which has been named in honor of the
late Dave Coombs, will payout a
$25,000 purse, with $5000 going to the
.winner. When it's all added up, the total
purse for the 1999 season will surpass
the $1,515,825 million mark. It should
also be noted that PACE Motor Sports
has taken over the supercross contingency package from the AMA. We will
be offering a more valuable package,
with over 25 sponsors posting
$3,621,735 in award money. We expect
to add more sponsors by the time series
starts bringing the total to over $4 million dollars. That's more than $41 million more than what the AMA offered in
1998."
Television has played a key role in
the rise of supercross. The year 1998 saw'
the sport bask in the warm glow of
impressi ve espn2 ielsen numbers,
which averaged between a 1 and 1.5
household rating, which, when placed
up against the networks' viewing universe of 60 million homes, translates to
almost a million viewers per airing. The
premiere airing of the Dallas Supercross
on ABC Sports on April 26, 1998, was a
dazzling success. By hitching its wagon
to the Talladega Winston Cup race that
led into the broadcast, PACE and the
series reaped the benefits of a massive
lead-in audience, and with it, a 3.5 A.C.
Niel en number that spelled a ratings
bonanza for the young sport.
"[ can't give you an adjective for how
great the TV was for the sport in 1998,"
Becker says. "With the sport doing so
well on TV, it has enabled us (to have)
two ABC broadcasts next year. TV is the
most exciting dynamic in the sport right
now and is great ror its future. TV
allows us to gain recognition for the
aftermarket people and the OEMs - it
lets everyone be recognized by a national television audience. We'll be doing
two ABC shows, both in domes, which
allows us to take the weather out of the
equation. The two ABC broadcasts will
be taped at Houston on March 13 and
shown on March 14, while Indianapolis
will tape on April 24 and air on April 25
immediately after the Talladega
NASCAR Winston Cup race."
Finally, there's the sdledule. With the
series debut at Analleim this Saturday
evening, the band of gypsies that make
up the supercross caravan will set off on
a cross-country tour of America that will
(Above left) Doug Henry will participate in selected supercross races in 1999. As of now, he
is scheduled to make his '99 debut at Daytona.
(Above) Jeremy McGrath will shoot for his sixth title.
15
