George Webster is retiring from Race Fan TV

November 2011

Effective the end of November, 2011, I am retiring from Race Fan TV and I will no longer be providing updates to the TV listing database.

Last year I sold the website (racefantv.com), including the name, to Charles Ehredt, who also operates other websites, including the similarly-named RacefansTV. Ehredt has plans to continue the TV listings service here, but these plans are not yet fully developed.

I have enjoyed the time I have spent compiling and posting the TV listing data here and I trust that you have appreciated my 'labour of love' efforts

George Webster

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Race Fan TV (www.racefantv.com)

Race Fan TV is a website providing listings of auto and motorcycle racing for race fans in the United States. It is the most comprehensive, most accurate, and most up-to-date listings service of its kind available anywhere.

Race Fan TV is presented by George Webster, working from his home base in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

Race Fan TV is affiliated with the magazine Performance Racing News, Toronto, Canada and with the new website RaceFansTV.com.

These listings include U.S. TV Listings for race fans in the United States. It includes listings for all channels available to American race fans via cable or satellite.

Race Fan TV is a free service, open to all who have access to the internet.

During the racing season, Race Fan TV receives well in excess of 10000 visits per week.

George Ryerson’s Legacy
Race Fan TV is a continuation of the television listings service which was offered on the CompuServe Motor Sports Forum by George Ryerson. He compiled and posted very comprehensive U.S. listings for several years. At the end of 2001, he retired from his day job and decided to take a well-earned respite from his self-assigned routine of preparing weekly auto racing television listings. I had been compiling a parallel 'Canadian Television Listings' which was also posted on the CompuServe Motor Sports Forum.

Coincidently with Ryerson’s decision to stop compiling listings for the CompuServe Motor Sports Forum, I had decided to establish a website as a medium for making the auto racing listings available to wider audience of race fans in the United States and Canada. Race Fan TV began at the start of the racing season in 2002. I acknowledge Ryerson’s influence on this project; the format of my listings and other aspects of Race Fan TV owes much to his pioneering work.

Mike Hollander died recently but his Motor Sports Forum continues; today it is a website
(www.motorsportsforum.com) and Race Fan TV is the television listings service for the web-based Motor Sports Forum. In addition, several other race fan websites offer the Race Fan TV listings via links to the relevant page of the Race Fan TV website. I appreciate the support and cooperation of all these web partners.

Copyright
The content of Race Fan TV is copyright. If you wish to use the listings information in your website or publish the content in any other way, please ask permission.

My Listings Policies
George Ryerson used to include every motorsports or automotive-related television broadcast in his CompuServe listings. As the number of such programs has exploded, not the least by the creation of the SPEED Channel, such a completely comprehensive list would be overwhelming – and the “important” broadcasts might be lost in the clutter of the mass of listings. I am trying to find a balance between listing “everything” and a “bare-bones” kind of list.

My general policy to include every original and rerun automobile and motorcycle race broadcast aired. This includes every “major” series and many secondary/support series.

I also include racing-related magazine shows, but I tend to omit multiple reruns and shows that are “timeless” and run over and over for months or years. In general I do not list a show once it has been rerun about five times.

I have a bias towards race events held on paved circuits or tracks. I tend to ignore freak or peripheral motorsports shows such as monster trucks, ATV, lawn mower or Figure Eight racing, demolition derbies, racing wrecks compilations, and so on.

Of course, in the end, the decision to list a program or not is a subjective decision made by the website’s editorial board (i.e. me). The list of events which I include in the listings has been influenced by audience feedback (e.g. motocross/supercross).

You are encouraged to use the internet to check other sources of listings as well as Race Fan TV. Check the broadcaster’s listings, especially the SPEED Channel (www.speedtv.com). I find the zap2it website (www.zap2it.com) a valuable comprehensive source of listings for U.S. and Canadian television listings

Normally the listings are rechecked and updated each week on Tuesday or Wednesday. The main pages include listings for the following two weekends. Occasionally, if I am unable to follow my normal updating schedule because I am away on some kind of road trip or some other reason, the listings will be given for a longer period and will be updated as soon as I return to base.


Who am I?
This website is presented by George Webster. I am a Canadian who lives in Oakville, Canada, in the Greater Toronto area.
I have been involved in auto racing for over 50 years – as a race fan, a race official, a race photographer, and a race writer. In addition to my self-assigned duties as publisher/editor of Race Fan TV, I am a writer for the Toronto-based magazine Performance Racing News. (http://www.prnmag.com/)
My personal racing interests are the major international and U.S. series such as NASCAR, Formula One, CART, IRL, Le Mans/American Le Mans. Given my long personal history in motorsports, I am developing an increased interest in historic racing such as the Goodwood Festival and Revival (England), Monterey Historics. I support the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen. I also have a collection of models of Land Speed Record cars.

Feedback helps (send email to racefantv@yahoo.com)
I invite your feedback. I always appreciate receiving messages especially those that are complimentary. But I also appreciate constructive criticism. If you think I have made a mistake in the listings or have omitted something, please let me know ASAP. I will consider your input seriously. I want to maintain Race Fan TV's standing as the best listings service available and your input can be helpful.

If you have a question you think I can help answer, don’t hesitate to ask. I will respond and I will do my best to help you find the answer to your question.

News Releases
Race Fan TV welcomes news from the automobile and motorcycle racing industry, especially news related to television broadcasting. Please send your news releases by email (editor@racefantv.com). If you wish to make contact by another method, please send me an email and I will respond with the complete contact information.

George Webster, Race Fan TV, March 2010