CUP: CMS To Add Huge Video Screen

Sprint Cup

CUP: CMS To Add Huge Video Screen

The world's largest high-definition video board will be installed at Charlotte Motor Speedway...

Mike Hembree | Posted September 21, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Charlotte Motor Speedway officials announced a partnership with Panasonic to revolutionize the fan experience at motorsports events with the creation of the world’s largest high-definition video board. (Photo: Harold Hinson Photography)

Charlotte Motor Speedway is going high-def and wide-screen.

The track announced Tuesday that it plans to add a 200-foot-wide, 80-foot-tall high-definition video screen to its backstretch grandstands in time for its May 2011 NASCAR competition.

The screen will be located between turns two and three adjacent to the second-turn grandstand at the 1.5-mile track and will be visible to spectators sitting along the frontstretch and in the first and fourth turns, track officials said.

CMS officials say the screen will be the world’s largest high-definition video board. It will be used to show live race broadcasts, plus leader updates, instant replays and sponsor information.

“Charlotte Motor Speedway continually establishes itself as a pioneer when it comes to one-of-a-kind, over-the-top facility enhancements that change the game for motorsports fans,” said Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and track co-founder Bruton Smith. “Fans will see this like a gigantic television that will elevate the NASCAR experience in ways they have never dreamed.”

Most NASCAR tracks have video screens that show race broadcasts, but the CMS board will be the biggest. Although it will sit relatively close to the racing surface, its glow is not expected to be a problem for drivers, track officials said.

The screen will be added through the assistance of new track sponsor Panasonic. Construction on the project is expected to begin after the Oct. 13-16 NASCAR weekend at the track.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR

CUP: Thursday Charlotte Notebook (Update 3)
Practice for the Coca-Cola 600 and History 300 Nationwide Series…
CUP: Coca-Cola 600 – The Longest Day/Night
Speed, endurance, patience all part of the formula for Sunday’s…
CUP: Johnson Destroys Another Format
For a record fourth time, Jimmie Johnson rolls home first in Sprint…