National Speed Sport News Ceasing Print Edition After 76 Years

National Speed Sport News, one of the "most famous motorsports publications in the country, is ceasing its print product after 76 years," according to Nick Bromberg of YAHOO SPORTS. National Speed Sport News Publisher Corinne Economaki in a statement said, "This is one of the saddest days of my life. The sluggish economy has made it too difficult to continue publication and no matter how I try to make the numbers work -- and believe me I have tried -- it is just not feasible to keep the business going." Bromberg noted the magazine "will continue to have an online presence." Like "many print outlets recently, NSSN found revenues dropping as more people found their information online for free." During its 76 years of publication, NSSN "became one of the go-to sources of information for those inside and outside the industry" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/23). The first edition of NSSN "was dated Aug. 16, 1934." Chris Economaki, the publication's former publisher, "sold that first issue at Ho-Ho-Kus Speedway in New Jersey, began writing for the paper soon after and became editor in 1950" (AP, 3/23). In Charlotte, Jim Utter notes NSSN is the "only motorsports periodical on Library of Congress microfilm" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/24).

END OF AN ERA: ESPN.com's Ed Hinton wrote, "In its prime it wasn't fancy, just authoritative. ... If the Sporting News was 'Baseball's Bible,' then Speed Sport was auto racing's Bible, Koran, Torah, Wall Street Journal and New York Times" (ESPN.com, 3/23). RACINTODAY.com's Rick Minter: "It's a tough day for anyone who loves motorsports" (RACINTODAY.com, 3/23). AUTOWEEK.com's Dutch Mandel: "I got sucker punched today. It happened when I opened an unassuming e-mail whose subject line was 'End of An Era'" (AUTOWEEK.com, 3/23).