The Lone Star Le Mans (previously known as 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas ) is an endurance race for Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer -style cars held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin , Texas . Its first running was on 22 September 2013 as the fifth round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship season .
46-762: The name "Lone Star Le Mans" had previously been used for the Austin round of the United SportsCar Championship , now the IMSA SportsCar Championship, from 2014 to 2016. On 2 December 2019, the Austin round of the WEC was revived for 2020, as a result of a conflict between the promoters at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace and the WEC, where the Austin round replaced the 6 Hours of São Paulo . On 9 June 2023,
92-404: A carriage dispute with AT&T U-verse , as Fox Sports Media Group pursued higher carriage fees for the network to cover the cost of sports broadcast rights that had been acquired by the group to fill FS1's schedule since its launch. AT&T declined to accept these additional fees, with a representative for the provider stating that "while it's important to us that we provide our customers with
138-731: A sports betting -related studio program, Lock It In , which featured Clay Travis as well as Vegas bookie Todd Fuhrman, former Jimmy Kimmel Live! sidekick "Cousin Sal" Iacono , and Rachel Bonnetta . The show was renamed Fox Bet Live , to tie it in with the Fox Sports gambling app of the same name. The program would be canceled in 2022. Daily/Weekly Live events FS2 serves as a secondary outlet and overflow channel for FS1's mainstream sports programming. It launched alongside FS1 in August 2013. In February 2015, Fox Sports 1 became part of
184-755: A deal to carry Fox Sports 1, Fox planned to offer a version of Speed with limited programming on an interim basis until a deal was reached, in order to fulfill existing contracts that required Fox to provide a motorsports channel. Carriage deals were made by the launch date with all major cable and satellite providers, including cable/telco providers Comcast , Charter Communications , Cox Communications , Verizon FiOS , AT&T U-verse , Cablevision , Bright House Networks , Mediacom , Suddenlink Communications , Cable One and Time Warner Cable , as well as satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network . The deals with Time Warner, Dish and DirecTV – which were announced just days before FS1's launch – were seen as crucial to
230-902: A dedicated cable presence to better compete against established networks like ESPN . Fox was already a major force in cable sports programming, having operated several niche channels such as Fox Soccer , Fox Deportes , Fuel TV and Fox College Sports . Also in its portfolio were the Fox Sports Networks , a group of regional sports networks both owned by Fox outright or by other companies through affiliation agreements with FSN; in addition to carrying play-by-play rights to several local sports teams, these regional networks also featured common national content produced and distributed by Fox Sports, including national college sports broadcasts and specialty programs such as The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Baseball's Golden Age . Though this local/national hybrid approach gave Fox prominence at
276-404: A few years of its launch. Viewership figures for the end of 2019, however, showed FS1 over 1.4 million viewers behind ESPN and even trailing NBCSN by 17,000. Fox Sports 1 formally launched on August 17, 2013, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time , with the following introduction: Good morning and welcome to the very first day of Fox Sports 1. Here on America's new sports network, our promise to you
322-450: A general entertainment network that would be spun off from FX and would feature comedy series and feature films; such reports were confirmed when the channel's planned launch was officially announced by Fox Entertainment Group on March 28, 2013. In October 2012, Speed altered its on-air logo bug to include the Fox Sports logo above its own, which was believed to indicate a step towards this replacement. Fox Sports would officially confirm
368-523: A merger between two existing North American sports car racing series, the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series . At its inception, the name was United SportsCar Championship , which subsequently changed to IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016. Rolex SA 's Tudor brand was the championship's title sponsor in 2014 and 2015, and since 2016 WeatherTech has served as title sponsor. The season begins with its premier race,
414-480: A minimum of 16 elimination races presented live, and the remainder shown either on weekend afternoons or in primetime; four of the live elimination races would be aired by the main Fox network, with the rest, as well as encores, on FS1 and FS2), and coverage of select NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Sportsman Series events on FS1. The contract succeeded one with ESPN. On March 21, 2018, Fox Sports announced that it had acquired
460-614: A name submitted through a contest won by Louis Satterlee of Florida, a racer in the Florida Karting Championship Series. On August 9, 2013, Fox Sports 1 announced it had signed a TV contract with IMSA to televise the entire USCC season between 2014 and 2018. Later, on September 12, 2013, Tudor was announced as the title sponsor for the series, which was named the United SportsCar Championship. On August 8, 2015, WeatherTech
