I read during the winter of NASCARless Racing Discontent that DirecTV had cancelled their NASCAR HotPass service. HotPass is an innovative premium service enabling one to follow the race from inside the car of one of four selected drivers. A bird’s eye view of racing drama, if there ever was one.
As it turns out, Direct has cancelled their paid HotPass for the season. A revamped version, with “some features no longer available”, will be available for free for the ’09 NASCAR campaign. The details are available here.
Seems a little strange that a pioneering, if money losing service, would be replaced by a revamped free one. Not that I’m complaining; it could be that the laid-in infrastructure was already in place to support these telecasts, and DirecTV didn’t want to see it all wasted. I don’t know. But, if you want unique coverage of racing, whether or not you are a race fan, tune to DirecTV channels 795-798 for the running of the race tomorrow. If you don’t have DirecTV, take some beers, chips and dip to the house of a friend who does have DirecTV. It’ll be a treat.
Finally, here’s tomorrow’s lineup:
- Ch 795 – Kasey Kahne – car #9
- Ch 796 – Jimmie Johnson – car #48
- Ch 797 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – car #881
- Ch 798 – Carl Edwards – car #99
Enjoy!
-k-
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I saw that and was pretty happy. I loved the Hot Pass, but simply couldn’t justify the expense. Now if they only had Smoke instead of that pretty boy…
It’s a good deal. My DirecTV equipment is a lot long in the tooth; I taped Old Ironhead’s memorial service on it, so that gives it away right there. The age of the equipment make it a real PITA to switch to the driver/spotter/pit soundtrack; that’s the part I enjoy the most.
Still, I’ll check it out again tomorrow. Probably June Bug, given no Smoke and no Harvick..
-k-
Can’t you get a DTV equipment upgrade for real cheap?
Yeah, I think it was last year that they had the Daytona 500 race for free on Hot Pass. I was thisclose to pulling the trigger on the season, but cooler economic heads prevailed.
Scott:
I probably could upgrade the DTV gear fairly cheaply, if I’d settle for an in-kind upgrade. But we now have an HD capable TV, so I’d probably go with DTV-HD. More gear, and more $$/month for the service.
Since HotPass was the only thing keeping me with DTV, I’d contemplated going all Verizon FiOS for phone, internet, and TV. I could save a bunch by doing that. Now that DTV is back in the game with HotPass, I guess all the options are on the table again.
I’ll do some more calculations … after the race.
-k-
Sir, you definitely want HD for the NASCAR. It’s a completely different race. Completely.
Man, you’re tugging at my heartstrings with such talk.
Guess I’ll spend part of tomorrow investigating options.
Thanks!
-k-