1995 1995 12 31 united states july 3 2005 2005 07 03 latin america closed february 5 2012 2012 02 05 brazil november 5 2012 2012 11 05 latin america august 17 2013 2013 08 17 united states february 19 2015 2015 02 19 canada caribbean owned by 21st century fox picture format 720p hdtv 480i sdtv 16 9 letterbox slogan the motorsports authority country united states language english broadcast area canada caribbean puerto rico headquarters charlotte north carolina formerly called speedvision 1996 2002 speed channel 2002 2005 replaced by fox sports 1 united states fox sports brazil fox sports racing canada caribbean fox sports 3 latin america website www.speedtv.com www.speedtv.com.au foxsports.com speed was a sports oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the fox sports media group division of 21st century fox . the network was dedicated to motorsports programming including auto racing as well as automotive focused programs . although the channel was based in the united states its headquarters were located at university research park in charlotte north carolina speed ceased being available to most american viewers as a standalone network with its own original programming on august 17 2013 when it was replaced by the general interest sports network fox sports 1 . 1 2 3 an international version of the network now known as fox sports racing concurrently launched in canada the caribbean and the u.s. territory of puerto rico to replace the domestic feed airing archived speed programming and live simulcasts of motorsports events carried by fox sports 1 and fox sports 2 in the united states that would be otherwise unavailable to international viewers . 4 when it originally launched in 1995 as speedvision the network carried a lineup featuring programs profiling the automobile and motorsports industries including individual companies vehicles and teams how to series and coverage of various domestic and international racing series such as the formula one world championship rolex sports car series and the american le mans series . after it was acquired by news corporation in 2001 and relaunched as speed channel the network s programming became increasingly nascar oriented ; prior to its shutdown in the u.s. speed s lineup consisted mostly of automotive themed reality shows nascar related programs including coverage of practice and qualifying sessions and full coverage of the camping world truck series along with news programs focusing on motorsports . most of speed s live event programming was carried over to fox sports 1 or sister network fox sports 2 and is simulcast on the speed network that remains available outside the u.s. due to contractual changes associated with the relaunch fox was expected to temporarily distribute a version of speed separate from the international version to fulfill contracts with providers that had not yet signed deals to carry fox sports 1 airing a loop of the network s past reality programming . 5 many of the programs once found on speed can now be found in the united states on cbs sports network mavtv and velocity such as gearz my classic car chop cut rebuild and dream car garage as well as live coverage of racing events others not such as speed center . contents 1 history 1.1 as speedvision 1.2 fox acquisition and nascar push 2 shutdown of speed and relaunch as fox sports 1 3 international versions 3.1 north america outside the united states 3.2 former 3.2.1 australia 3.2.2 latin america 4 notable personalities 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . october 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message as speedvision edit the network originally launched as speedvision on december 31 1995 . it was founded by roger l. werner jr. e. roger williams nickolas rhodes and robert scanlon ; the network s original ownership included cable providers cox communications and continental cablevision and at & t corporation . 6 speedvision s initial lineup featured various automotive programs including various documentary style series focusing on prolific vehicles manufacturers and racing teams such as victory by design and legends of motorsport series focusing on classic automobiles such as dream car garage coverage of barrett jackson s auctions and my classic car which moved to the network from tnn an autoweek branded television series along with motorweek and autoline detroit two programs respectively syndicated from pbs member stations in maryland and detroit . speedvision also carried coverage of various minor and professional auto racing series including the sports car club of america s world challenge series of which it also acquired title sponsorship of in 1999 becoming the speedvision world challenge . fox acquisition and nascar push edit in the summer of 2001 the fox entertainment group then a subsidiary of news corporation purchased a 30 % ownership interest in speedvision . in august of that year fox negotiated a deal to acquire the stakes held by cox and comcast thus giving them majority control of the network . since fox sports had recently acquired broadcast rights to the first half of the nascar busch and winston cup series in a six year deal fox planned to leverage speedvision as an outlet for supplemental nascar programming . 