506-466: A variety of motorsports events. FS1 also features daily sports news, analysis and discussion programming as well as sports-related reality and documentary programs. FS1 replaced the motorsports -centric network Speed on August 17, 2013, while its companion channel Fox Sports 2 replaced Fuel TV. Both FS1 and FS2 carried over most of the sports programming from their predecessors, as well as content from Fox Soccer , which would then be replaced by
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#1732787453463552-425: Is that we will share your passion for the game, never take ourselves too seriously, and, most importantly, never put ourselves above the game nor the athletes. We will be informative without ever sacrificing accuracy. We work for you, the fan, and every day we will live up to this simple promise. Now let's get on with the show. The launch day featured 16½ hours of live sports coverage, including NASCAR coverage during
598-833: The Rolex 24 at Daytona , the last weekend of January and ends with the Petit Le Mans , another North American Endurance Cup race, in early October. On September 5, 2012, it was announced that the Grand-Am Road Racing sanctioning body would merge with the Braselton -based International Motor Sports Association , and as such, both bodies would merge their premiere sports car series, the Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series respectively, with plans to debut in 2014. On November 20, 2012,
644-479: The United SportsCar Championship after the merger and is somewhat comparable to the old Trans Am Series . There are four classes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship series, featuring two sports prototype categories and two grand tourer classes. Some races may only use selected classes of cars, for example: Any class car may be permitted entry at Daytona , while at the Northeast Grand Prix only
690-714: The 2017 Le Mans Prototype LMP2 cars. Previously, the DPi's had competed against their base LMP2 counterparts in the Prototype class from 2017 to 2018. Starting in 2019 the LMP2 cars were split into a separate class. The Prototype class had originally consisted of Grand-Am 's Daytona Prototypes with the American Le Mans Series LMP2 prototypes , and the DeltaWing , before the original Daytona Prototypes, and
736-572: The American Le Mans Series would continue as is, although the cars were to switch to Grand-Am's Continental Tires . The GT class of the American Le Mans Series would remain unchanged, while Grand-Am's GT class will form another GT class, and be combined with the American Le Mans GTC category. The only category of cars not represented in the new series is the American Le Mans Series' P1 category. The reveal date for
782-578: The DPi class (2019–2022), it features pro-am driver lineups. The class features cars built by Automobile Club de l'Ouest 's (ACO) 4 licensed manufacturers ( Riley - Multimatic , Ligier , Oreca and Dallara ) to the specifications of the FIA /ACO 2017 Global LMP2 regulations. A class that utilizes the FIA GT3 specifications that replaced the GTLM class starting in the 2022 Season. No driver class restriction in
828-748: The DeltaWing were phased out of competition at the end of 2016, and replaced by the new DPi cars. Starting in 2023, the DPi class was replaced by the Grand Touring Prototype ( GTP ) class in an effort to further improve the racing in the Prototype class, as well as create a closer bond to the FIA World Endurance Championship . The former flagship class of the championship from 2014 to 2018 before splitting into two separate classes in 2019, featuring cars built to which included classes of prototypes carried over from
874-539: The GT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro) and GT Daytona (GTD) are entered. Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) classes are compatible with regulations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans . The flagship class of the championship that replaced the DPi (Daytona Prototype International) class starting in 2023, featuring cars built to IMSA's LMDh and Automobile Club de l'Ouest 's Le Mans Hypercar regulations. A class introduced since 2019 after being split from
920-579: The GTD Pro class. A class since 2016 that uses same specification cars as GTD Pro, but at least 1 silver or bronze driver must be in a team. And more than 1 platinum driver in a team is prohibited. There were five classes formerly used in the IMSA SportsCar Championship series, featuring four sports prototype categories and one grand tourer class. The former flagship class of the championship from 2019 to 2022, featuring cars built to IMSA's Daytona Prototype International regulations, which are based upon
966-634: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, this class of prototypes features cars built according to ACO's 2020 LMP3 Generation II ruleset specifications from manufacturers such as Ligier , ADESS , Ginetta & Duqueine Engineering. The class was removed after the 2023 season due to the growth in grid sizes. A continuation of the ALMS GT class, it consisted of cars matching the ACO's GTE specification and competed in
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#17327874534631012-691: The cable home to the series. Originally based on a Canadian series before being acquired by Grand-Am, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (originally known as Grand-Am Cup) is a production-based touring car series. The series is split into two classes known as Grand Sport (GS), intended for large capacity GT-style cars, and Street Tuner (ST), consisting of smaller sedans and coupes, some of which are front-wheel drive . The IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge until 2013 supported some Rolex Series races but also headlined some of its own dates. This series continued with
