World Sports Enterprises

Background
World Sports Enterprises was a motorsports production company founded by Ken Squier and Fred Rheinstein in the 1980s that produced NASCAR and ASA race broadcasts for TNN (now Paramount Network and MTV Entertainment Studios), as well as ESPN, TBS, and CBS; in 1995, TNN purchased a majority stake in the company. Its headquarters were located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The company ceased operations on December 1, 2000, after CBS and TNN lost the broadcasting rights to NASCAR events, and Turner's NASCAR broadcasts (which shifted from TBS to TNT) were shifted to being co-produced by NBC Sports.

1st Logo (1991-May 22, 1994)


Logo: On a black background, a grey disc zooms out, along with lines of white circles above and below it. Dashed yellow road lines appear on the left and right sides of the screen, and a rainbow line streaks across the disc, leaving behind blue until the whole disc is blue. The text "Times New Roman" and "Times New Roman" fly in from the top and bottom of the screen, and the circles and road lines disappear. A grid of red lines appears below the logo, and a chequered flag background on the top-left side of the screen. The end product freezes.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic synth theme, with a four-note "metallic" sounding synth on top of it at the beginning and end.

Availability: Extinct. It was only seen on 1991-1994 broadcasts of NASCAR races on TNN, TBS, and CBS. Its final appearance was after the 1994 Meridan Advantage 200 NASCAR Busch Series race.

Legacy: This is seen as a nostalgic logo among NASCAR fans of the era.

2nd Logo (May 21, 1994-November 5, 2000)
Logo: On a black background, a red, yellow, and green arrow appear on top of each other. They turn toward the right and move, leaving trails behind them in the same colour as the arrows. The three trails shrink and then disappear, leaving behind small white lines. A white sphere appears in the middle of the lines, and three arrows in the same colour as the first arrows fly in around it, creating a triangle shape. "WORLD SPORTS" moves up below the triangle, and "ENTERPRISES" in smaller text fades in below, all in Futura Bold.

Variant: On the broadcast of the 2000 Checker Auto Parts 500, which was the last NASCAR race broadcast on TNN and the final broadcast to be produced by World Sports Enterprises, the logo is slightly sped up, and the text "GOODBYE" appears below the logo at the end of the animation.

Technique: 2D animation with some CGI elements.

Music/Sounds: Three synth chimes, followed up by race-car sound effects, two hits when the arrows fly in, and a 6-note synth brass fanfare when the text appears.

Availability: Extinct. It was only seen on 1994-2000 broadcasts of NASCAR races on TNN, TBS, and CBS. Its first appearance was on the 1994 Winston Select Open. Its last appearance was after the 2000 Checker Auto Parts 500 (as the "Goodbye" variant).

Legacy: Same as the previous logo.