The Performance Racing Network (PRN) is a radio syndication network controlled by

Speedway Motorsports Speedway Motorsports, LLC is an American company that owns and manages auto racing facilities that host races sanctioned by NASCAR, IndyCar Series, NHRA, World of Outlaws and other racing series. The company was founded by Bruton Smith and has ...

(SMI) founded in 1981. PRN airs

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

and

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

events held at

and

Penske Corporation Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...

-owned and managed tracks. PRN first began airing the NASCAR events at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

(

Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...

, the fall race, but not the

NASCAR All-Star Race The NASCAR All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston from 1985 to 2003, the Nextel All-Star Challenge from 2004 to 2007, the Sprint All-Star Race from 2008 to 2016, and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from 2017 to 2019, is an annual NAS ...

). After SMI acquired additional tracks, the network began airing the events at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Austin (managed by SMI for the NASCAR event),

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Dover,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, Sonoma and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

tracks as well. Since 2004, PRN also airs the NASCAR weekend at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

, through a joint production with the

IMS Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

. Other NASCAR events (those operated by

International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...

(ISC), Curtis Francois and the Mattioli family), are broadcast by ISC-owned

Motor Racing Network Motor Racing Network (MRN) is a U.S. radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of ...

(MRN). On most occasions, PRN and MRN share the same radio affiliates, in order to broadcast a complete NASCAR schedule. The only exception is if one station in the same market is a full-time Shell INDYCAR radio affiliate, where the INDYCAR Radio affiliate has first right of refusal, and the Indianapolis races may belong to the IMS station if they oblige. All PRN shows with the exception of all race broadcasts, the pre, and post race shows originate from Performance Racing Network's studios at Charlotte Motor Speedway. All PRN race broadcasts are available via

Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Since 2008, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separate services ...

. ''Fast Talk'' is also carried on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. eastern time. ''Fast Talk'', the ''O'Reilly Pit Reporters'' and ''Garage Pass'' can all be heard online at PRN's website.

Programming

PRN's schedule includes the following: * ''Fast Talk'': Doug Rice hosts the show with a rotating host, usually a driver. The driver co-hosts include

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver, and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash d ...

, Jeff Hammond and Hermie Sadler. The rotating host format was adopted after the death of

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, ...

, who had hosted the show during the first 14 seasons. It is a call-in show that airs Mondays at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. ''Fast Talk'' is heard on 220 stations, fifty-two weeks a year. ''Fast Talk'' is also live video streamed and can be viewed at PRN's website. * ''Garage Pass'': Mark Garrow and Steve Richards (substitute) anchor this four-minute NASCAR news program. ''Garage Pass'' is heard on 450 stations across the US. The program was created by Garrow in 1986 under the name "Winston Cup USA" and ran on a handful of stations for one year. In 1987, Garrow partnered with Capitol Sports Network in Raleigh, North Carolina to network and sell the program. The name was changed to "Winston Cup Today" and grew to approximately 480 stations at its peak. Richards produced the program, served as substitute host, and covered the majority of the scheduled NASCAR events. Midway into the 1999 season, the show was ended by Capitol Broadcasting when NASCAR demanded rights fees for the use of audio originating from the racetrack. In 2000, Garrow partnered with Performance Racing Network as the show was resurrected and renamed "Garagepass" as the rights fee issue was settled. 2011 marked the 25th year Garrow has produced a daily NASCAR news program. Richards, who began his radio career in 1977, has been covering the sport on a full-time basis for about 15 years, and before that on a part-time basis from 1985. He also covered Duke, NC State and University of North Carolina basketball and football from 1986 until the mid-nineties for WRAL FM and the

North Carolina News Network The North Carolina News Network (sometimes called NCNN) is a news and information service established in 1942. It provides programming to approximately 75 radio stations, primarily in the state of North Carolina, and can also be heard by Internet st ...

. Richards produced and anchored the scoreboard shows on the Duke and NC State football networks. * ''O'Reilly Auto Parts Pit Reporters'': Brett McMillan hosts a panel-driven show with journalists discussing the issues of the week in NASCAR Racing, primarily in the Sprint Cup. Other forms of racing are occasionally talked about if the news is important enough. * ''ZMax Racing Country'': A weekly, two-hour country music-oriented program hosted by

WKKT WKKT (96.9 FM) is a country music radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. The station is licensed to the northern suburb of Statesville, North Carolina Owned by iHeartMedia, its transmitter is located in Mooresville, North Carolina, and its ...

morning disc jockey Paul Schadt along with Cathy Martindale, with news from both country music and NASCAR. Top country artists and NASCAR drivers are featured in interviews, as is a rundown of the week's popular country songs. This is a 52-week program (no off-season breaks). The program dates back to 1989 and was formerly known as ''NASCAR Country'' before losing the rights to the NASCAR name circa 2000. Its slogan is "the two fastest hours on the radio"''.'' The program comes in two versions: one for current

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

music radio stations and one for

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

radio stations. Jim Noble also co-hosts a daily call-in show on

channel 90 called ''Tradin' Paint'' with longtime gasman for Dale Earnhardt,

Chocolate Myers Danny "Chocolate" Myers (born October 17, 1948) is an American stock car racing personality. A long-time staffer for Richard Childress Racing, he was the fueler on six of the team's NASCAR championships (Dale Earnhardt Sr., 1986–87, 1990–91, 1 ...

, Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. eastern time. Brad Gillie co-hosts a late night call-in show on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio called ''Late-Shift'' Monday and Tuesday nights from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. eastern time. He now does the show with

Kenny Wallace Kenneth Lee Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is an American race car driver and former reporter for Fox NASCAR. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988. In a career spanning twenty-five years in NASCAR, Wallace ...

. Gillie also is a frequent co-host of ''Press-Pass'' every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. eastern time. Pat Patterson hosts a weekend morning call-in show called ''The Frontstretch'' from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. during the season and 9:00 to noon in the offseason.

Announcers

Booth announcers

*Doug Rice (lead announcer, co-host of ''Fast Talk'') *Mark Garrow (announcer for Cup Series Races, host of ''Garage Pass'') *

Wendy Venturini Wendy Venturini (born January 30, 1979 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American reporter for the Performance Racing Network (PRN). She works as broadcaster for NASCAR Cup Series races and sometimes as a pit reporter for races on PRN. She had been a ...

(social media reporter from the booth)

Turn announcers

*Rob Albright (lead turn announcer) (Turns 1 and 2 at Las Vegas and Atlanta, Backstretch at Bristol Dirt) *Pat Patterson (host of ''The Frontstretch'' on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio) (Turns 3 and 4 at Las Vegas and Atlanta) For the Charlotte, Brickyard, and Austin road course races, the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

will provide turn announcers.

Pit reporters

*Brett McMillan (host of ''O'Reilly Auto Parts Pit Reporters'') *Brad Gillie (co-host of ''Late Shift'' on

) (also fill-in booth and turn announcer) *Doug Turnbull (fill-in pit reporter and turn announcer) *Lenny Batycki (fill-in reporter) *Heather DeBeaux (fill-in pit reporter) *Alan Cavanna (fill-in pit reporter)

References

External links

Performance Racing Network Online

Auto racing glance

NASCAR at Kentucky 2016: Start time, lineup, TV schedule and more
{{Sports networks in the United States American radio networks NASCAR on the radio