Sopwith Motorsports and Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV Announce
Enhanced Program Format for the 2009 Winter Season

August 13, 2009 - Sopwith Motorsports today announced enhancements to the program format for its popular television show, Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV, which returns to the air in December on several cable networks. The format changes are in response to fan feedback solicited by Sopwith earlier this year.

Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV is off-road desert racing’s most widely televised full season series, offering an up-close-and-personal view of the sport by profiling several race teams during each 30-minute episode. Beginning with coverage of the “TSCO Vegas to Reno the Long Way Race”, which will be profiled in two separate episodes airing later this year, the program will include expanded coverage of the winning team for each race.

“The switch to a major network and a documentary format has been well received, but fans said they want to see the race’s winning team featured more prominently,” said Stephen Cox, Sopwith Motorsports CEO and executive producer. “We now plan to add more footage of the winning team throughout each episode, include additional commentary and video of the winners in the credit rollout closing, and feature the winning drivers first in the post-race interview portion of the program.”

Sopwith also announced plans to launch a new mechanism for soliciting audience and fan feedback via its web site (www.sopwithmotorsports.com) later this year once the show returns to the air. According to David Keathley, who has joined the Sopwith team to oversee audience outreach and marketing, additional details will be announced in the near future. Meanwhile, members of the Sopwith team will continue to reach out to drivers, fans, and sponsors during race events held throughout the summer and fall.
Earlier this year, in direct response to fan requests, Sopwith secured expanded television coverage for Best in the Desert racing by negotiating major network deals with Fox Sports and the Outdoor Channel. This ensured a television package reaching more than 154 million households, an unprecedented level of coverage for a desert racing series.

“Sopwith Motorsports continues to be a great television partner for off-road desert racing, fully committed to the sport and its fans,” said Casey Folks, Director of Best in the Desert. “Sopwith put off-road desert racing back on major, national networks this season and now they're improving the show format behind the scenes in response to our fans. I believe Sopwith has taken an important step to boost audience appeal for some of the most exciting racing in the world.”

Sopwith Motorsports Announces Enhanced Program Format

Sopwith will also enhance coverage in the coming season by leveraging four new on-board camera systems while also pioneering a new audio system designed to capture the conversations between driver and co-driver during the race. Additionally, a new long-range platform camera system will be used to record the action up close, capturing a full-screen image of a racecar from more than a half mile away.

New episodes of Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV are currently in production and will air later this year. Program schedules for the Outdoor Channel, MavTV and the America One Sports Network are still being finalized. Air dates for Fox Sports are provided below:
Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV, presented by Torchmate
Vegas to Reno
Fox Sports
4:00 pm
Monday
December 7
Vegas to Reno
Fox Sports
4:00 pm
Monday
December 14
Silver State 300
Fox Sports
4:00 pm
Monday
December 21
Henderson Fabtech Desert Classic
Fox Sports
4:00 pm
Monday
December 28

About Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV, presented by Torchmate
Produced by Sopwith Motorsports (www.sopwithmotorsports.com), in cooperation with Best in the Desert Racing Association (www.bitd.com), Bully Dog Best in the Desert TV offers a behind-the-scenes look at off-road desert racing. The documentary-style format provides a personal glimpse into the sport by following the stories of a handful of drivers throughout the race, bringing audience members into the race rather than keeping them on the sidelines as spectators.

Five individual races are covered each year in 9 to 12 separate televised programs, resulting in approximately 48 airings among the four networks. The shows are also available on DVD following the initial broadcasts.

Sopwith Motorsports Ltd. produces motorsports programming for national television networks and provides production services to many of off-road racing's premier companies and sponsors, including Bully Dog Technologies, Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems and Mastercraft racing seats. Sopwith CEO Stephen Cox is a racecar driver and television host for auto racing events on NBC, Fox Sports, Outdoor Channel, HD Theater and ESPN2.

Best in the Desert TV’s title sponsor is Bully Dog Technologies (www.bullydog.com), well-known makers of exhaust systems, engine management systems and high performance products for trucks. Bully Dog also sponsors the Bully Dog/Speed Technologies race team and has been a long time supporter of off road racing in all its forms.

Torchmate Cutting Systems (www.torchmate.com) is the presenting sponsor for the 2009 broadcast season. Torchmate's brand is in constant demand by chassis makers and fabricators throughout the off road racing community because it reduces metal consumption, provides a superior cut and saves money. Torchmate also directly supports desert racing by fielding truck #7231 in all Best in the Desert races.