6 to coincide with that year s running of the daytona 500 speedvision was relaunched as speed channel on february 11 2002 ; the network s operations were also relocated from stamford connecticut to charlotte north carolina where nascar and the majority of its teams are based . in the following years additional nascar related programs were slowly brought on to the schedule ranging from news programs such as totally nascar rerun from fox sports net and nascar race hub pre race programs trackside and nascar raceday and the post race nascar victory lane . speed channel also added a weekly call in show in 2003 windtunnel with dave despain which featured interviews and discussions relating to news and events in auto racing . nascar busch now xfintiy series driver shane huffman answers questions from speed channel s dick berggren . starting in 2003 speed began to carry nascar s craftsman truck series after buying out the remainder of espn2 s contract for the events . the channel also offered coverage of practices and qualifying races in nascar s main national series the gatorade duels qualifying races and the sprint all star race . in 2005 the channel s name was shortened to simply speed . until late 2007 speed also aired coverage of international bobsleigh & skeleton federation events over the winter months including bobsledding luge and skeleton . its winter sports coverage also included an annual charity bobsledding event organized by nascar driver and bobsled builder geoff bodine which featured participation by various nascar drivers . universal sports acquired the rights to fibt events beginning in the 2007 08 season . speed continued to maintain coverage of other professional racing series such as the rolex sports car series including the 24 hours of daytona the american le mans series along with the 24 hours of le mans the newly renamed speed world challenge until 2010 and the formula one world championship . by the late 2000s these came along with an increasing number of reality series such as the street racing inspired pinks unique whips chop cut rebuild the drag racing game show pass time american trucker and hard parts south bronx along with reruns of the mtv series pimp my ride . by 2008 speed was carried in over 73 million households . 6 in 2010 fox launched a tv everywhere service known as speed 2 which features coverage of additional racing series not broadcast by speed along with video on demand access to archived speed programs . the service was shut down in 2014 . 7 in 2011 speed began carrying australia s v8 supercars series ; it also aired live coverage of the gold coast 600 where major international drivers compete in teams alongside australian drivers and the bathurst 1000 featuring darrell waltrip mike joy leigh diffey and calvin fish on location . the move was met with praise from series organizers who felt that the series could benefit from the additional exposure it would receive from american coverage the series would also add a u.s. event at austin s circuit of the americas for the 2013 season . 8 on october 12 2012 fox sports announced that it was unable to renew its contract to air formula one racing on speed after the conclusion of the 2012 season . two days later nbc sports announced that it had reached a new four year deal to broadcast f1 races beginning in the 2013 season with the majority of its coverage to be carried by nbc sports network . 9 10 three days later fox sports reached an agreement with nascar to extend the network s broadcasting contract through the 2022 season maintaining its rights to the first half of the sprint cup season and the full camping world truck series season along with the addition of online streaming rights beginning in 2013 . 11 shutdown of speed and relaunch as fox sports 1 edit main articles fox sports 1 and fox sports 2 on march 5 2013 fox sports announced that speed would be permanently shut down and speed programming would be carried over to fox sports 1 and fox sports 2 on august 17 2013 . fox directly positioned the networks to be major competitors to espn studio programs featured on the network include the daily sports news program fox sports live which competes directly against espn s sportscenter crowd goes wild originally titled rush hour an early evening program hosted by regis philbin and fox football daily a companion program to fox nfl sunday . the network began carrying major league baseball games and coverage of select post season games beginning in 2014 with the fox broadcast network airing significantly fewer games as a result ; select nascar sprint cup series races moved to the network in 2015 . 12 13 14 college football and basketball games from the big east 15 big 12 conference usa and pac 12 conferences soccer matches from the uefa champions league europa league and concacaf champions league along with rights to the men s and women s fifa world cup tournaments and ultimate fighting championship events and live fights are also featured on the network . 2 the last ever program to be broadcast by speed in the united states was a replay of qualifying for that weekend s sprint cup event the pure michigan 400 which was soon followed by a statement from fox nascar play by play announcer mike joy marking the end of speed s operations in the united states for 18 years it s been our honor and privilege to present motorsports and automotive related programming to you on the network that began as speedvision became speed channel and is now known as speed . from the visionaries who started this network from maintenance to management from the talent to the truck drivers we ve shared your passion for motorsports over lo these many years . we love that you care as much about your cars as family god and country . and so do we . but now it s time to switch off the ignition and turn in the keys . this is the end of speed in america . we hope you ll follow us on our new journey to fox sports 1 because all your favorite live nascar programming and much more is coming along with us . so now it s goodnight and farewell to america s motorsports authority speed . fox s mike joy at the moment speed was relaunched as fox sports 1 16 although fox marketed the shift to fox sports 1 as