * Tim Johnson (2014-present, 2014 Coke Zero 400 and all Tokyo Cup events as Fuyuki Hinata; SuperTruck and PrimeStar Series events at Tokyo, and all Convertible Series and iRacing.com events as himself)

Color Commentators

 * Barney Hall (1969)
 * Ned Jarrett (1969; 2014-present, all events except Convertible, Whelen Modified Tour, Goodwrench, and K&N Pro Series)
 * Buddy Baker (2014-2015; deceased)
 * Wally Dallenbach Jr. (2015-present, all events except Convertible, Whelen Modified Tour, Goodwrench, and K&N Pro Series)
 * Darrell Waltrip (2017-present, Whelen Modified Tour, K&N Pro Series, Goodwrench, and iRacing.com events)
 * Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2017-present, Goodwrench and iRacing.com events)
 * Jerry Nadeau (2017-present, Goodwrench and iRacing.com events)
 * Chloe Johnson (2014-present, 2014 Coke Zero 400 and all Tokyo Cup events as Natsumi Hinata; SuperTruck and PrimeStar events at Tokyo, and all Convertible Series events as herself)
 * Belle Armstrong (2014-present, 2014 Coke Zero 400 and all Tokyo Cup events as Momoka Nishizawa; SuperTruck and PrimeStar events at Tokyo, and all Convertible Series events as herself)

Pit Reporters

 * Ralph Sheheen (2014-present, all events)
 * Marty Snider (2014-present, all events)
 * Jamie Little (2014-present, all events)
 * Bill Weber (2014-present, Cup, PrimeStar, SuperTruck, and Convertible Series events)
 * Richard Petty (2014-present, Cup, PrimeStar and SuperTruck events)
 * David Hobbs (2014-present, PrimeStar and SuperTruck events)
 * Michael Waltrip (2016-present, PrimeStar events)
 * Dr. Jerry Punch (2016-present, SUV Series, Whelen Modified Tour, and K&N Pro Series events)
 * Dave Burns (2017-present, Dash Series and Elite Division events)
 * Jenny Smith (2014-present, 2014 Coke Zero 400 and all Cup Tokyo races as Koyuki Azumaya; Truck and PrimeStar events at Tokyo, and all Convertible Series events as herself)
 * Wendee Lee (2016-2017 Tokyo Cup events as Konata Izumi)
 * David Matranga (2016 Tokyo Cup events as Tomoya Okazaki)
 * Dan Castellaneta (2016-present Tokyo Cup events as Tamama)
 * Spike Spencer (2017-present Tokyo Cup events as Shinji Ikari)
 * Stephanie Sheh (2017 Tokyo Cup events as Yui Hirasawa)
 * Melissa Fahn (2018 Tokyo Cup events as Neptune)

Studio (WBC Race Control)

 * Chris Economaki (1969; host)
 * Tom Stephenson (2014-present, host)
 * Dale Jarrett (2014-present, analyst)
 * Greg Gumbel (2014-present, analyst, PrimeStar, Truck, SUV, Convertible, and Goodwrench events, Post Race host)
 * Jeff Gordon (2018-present, analyst)
 * Dave Despain (2014, rules and technical analyst)
 * Andy Petree (2015-2017, rules and technical analyst)
 * Larry MacReynolds (2018-present, rules and technical analyst)

Music

 * Theme song/Credits: NASCAR on CBS theme (1998-2000)
 * Post Race theme song: NASCAR on CBS theme (1995-1998)

Starting grid themes

 * Road America: Escape by Dave Grusin (from The Electric Horseman)/1983-1985, 1987 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme
 * Rockingham: Carolina in my Mind by James Taylor
 * Talladega: Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
 * North Wilkesboro: Chasing Shadows by Yanni/1989, 1992, 1994 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme
 * Charlotte: Las Vegas by Hans Zimmer (from Rain Man)/1990-1991 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme
 * Summer Clash (upcoming): Thriller by Michael Jackson
 * Darlington: Caribbean Queen by Billy Ocean/1986 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme
 * Twin Ring Motegi: 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix Starting Grid theme by BBC
 * Tokyo: Start Your Engines (from Daytona USA)
 * Sonoma: California Dreamin' by The Mamas and the Papas
 * Daytona: 2001 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme
 * Pocono: Philadelpha Freedom by Elton John
 * Michigan: 1988 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme
 * Mid-Ohio (upcoming): Burn On by Randy Newman
 * Watkins Glen: New York New York by Frank Sinatra
 * Indianapolis: Delta Force Theme by Alan Silvestri
 * Walt Disney World: Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
 * Nashville: Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash
 * Iowa: Iowa Stubborn by Meredith Wilson (from The Music Man)
 * Brands Hatch (upcoming): Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles
 * Nazareth (upcoming): ESPN SpeedWorld Starting Grid theme
 * Other tracks (in the event another network has commitments and the race needs to be moved to WBC): 2001-2007 NASCAR on FOX Starting Grid theme
 * PrimeStar: Radio by Big & Rich
 * SuperTruck Series: Can You Feel It (instrumental) by The Jackson 5
 * SUV Series: The Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin
 * Convertible Series: NASCAR on TBS theme
 * K&N Pro Series: Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane
 * Busch North (upcoming): Going Fast by Gary Nichols
 * All-Star Race (all events): Thunder by David Robidoux
 * Elite Division: Last of the Hardcore Troubadours by Steve Earle
 * Dash Series: King of the Road by Roger Miller
 * Whelen Modified Tour: Days of Thunder intro theme
 * Goodwrench Racing Series: Eye of the War by Jeff Wayne/1982 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme
 * iRacing.com: 1993 Daytona 500 Starting Grid theme