1058-579: The carriage of Speed as a foreign service, but Fox did not seek carriage of FS1 in that country (some of the sports event programming that Fox Sports 1 holds the broadcast rights to carry already air in that country on domestic sports networks such as TSN and Sportsnet ). A version of Speed remains operational for these markets (now known as Fox Sports Racing ), airing a lineup of past Speed reality shows, and coverage of NASCAR and other motorsports events simulcast with Fox Sports 1 or Fox Sports 2. In early 2014, some major Canadian service providers began to drop
1104-697: The channel as Fox Sports' President of National Networks. Following his arrival, FS1 began to pivot its studio programming towards opinion-oriented panel shows similar to those he oversaw on ESPN, and also hired away several notable personalities from ESPN, such as Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd (who were featured on new programs such as Speak for Yourself and Skip and Shannon: Undisputed ). Horowitz likened this strategy, which has been referred to as "embrace debate", to that of sister property Fox News Channel ; he argued that fewer viewers were watching conventional sports news programs such as SportsCenter due to
1150-439: The channel upon the expiration of their contractual rights to carry Speed. In 2015, Fox Sports 1 added coverage of selected NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, USGA championship events, FIFA tournaments, and Major League Soccer . In July of that year (coinciding with the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup ), the network began to phase out the use of the full "Fox Sports 1" name and logo from on-air and promotional usage, identifying
1196-534: The conversion of Speed into Fox Sports 1 in an announcement on March 5, 2013. Despite being established well after ESPN (which launched in 1979), and the NBC- and CBS-owned sports networks (which respectively launched in 1996 and 2003 under different ownership and branding), Fox Sports 1, even before commencing programming, has been seen as a legitimate and serious competitor to ESPN, in part due to three factors: Fox Sports executives see Fox Sports 1 as "an alternative to
1242-602: The entertainment-based channel FXX on September 2, 2013. The network is based primarily from the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City section of Los Angeles , though the network also has significant broadcast operations in New York City and Charlotte, North Carolina (the latter of which had served as Speed's home base). As of September 2018 , Fox Sports 1
1288-529: The establishment", much as the Fox Broadcasting Company was to other broadcast networks in the 1980s and Fox News Channel was to CNN in the 1990s. In terms of growth, Fox Entertainment Group acknowledged that Fox Sports 1 would start modestly and not be competitively equal with ESPN right out of the gate; however, the company foresaw the network growing incrementally, believing that the channel would be on-par with its senior competitor within
1334-479: The following season in 2019. This was a one-make spec class in which all cars that drivers and teams used were Oreca FLM09 LMPC's powered by 6.2L Chevrolet V8 engines which made 430 hp each. This class would be used from the 2014 season until the end of the 2017 season. Introduced in the 2021 season, having been in the IMSA Prototype Challenge category as one of the feeder series to
1380-531: The late morning and afternoon (highlighted by a Camping World Truck Series qualifying round and race), five hours of UFC bouts in the evening (the main event of the Fight Night card being a match between Maurício Rua and Chael Sonnen ), and the premiere of the sports news and discussion show Fox Sports Live following the conclusion of the UFC event. Although marketed as a relaunch of Speed, Fox Sports 1
1426-608: The local sports level, it was somewhat disadvantaged as its flagship over-the-air network had the distinction of being the only major U.S. broadcast television network not to have a national general sports channel to complement its sports division, unlike ABC (whose corporate parent The Walt Disney Company owns an 80% stake in and operating control of ESPN), CBS (which operates CBS Sports Network ) and NBC (which operated NBCSN ). The reports indicated that Fox planned on converting one of these niche sports channels, Speed – which focused on auto racing and other motorsports – into
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1472-471: The merger committee announced that SME Branding were selected to develop the name, logo and identity of the new series. On January 8, 2013, the two series' announced a preliminary class structure for the new merged series. Grand-Am's Daytona Prototype category and IMSA's P2 would combine into a single-prototype class, with allowances for the unique DeltaWing to also compete in the new class. The Le Mans Prototype Challenge class of single spec cars from
1518-443: The most expensive fee of any pay television network). Concerns by providers over the increasing costs for cable and satellite services for their customers (largely believed to be partly due to the higher fees commanded by certain sports channels) resulted in Fox backing off charging the 80¢ per subscriber rate, instead charging the same 23¢ rate that those providers paid to carry Speed. For any remaining providers that had not reached
