The further TV-ification of NASCAR: Keeping the times simple, stupid left-turn watchers

NASCAR and TV partners Fox, ESPN and Turner Sports collided on an announcement today that, according to those who organize such things, continues to push the sports' "back to basics" approach by making it easier for viewers to find races on TV.

Starting in 2010, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races will have a more consistent start time on the broadcaster. For races in the East and Central time zones, it'll be 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT. For Pacific time zone, races start at noon PDT/3 p.m. EDT. All night races will start at 4:30 p.m. PDT/7:30 p.m. EDT, except for the Coca-Cola 600, which will stay at 2:45 p.m. PDT/5:45 p.m. EDT.

After the invocation and national anthem, the green flag will drop about 15-to-20 minutes after the broadcast start.

"NASCAR fans have been asking for earlier and more consistent start times, and we are making this change for our fans, beginning with the Daytona 500 next February," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France on a conference call. "We are revisiting our sport's tradition of earlier green flags, and the added consistency will make it easier for fans to know exactly when the races are being televised. Additionally, the new start times will help track operators get fans in and out of the track earlier in the evening. Many fans heading home from the race earlier will be able to eliminate the costs of an extra travel day."

The change means that 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup races will start earlier in 2010 than they were this season, including the Sunday, Feb. 14 Daytona 500 -- which will move up by 2 1/2 hours, the earliest start for that race since 2003, when it was also at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. PDT.

Before making this move, NASCAR says it "consulted" with its "Fan Council" -- 12,000 fans recruited to help in the marketing and promotion of the sport. More than half said inconsistent start times were really annoying, and two-thirds of them wanted an earlyer Sunday afternoon start. So they could pack up the rig and head back home at a reasonsable time, mostly.

The sports network headmen naturally are on board -- unless they're lying that earlier starts mean worse ratings:

Fox's David Hill: "It's become clear to us that traditional, early Sunday afternoon, start times are favored by NASCAR fans who both attend races and watch on television. NASCAR, perhaps more than any other sport, belongs to the generations of fans who have passed on their passion, father to son, mother to daughter, so whatever we can do to make them feel better connected to the sport they love should be done."

Baseball fans prefer earlier starts as well, right? But the sport must not belong to the fans as much as NASCAR. But baseball seems to belong to the networks and owners.

David Levy, president of Turner Sports: "In the long term, we believe this change will make the viewing experience better for everyone. NASCAR races continue to deliver solid, consistent ratings for TNT. When you combine TV ratings to the number of people who visit NASCAR.com, the sport clearly remains very healthy and popular."

Adds John Skipper, ESPN executive VP of content: "We enthusiastically support consistent start times and are happy to have worked with NASCAR on this move."

The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule includes:
Sunday, Feb. 21: Auto Club Speeday on Fox, noon (second race fo the season).
Sunday, Oct. 10: Auto Club Speedway, on ABC, noon (third race in the 10-race Chase)