A bit of a break from the normal routine as Spade Racing takes a look at the best Nascar television theme songs of all-time. (note—a * after the song title means it is the actual documented song title—all others are descriptions by me).
PART 3—Songs 5-1
5. TNT early-10’s “TNT (live)”*—Yes, its obvious. Yes, its an old song. Yes, it was only for six races a year. Yes, the coverage that followed sucked. But dang it, AC/DC and Nascar came together like nothing else. Funny how TNT and its Turner Sports forbearer TBS had some great tunes for what were usually some terrible broadcasts.
Fun Fact: The footage of AC/DC performing (seen in a longform commercial for TNT’s Nascar coverage) was shot in Buenos Aries.
4. ESPN SpeedWorld early-90’s “Techno Target”—The second evolution of “18th Avenue”, this version was one of the few in this countdown to combine with the on-screen action. A hard-charging remix combined with a car “locking onto” its competition and scrolling through the available forms of motorsports ESPN aired at the time. Just thinking about the bass riff gets me fired up.
Fun Fact: The on-board camera footage used for Nascar openings with this song was that of Mark Martin’s—and the “Target Acquired” was the car of Kyle Petty.
3. NBC/TNT 2001 “Fuel”*—No matter your issues with this combo’s coverage, you could count on an awesome Metallica theme song to kick things off. Metallica was obviously a big “get” for the duo, and it lent credibility both to the networks’ motorsports coverage and Nascar’s new status as a major sport. Unfortunately the theme was significantly toned-down by the end of the season and eventually replaced.
Fun Fact: The song was toned down (most notably the lyrics were removed) in response to the 9/11 attacks.
2. TBS late-90’s “Thunder Fist”*—While TBS’s limited coverage often left much to be desired, this oft-forgotten theme was above reproach. Combining an amazing rock sound with swelling gravitas, about the only downside to this theme was its bizarre title. A pity it wasn’t used more.
Fun Fact: “Thunder Fist” composer Edd Kalehoff created many of the signature musical cues on The Price is Right.
1. ESPN SpeedWorld late-90’s “Rock Remix”—Come on—you had to know this would be number one. The Nascar theme song against which all others are based, the final form of “18th Avenue” rocked hard enough to get viewers fired up without overdoing it. This song stands up against the all-time greatest motorsports themes as the best of the best.
Fun Fact: This version of the SpeedWorld theme is frequently heard on ESPN’s “The Ocho” marathons of oddball sports, with a late-90s lawn mower racing show almost always being included.