1564-576: The network as simply "FS1" with a new wordmark logo. A representative for Fox Sports stated that was intended to streamline the channel's marketing, and reflect common usage. On July 14, 2015, Fox Sports reached a long-term agreement with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to broadcast its drag racing events beginning in 2016. Fox's package includes coverage of Friday and Saturday qualifying, and Sunday elimination races for NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events (with
1610-637: The network, as those three providers had a combined reach of over 40 million households, nearly half the goal of 90 million homes that FS1 set for its launch. International markets that previously received the U.S. version of Speed (such as Canada, the Caribbean , and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico) did not gain access to Fox Sports 1 upon its relaunch; in Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission permitted
1656-465: The new Fox Sports 1 due to its established reach on U.S. pay television providers (Speed maintained a subscriber base of 81 million homes with cable, IPTV or satellite service by 2012), which would result in the reduction of the channel's commitment to NASCAR and other motorsports coverage. Further supporting this theory, reports surfaced in January 2013 that Fox Soccer would be relaunched as FXX ,
1702-528: The new series was March 14, 2013 at the Chateau Élan Hotel and Conference Center at Sebring International Raceway , two days before the 12 Hours of Sebring . American Le Mans CEO Scott Atherton announced the new sanctioning body would remain IMSA while Ed Bennett revealed the new titles for the series' five classes. SME Branding Senior Partner Ed O'Hara then announced the new United SportsCar Racing title and logo,
1748-628: The previous motorsport category series of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series . These cars were Daytona Prototypes , LMP2 prototypes & the Nissan DeltaWing . Starting in 2017 the original Daytona Prototypes, and the DeltaWing were phased out of competition, and replaced by the new DPi cars. At the end of the 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season this class would be split into two separate classes, DPi & LMP2 for
1794-659: The race would be cancelled with the official reason stated as a lack of entrants. IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship , currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is a result of
1840-618: The schedule for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship was announced, with Austin returning to the schedule on 1 September as the 6th race of the season. The 6 Hours of the Americas was an event organised by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and would have been part of the inaugural season of the Intercontinental GT Challenge on March 6, 2016. On January 29 it was announced that
1886-677: The series between the 2014 and 2021 seasons. Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 ( FS1 ) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group , a unit of Fox Corporation . FS1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Major League Baseball and the World Baseball Classic , college sports (most notably Big Ten , Pac-12 and Big 12 football, and Big East basketball), soccer matches (including Major League Soccer , Liga MX , Copa Libertadores , and FIFA World Cup ), and
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1932-543: The television rights for the PBA Tour of ten-pin bowling , beginning in 2019 (once again replacing ESPN). 26 broadcasts in the 2019 season are scheduled to air on FS1, with four additional broadcasts to air on the main Fox network. Sports programming on FS1 includes the following: FS1 airs various studio shows mainly involving debating sports topics, especially in the afternoon and early evening. In May 2015, Fox Sports hired Jamie Horowitz, formerly of ESPN , to oversee
1978-436: The ubiquity of online news and highlights, but that there were "record highs" for opinion programs. After Horowitz's exit from Fox, his replacement Mark Silverman (who came from Big Ten Network ) admitted that FS1 had matured and "grown past 'embrace debate'", emphasizing a focus on offering shows that are "smart, entertaining and interesting to sports fans", alongside opinion-based programs. In September 2018, FS1 premiered
2024-710: Was announced as the new title sponsor for the series, renaming the series to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, starting with the 2016 season. Beginning with the 2019 season, the series is covered exclusively by NBC Sports in the United States. The NBC broadcast network will air nine hours of coverage annually, with the majority of the coverage airing on NBCSN . CNBC and the NBC Sports app will provide supplemental coverage. Beginning with 2022, USA Network replaced NBCSN as
2070-404: Was available to approximately 83.3 million pay television households (90.3% of households with cable) in the United States. As of June 2023 , the channel's reach had been reduced to 72.4 million homes. In March 2012, reports began circulating that Fox Entertainment Group had plans to launch a national Fox Sports cable network by August 2013 known as Fox Sports 1, giving the sports division
2116-439: Was contractually considered to be a new channel; due to its change in scope from automotive and motorsports to mainstream sports, Fox was required to reach new deals with providers for them to carry the network. At first, Fox sought a higher carriage fee as well, estimated at 80¢ per subscriber (more than triple the subscriber fee of 23¢ that Speed had commanded; by comparison, ESPN pulls in fees of approximately $ 5.00 per subscriber,
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