DESPAIN TO LEAD ‘HALL OF FAME’ DAYTONA BIKE WEEK COVERAGE FOR SPEED ‘SPEED CAM’ TO GIVE VIEWERS UNIQUE SUPERCROSS PERSPECTIVE WORLD CHAMPIONS SPENCER, EMIG PART OF TEAM SPEED Dave Despain, inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, will lead nine of the most experienced motorcycle on-air personalities on television, including five members of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, as SPEED rolls into Daytona for its sixth consecutive year of extended coverage from iconic Bike Week, beginning March 8 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Billed as the “World’s Largest Motorcycle Event,” Bike Week is celebrating its 66th Anniversary in 2007 and Despain has been around for a lot of them in one capacity or another, first attending in 1972 as an AMA public relations assistant. “Bike Week completely changed my life,” said Despain, host of Wind Tunnel and Inside Nextel Cup on SPEED. “It was my first opportunity to cover racing on TV, but even if that hadn’t happened, I’d still be there every year. Thirty-five years ago, Bike Week was all about racing. Now, when you say “Bike Week” most people think of the party. That’s cool, but for me it’s still all about the racing “¦ and I’m happy to work for a network that feels the same way.” Despain will host SPEED’s sport bike racing coverage, with Ralph Sheheen providing play-by-play, Hall of Fame world champion and former Daytona 200 winner Freddie Spencer providing analysis and Greg White reporting from the pits. Sheheen also will lead SPEED’s on-air team for coverage of the Daytona Supercross by Honda, with Hall of Fame world champion Jeff Emig providing analysis and Erin Bates reporting from the pits. For the Supercross race, SPEED will add a special “SPEED Cam,” a dedicated hand-held camera riding at race speed on the famed Daytona International Speedway tri-oval apron, taping the Supercross riders as they maneuver through vicious stutter bumps known as “whoops.” “Bike Week in Daytona is every bit as important to two-wheel racers as it is to their four-wheel cousins,” Sheheen said. “The aura of Daytona is just as mesmerizing for motorcycle racers as it is for stock car or sports car competitors. That’s because just about every form of two-wheeled competition takes place during the week somewhere in the Daytona Beach area, and all of the biggest names in motorcycling have won in there respective disciplines. Kenny Roberts, Ricky Carmichael and Chris Carr have all stood on top of the podium during this two-wheeled rite of spring. In fact, our own colleagues at Speed, Freddie Spencer and Jeff Emig have both won at motorcycling’s most prestigious week of racing. Bike Week is just one more reason why they call Daytona “The World Center of Racing.” For the AMA Flat Track events, Larry Maiers, a 2001 inductee into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, will call the play-by-play, with fellow Hall of Famer and legendary motorcycle mechanic Bill Werner providing color and Brian Drebber reporting from the pits. SPEED 2007 Daytona Bike Week broadcast schedule (subject to change): Thursday, March 8 · 2:30 p.m. ET 3.5 hours of coverage, including Daytona 200 qualifying, Supersport and AMA Superstock racing (LIVE) Friday, March 9 · 9:30 p.m. ET Daytona Supercross by Honda race (SDD) Saturday, March 10 · 11 a.m. ET AMA Superbike race presented by Parts Unlimited (LIVE) · 12:30 p.m. ET AMA Grand National Flat Track racing · 1:30 p.m. ET Daytona 200 by Honda race (LIVE) SPEED is the nation’s first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 74 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.