SPEED™ NAMES KRISTA VODA TO REPLACE STEVE BYRNES ON TRACKSIDE
VERSATILE HOST TO JUGGLE NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES DUTIES
SPEED has tapped Krista Voda as host of its flagship at-track program Trackside beginning this Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway (11 p.m. ET).
Voda, host of NCWTS Setup, SPEED's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pre-race show, will anchor the energetic Friday night program for eight of the remaining 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends. Her duties in the Truck Series remain priority, so John Roberts, host of NASCAR RaceDay Built by The Home Depot, will fill in on Trackside for the weekends when the Truck and Cup Series are not companion events to each other.
Voda's opportunity arose when longtime Trackside host and veteran NASCAR broadcaster Steve Byrnes this week became the fulltime anchor of NASCAR Race Hub, the network's nightly news and information program (Monday-Thursday 7 p.m. ET). In addition to hosting nearly 350 editions of Trackside, Byrnes also served as the host for SPEED's coverage of practice and qualifying sessions for the Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series. Replacing Byrnes in that capacity will be Roberts, Rick Allen and Mike Joy on a rotating basis for the remainder of the 2010 season. However, Voda will host SPEED's coverage of various practice and qualifying sessions at Texas and Phoenix in November.
"On numerous occasions, SPEED has thrown various roles and assignments at Krista and she has knocked them out of the park each time," said SPEED president Hunter Nickell. "We think her lively, fun-loving personality will fit right in with the crazy panelists we've got on Trackside."
Voda's Trackside hosting duties tentatively include the following weekends: Bristol, Richmond, Loudon, Dover, Kansas, Auto Club Speedway, Martinsville and Talladega.
"When I joined Totally NASCAR in 2002, Steve Byrnes became my mentor," Voda said. "I consider it an honor to be chosen to keep his Trackside seat warm. My relationships with Larry (McReynolds), Jeff (Hammond), and Darrell (Waltrip) also date back to those early Totally NASCAR days and continue today with NASCAR on FOX. I've also worked with Elliott (Sadler) on various SPEED programs, so I'm pretty sure I'll be ready to 'talk trash' with all of those guys right away. My hope is that fans feel as comfortable with me as they have been with Steve all those years. One thing is for sure - we're going to have a lot of fun - something that definitely won't change."
Voda, the first female to host a NASCAR pre-race show, also is SPEED's host of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as co-host of the network's coverage of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona. She also serves as a pit reporter for FOX Sports' portion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The Clinton, Iowa native also has functioned as a rotating host of NASCAR Race Hub and The SPEED Report this year. Additionally, Voda has served as a sideline reporter for NFL and BCS games.
SPEED™, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation's first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in more than 80 million homes in North America, SPEED, a member of the FOX Sports Media Group, is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEED.com, the online motor sports authority.
