American Sports Cavalcade
Encyclopedia
American Sports Cavalcade was an American motorsports television show produced by Diamond P Sports that aired on TNN
from 1983 to 1995. American Sports Cavalcade was also a winner of the cable television Ace Awards for their motorsports coverage.
and ASA
stock car racing, NHRA drag racing, CART
Indycar racing, IMSA
and SCCA sports car racing, AMA
supercross and superbike racing, USAC and World of Outlaws
sprint car racing, monster truck racing and truck and tractor pulling from TNT Motorsports
, APBA
offshore power boat racing, Swamp Buggy
racing from Naples, Florida, and even a couple of rodeo events during their first few seasons.
This show usually aired during racing season on Saturdays and once or twice on Sundays, with the same episode airing each time during that weekend. The episodes were almost always taped, edited, and broadcast a week or two after the event had taken place (known in broadcasting as tape delay
). The episodes were usually 90 minutes in length.
In the mid-'80s, Diamond P and TNN were the first group to televise racing from Road America
in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
.
, who eventually left Cavalcade to host another TNN Show named Truckin' USA. Ed never really did a lot in the form of commentating while on ASC. He usually left the commentating up to Steve Evans and Brock Yates
. Throughout the years, ASC would use other announcers as well, including Paul Page
, Gary Gerould
, Ralph Sheheen
, and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits
for NHRA telecasts.
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
from 1983 to 1995. American Sports Cavalcade was also a winner of the cable television Ace Awards for their motorsports coverage.
Format
At the start of each episode, a narrator would say during the opening, "Diamond P Sports presents... the American Sports Cavalcade. A panorama of speed, color, drama, and excitement!" Over the years, American Sports Cavalcade televised such sports as NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
and ASA
American Speed Association
The American Speed Association is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana and currently is headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. ASA was most famous for a national touring series which began in 1973 but was...
stock car racing, NHRA drag racing, CART
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
Indycar racing, IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
and SCCA sports car racing, AMA
American Motorcyclist Association
The American Motorcyclist Association is an American not-for-profit organization of more than 300,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights...
supercross and superbike racing, USAC and World of Outlaws
World of Outlaws
The World of Outlaws is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning a national tour of sprint cars. It later purchased a national tour of late model stockcars called the World of Outlaws Late Model Series...
sprint car racing, monster truck racing and truck and tractor pulling from TNT Motorsports
TNT Motorsports
TNT Motorsports was a popular promoter of monster truck races, tractor pulls, and occasionally mud racing in the 1980s. Events were shown on Powertrax on ESPN, Trucks and Tractor Power on TNN and the syndicated Tuff Trax.-Series:...
, APBA
American Power Boat Association
The American Power Boat Association is a New York non-profit, membership owned corporation that was created in 1903 by an act of the New York legislature as a racing association for powerboats. It is the United States sanctioning authority for the Union Internationale Motonautique , the world...
offshore power boat racing, Swamp Buggy
Swamp buggy
The Swamp Buggy is a vehicle used to traverse the vast, boggy swamps of the American South. Invented by Ed Frank[1], in Naples, Florida, the swamp buggy proved valuable during early development of the Everglades in the 1930s and 1940s....
racing from Naples, Florida, and even a couple of rodeo events during their first few seasons.
This show usually aired during racing season on Saturdays and once or twice on Sundays, with the same episode airing each time during that weekend. The episodes were almost always taped, edited, and broadcast a week or two after the event had taken place (known in broadcasting as tape delay
Tape delay
Tape delay can mean:*Delay , an audio effect reminiscent of an echo*Broadcast delay, the practice of intentionally delaying a radio and television broadcast of live material....
). The episodes were usually 90 minutes in length.
In the mid-'80s, Diamond P and TNN were the first group to televise racing from Road America
Road America
Road America is a road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series , American Le Mans , SCCA Speed World Challenge Series, ASRA, and AMA Superbike series.- Current track and...
in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
Highlight VHS
In 1989, Diamond P Sports and TNN collaborated and released a video entitled And They Walked Away. This VHS video featured a compilation of footage from the first six years of American Sports Cavalcade, and it featured a plethora of auto racing and motor sports accidents, crashes, and fires in which the driver(s) beat the odds to survive the incident. Fatal accidents, as the title alludes to, were not included in this production.Hosts
This show was originally hosted by country singer Ed BruceEd Bruce
William Edwin "Ed" Bruce, Jr. is an American country music songwriter and singer. He is known for penning the 1975 song "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" .-Early life & songwriting career:...
, who eventually left Cavalcade to host another TNN Show named Truckin' USA. Ed never really did a lot in the form of commentating while on ASC. He usually left the commentating up to Steve Evans and Brock Yates
Brock Yates
Brock Yates is an American journalist and author. He was longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, an American automotive magazine. He was a pit reporter for CBS' coverage of certain NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in the 1980s, including the Daytona 500...
. Throughout the years, ASC would use other announcers as well, including Paul Page
Paul Page
Paul Page is an American motorsports broadcaster who was the lead announcer for ABC Sports' coverage of CART and the IRL from 1988 to 2004. He currently is the lead announcer for NHRA.-Early life and career:...
, Gary Gerould
Gary Gerould
Gary Gerould is an American sportscaster, best known as the radio voice of the NBA's Sacramento Kings since 1985 and as a motorsports reporter for ABC and ESPN....
, Ralph Sheheen
Ralph Sheheen
Ralph Sheheen is currently a pit reporter for NASCAR on TNT, an announcer for AMA supercross and superbike racing on the Speed Channel, and is the lead commentator of CBS Sports' coverage of the AMA....
, and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits
Don Garlits
Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. Always a pioneer in the field of drag-racing, he, with the help of T.C...
for NHRA telecasts.