FOX Deportes to cover 15 Sprint cup Series races in 2013

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- NASCAR announced a deal with FOX Deportes on Monday in which the Spanish-language network will offer live coverage of six Sprint Cup Series races next year and carry nine more on tape delay.

The deal will include what NASCAR said would be the first live Spanish-language TV broadcast of the Daytona 500. Other live races include those at Fontana, Calif., Bristol, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C., and Talladega, Ala. FOX Deportes will also produce programs focused on engaging the Latino fan base.

"The thirst for NASCAR programming, and in particular race broadcasts, is very strong and we're constantly looking for ways to expose the sport to new fans in new places," said Steve Herbst, NASCAR vice president of broadcasting and production.

Fox Deportes says it reaches more than 20 million cable and satellite households in the United States. It is part of News Corp.'s Fox Sports Media Group.

"It's a historic milestone in the evolution of FOX Deportes, and we're excited to be working with NASCAR to add the most popular motorsport in America to our overall programming mix for the first time," said Vincent Cordero, executive vice president and general manager of FOX Deportes. "There's no sport more deeply rooted in the fabric of America than NASCAR, and having it on our own network represents our continued commitment to expand and diversify our content portfolio by adding the biggest sporting events in the world that impassion today's U.S. Latino."

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.