Champ Car unveil TV line-up.

The Champ Car World Series enters the 2005 season with one of its strongest television packages in the last ten seasons, and has announced that it has assembled a veteran team of motorsports professionals to describe all of the action on this year's broadcasts.

Rick Benjamin returns as the play-by-play man for this year's broadcasts, which will see four races carried on CBS, two on NBC and eight on SPEED Channel. Benjamin made his Champ Car debut last year after many years covering a number of different racing series, and returns for a second season in 2005.

"I am truly excited and honoured to be back for what will be an exciting year in the Champ Car World Series," he said. "We have one of the strongest driver line-ups in years, the new events will be exciting and working with CBS, NBC and SPEED Channel gives us great outlets to showcase the series. I am really looking forward to a great season working with a great crew."

Benjamin will be joined in the booth by long-time Champ Car announcer Derek Daly, who was a formidable racer in the Champ Car series in the 1980s before picking up the microphone. Daly has worked as an analyst and pit reporter for many seasons with Champ Car and will move upstairs to provide colour commentary for the 2005 season.

"It's been 20 years since I started my broadcast career as an analyst for Champ Car," he said. "I am looking forward to returning to my television roots and injecting a little fun into the broadcast."

Calvin Fish and Jon Beekhuis will provide key insights and up-to-the-minute information as the pit reporters for the 2005 season. Fish has been with the Champ Car World Series for the last three seasons as a pit reporter while Beekhuis returns to the Champ Car paddock after a season of covering drag racing. Additionally, Ralph Shaheen, who was part of the SPEED Channel Champ Car broadcasts in 2003, will be joining the staff for the four CBS races (Milwaukee, Portland, Cleveland, Toronto). Chris McClure, who delivered solid pit reporting for a number of races in 2004, will also be on hand to replace Fish during those instances when he has prior commitments.

"We worked very hard to find a team of announcers with the ability not only to describe all the action of the Champ Car World Series, but also to give the viewers an inside look at what is going on during the race," Champ Car president Dick Eidswick said. "I believe the fans will really benefit from the knowledge and skill of this crew, as well as the skill of our television production partner Molson Sports & Entertainment."