Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are expanding their TV empire — to NASCAR.
The husband-and-wife producing team are partnering with the popular motorsports franchise on a scripted drama series based in the car racing world.
“From the first time we got to attend NASCAR, we fell in love with their racing world,” said Burnett and Downey, who will serve as executive producers on the project. “The teams, the drivers, the fans, it’s an electric atmosphere and is quintessentially American.”
Zane Stoddard, NASCAR vice president of entertainment marketing and content development, will also executive-produce.
After making a name for himself as a reality TV megaproducer, Burnett has moved into scripted programming in recent years with religious-based series like “The Bible,” “AD: The Bible Continues” and “The Dovekeepers.” NASCAR likewise draws much of its fanbase from southern, conservative-leaning states.
NASCAR races currently air on Fox and NBC, where Burnett has existing deals for his reality franchises including “The Voice” and “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”
Those races have been averaging 6.5 million viewers so far in 2015.