After being televised live on SPEED since the event’s inception in 2004, the OHIO 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race will be televised live on FOX for the first time ever in 2007. After being shown exclusively on SPEED since 2003, FOX has scheduled two NCTS broadcasts for 2007; the first event slated for FOX is the March 31 event at Martinsville Speedway, with the event at Mansfield Motorsports Park slated for May 26. The broadcast is scheduled for a 1 P.M. Eastern start.

“We have always enjoyed having our events televised on SPEED and we look forward to having several other events on SPEED in 2007. But to have our NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race broadcast on FOX is a real boost,” said MMP president and general manager Chris Mize. “It’s something that will give a lot of added value to our fans and to our sponsors. SPEED’s ratings have been very strong, but this will give us a nice bump in the number of people watching our race. And given that it’s a big racing weekend with the Indianapolis 500 and Coke 600, we’re honored to be given a network slot.”Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the start of summer, but it is also one of the busiest racing weekends in the country. The Indianapolis 500 takes place just a few hours to the west, while the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series are busy in Charlotte.

Mansfield joined the Memorial Day weekend activities in 2006.“It’s great to be on the schedule on Memorial Day weekend,” Mize said. “It is an honor to be in the same company with all of the other major motorsports events taking place over the weekend. I think the FOX broadcast will expose some people who might not be familiar with the Truck Series to some good hard short track racing. The Indy 500 is a one of a kind event, and so is the Coke 600. But both are on superspeedways. You can’t rub wheels at all in an Indy car, and even at Charlotte they are going so fast that they don’t want to do too much beating and banging on each other.