Liz Allison to join TNT's NASCAR broadcast team
June 11, 2001
2:26 PM EDT (1826 GMT)
ATLANTA -- Liz Allison has reached an agreement with Turner Sports to serve as an on-site reporter for TNT’s NASCAR Winston Cup and NASCAR Busch Series races, it was announced Monday on NASCAR.com by Turner Sports executive producer Mike Pearl.
Allison, the widow of 1987 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Davey Allison, will join TNT’s NASCAR broadcast team on July 8 for the Busch Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Allison will do her first Winston Cup Series event on July 29 at Pocono Raceway and said she is eagerly anticipating it.
“The TV (experience) I’ve had in the past was actually me on the other side of the camera, where I was being interviewed,” Allison said. “So it’s fun to step on the other side and do the interviewing myself. I’ve really been enjoying it and I’m not really intimidated. I’m ready to go racing.”
As a roving reporter for TNT, Allison will report on the personal aspects of the lives of drivers and other personalities. She will also do live interviews throughout the day from around the track.
“I have been trying to stay on top of the news and to stay in touch with everybody,” Allison said of her preparation. “I have always done that, but even moreso now just to stay on top of the news. I have been at the track a lot lately, again just to stay on top of everything. The rest of it will take care of itself.”
Allison will also contribute to NASCAR.com.
“Though a newcomer to television, Liz has all the attributes to make it big in this medium,” Pearl said. “Her knowledge of the sport and her personality will endear her to NASCAR fans everywhere.”
Allison joins a team that includes anchor Allen Bestwick and former Winston Cup champion Benny Parsons.
“I’ve known most of these guys for a long time,” Allison said. “Benny Parsons is one of my very special friends and one of my favorite people in the world -- a great guy.
“It’s a first class team that’s been put together and I’m honored to be able to work with these guys. I know I’ll learn a lot from them.”
Allison is an author of four books and has managed Davey Allison Licensing since 1993, when the driver died from injuries suffered when his helicopter crashed while he was trying to land at Talladega Superspeedway.
She is the former vice president of the Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary and is both a member of the National Council of the Brain Injury Association and a spokesperson for the Brain Injury Association. The Alabama Chapter of the United Way recognized her for her work in her community in 1993 and 1994.
“I just want to let the fans know how excited I am to be back in the sport and around the track every week,” Allison said. “I hope that I will be able to give all the normal coverage but also some new things for them that we’ve not done in the past. We want to give them a few more personal sides of some of these drivers and their families that people will enjoy in the second half of the season.”
In November 1999, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and NBC Sports reached a landmark agreement with NASCAR on a six-year contract giving each network the exclusive television rights to 20 races per year. In this first-of-its-kind deal, TNT and NBC will work in equal partnership on production, promotion and sales efforts.
Turner Sports, Inc., an AOL Time Warner company, presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised sports programming. With events airing on four networks -- TBS Superstation, TNT, Turner South and CNN/Sports Illustrated -- Turner Sports’ line-up includes the NBA, NASCAR and NASCAR.com, Wimbledon, Atlanta Braves baseball, Atlanta Thrashers hockey, Atlanta Hawks basketball, professional golf, figure skating, WUSA soccer and the Goodwill Games.
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