AMA/Prostar Television Series in 2004 Deal with Outdoor Channel and ESPN2 creates milestone for motorcycle drag racing.

AMA/Prostar is proud to announce that all eight of the Prostar National Events will be televised through ESPN2 and the Outdoor Channel this coming season. The programming will feature racing and an entire entertainment package. Keith Kizer, AMA/Prostar President and CEO said, “After fifteen years of hit and miss television programs, Prostar will finally have the entire season of the U.S. Drag Racing Series televised.”

Prostar Marketing and Communications director, James Cara sees the programming as a way to introduce motorcycle drag racing to a new audience, " Rather than just a race on TV, this program will include and spotlight various aspects of the race culture that is no-doubt going to excite both riders and tool-tv junkies. By giving the viewer more in addition to bikes going down the track, this programming is going to be developed with the goal of re-airing and total entertainment value."

In 1989 Prostar debuted its inaugural event at Atco Raceway. Initially named the IHRA Motorcycle Division, then president of IHRA, Ted Jones helped Prostar with placing its first race on a fairly new cable network called ESPN. Jones along with Bret Kepner hosted the one hour show that gave viewers a first time glimpse of all motorcycle drag racing and the sport was off and running to heights that had never been accomplished.

As Prostar debuts its fifteenth season with the MRE Nationals in Gainesville, Florida, Mr. Jones will once again join Prostar to debut the first ever, full season of televised national events. This is a milestone for the sport of motorcycle drag racing. Thanks to great people like Jones, Ed Youngblood formerly of AMA, Dave Despain, Chet Burks of Chet Burks Production and lately Brian Johnson, Prostar has enjoyed many television broadcast throughout their fifteen year history.

This season, Prostar will take another historic step in elevating the sport to the next level by offering all brand motorcycle drag racing’s first ever television series. Kizer said, “we are thankful and certainly give credit to NHRA for helping make the sport of motorcycle drag racing known to the public with their coverage of Pro Stock motorcycles, but never has the entire sport been subject to such exposure.” Cara added, "TV has just allowed Prostar to become the national ambassadors for motorcycle drag racing, Prostar is bringing the nation's eye to see all of the classes, faces, bikes, and names that are the real backbone and front-line of the sport."

But it's not all fluff! Prostar’s promise is to not only educate and entertain the public on Top Fuel and the rest of the Pro categories, but also promises that every Sportman class will be featured through this television series. Every final round of every class will be featured in each of the eight shows this fall.

Ted Jones is today the co-owner of Master’s Entertainment in Bristol, Tennessee along with Butch McCall and produces drag racing television shows for NHRA, Super Chevy and AHDRA. In addition they produce a weekly show called “Inside Drag Racing”, “In the Driver’s Seat”, “Mother’s Polish Car Show Series”, “Street Rodder Television” and many more motorsports programs.

Each year motorsports programming changes for the better. With Speed Channel moving to more NASCAR programming, the Outdoor Channel capitalized on the need for more motorsports programming. This season Wednesday nights are set aside for motorsports on the Outdoor Channel. Ted Jones and company will be taping each Prostar national event, build the content, and begin airing them in the fall. Once the Prostar U.S. Drag Racing Series starts airing, there will be a new show on every Wednesday night throughout the fall season with two additional rebroadcast for each show. The World Finals will air on ESPN 2.

Each event taping will feature highlights of the AMA/Prostar Drag Racing Series on ESPN 2’s “Inside Drag Racing” promoting upcoming events throughout the summer. This will be a nationwide promotion of our national events in hopes of boosting spectator participation. Although Prostar has had extensive advertising over the past several years, it is the exposure to the sport through consistent television programming that will introduce the sport to an all-new customer base.

Kizer added, “televised events open a new door to outside sponsorships not only for the sanctioning body, but also for its racers. Television is the single most important factor in soliciting sponsorship.” Although the sport of motorcycle drag racing does not match the spectator attendance of more popular motorcycle events, television is the great equalizer that will reach tens of millions potential viewers in hopes of turning many of them into spectators over the years.

For more information regarding program show dates and times or television sponsorship for the Prostar U.S. Drag Racing Series, visit www.amaprostar.com.