On Sports Media | New views of NASCAR races

Other than the NFL, NASCAR doesn't have to take a backseat to any sport when it comes to its popularity on television. During the 2006 season, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series averaged 7.8 million viewers per week, according to figures released by NASCAR.

In addition, the Nextel Cup Series earned a 5.4 network rating and a 4.5 cable rating. (Each network rating point is worth about 1.1 million households, while the cable rating is less, depending on the outlet).

Now NASCAR and DirecTV are banking that racing fans are looking for more than just the race itself.

Beginning with the Daytona 500, DirecTV, in conjunction with NASCAR, will offer a Hotpass package of 37 races. The entire package costs $99.

The success of Hotpass will help determine how dedicated the NASCAR fan is. It could also lead to other sports' following the lead.

Since all the NASCAR races are offered on network or cable television, Hotpass has to provide something extra, giving the viewer the race within the race.

Each week, five different drivers will be shown, each on his own separate channel. The screen at home will always show the network feed in the upper right, but fans can also follow one of five cars.

"A national broadcast can't focus on one car," Eric Shanks, the executive vice president of entertainment for DirecTV, said in a recent phone interview. "This gives people the opportunity through highly produced TV to follow their favorite driver through each lap."

Each of the five cars will be assigned a two-person broadcast team and six cameras. And it won't always be the same five cars each week.

"We are adding a lot more than just a camera in the car," Shanks said. "We will also talk to the pit crew and anybody associated with the driver."

Fans can switch among the drivers, for instance watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. one moment and then going to Tony Stewart.

This is not the first time that DirecTV has offered the concept. Last year, it had five additional court feeds at the U.S. Open tennis tournament. The viewers could switch to one of the five side courts as well as watch the main action.

Unlike the NASCAR deal, though, the tennis viewers didn't have to pay an extra fee as long as they were DirecTV subscribers.

"We found that 42 percent of our U.S. Open viewers used his interactive feed," Shanks said.

The key will be whether NASCAR fans will be willing to pay the $99. If Hotpass is popular with NASCAR fans, DirecTV or any other provider could look into doing the same with other sports.

"We did it with tennis, and golf makes a lot of sense," Shanks said. "If we can make the economics work, this is the beginning of how our sports on TV will be viewed."