No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado (Ricky Carmichael) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Event / Date: Smith’s 350 – October 15, 2011

Venue: Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas

· This Week’s Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado … Ricky Carmichael will pilot chassis TMS-021 from the Turner Motorsports (TMS) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) stable in Saturday’s Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Speedway. Built new for the 2011 season, this truck saw action most recently at Chicagoland Speedway where Carmichael qualified fourth but ultimately finished 25th after a wayward piece of debris found its way into the engine compartment and punctured an oil line forcing the Monster Energy team to spend seven laps behind the wall while they replaced the damaged part. This is also the same truck Carmichael sat on the pole with and raced to an eighth-place finish last month at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The same Chevrolet Silverado saw action earlier this season at Kentucky Speedway (St. 14, Fn. 16), Texas Motor Speedway (St. 9, Fn. 6), Charlotte Motor Speedway (St. 17, Fn. 12) and Michigan International Speedway (St. 7, Fn. 12).

· Kentucky Rewind … Carmichael started 16th and finished sixth in the NCWTS most recent stop at Kentucky Speedway. The third-year NCWTS driver raced in and around the top 10 for much the event and ultimately came away with his fifth top-10 showing of the 2011 season. Meanwhile, Carmichael picked up two spots in the Camping World Truck Series driver points and moved up from 18th to 16th in the standings.

· Monster Million … This weekend, Carmichael’s No. 4 machine will feature a special paint scheme highlighting the October 15 Monster Energy Cup at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The Monster Energy Cup will showcase a unique hybrid track, designed by Carmichael and fellow supercross staple Jeremy McGrath, and will consist of supercross/motocross terrain and will have a tremendous motocross-style influence, making it unlike any other stadium race in the world. This track will be the perfect blend of supercross and motocross combined and created into the ultimate battleground. The Monster Energy Cup posts a $250,000 purse with the winner walking away with a $100,000 check and, for the first time ever, $1 million will be paid to a rider who wins all three main events. Michael Losing, of Tucson, Ariz., and a guest will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas and spend the day as a VIP honorary pit crew member of Carmichael’s race team in Las Vegas followed by a VIP experience at the Monster Energy Cup, including premium seating, a track walk and a behind the scenes look at the live SPEED television broadcast. Carmichael, who will be joining SPEED host Ralph Sheheen and color commentator Jeff Emig on the broadcast, promises that this will be the ultimate fan experience. Losing will receive an autographed jersey from Carmichael and a gift bag from the Monster Energy Cup, including a year supply of Monster Energy drinks. For more information about the Monster Energy Cup, please visit www.MonsterEnergyCup.com.

· RC in Sin City … Carmichael has two NCWTS starts at LVMS and calls a ninth-place finish a career-best at 1.5-mile tri-oval. He’s earned an eighth-place starting average, a 15.5 average finish and completed 286 of the 292 total laps run (98 percent) over both races.

· In a Nutshell … The 2011 season marks Carmichael’s second year competing on a full-time basis and third overall in the NCWTS. Since making his series debut 63 races ago, he has gone on to earn three top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. Over those same 63 races, the motocross legend has logged a 15.0 average start, a 17.0 average finish, led 39 laps, completed 91.4 percent of the laps run and earned just over of $806,000 in purse money.

· Grecian Getaway … During the off weekend, Carmichael crossed the Atlantic to serve as an ambassador for Monster Energy at the Monster Energy Athens Supercross. After landing in Athens mid-morning last Thursday, Carmichael and his wife Ursula visited the famed Acropolis of Athens which includes several historical Greek buildings, most notably the Parthenon. Following a couple of days of sightseeing, the 15-time AMA National Champion spent two nights at the Athens Supercross greeting fans, Monster employees, distributors and retailers before returning to the US on Monday morning.

· Meet the Media … On Wednesday, Oct. 12, Carmichael along with fellow NCWTS drivers Ron Hornaday and Brendan Gaughan will participate in a press conference hosted by Las Vegas Motor Speedway at the Capital Grille in the Fashion Show Mall. IZOD IndyCar Series racers Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti and Will Power will also be on hand. The event will begin promptly at 1 p.m. Members of the media wishing to attend should RSVP to John Bisci by e-mail (jbisci@lvms.com) or by calling (702) 632-8231.

· Turner Truck Totals … In 20 NCWTS races in 2011, TMS entries have earned 11 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes. James Buescher leads the way with 17 top 10s and is second in points. With the exception of Martinsville and Chicagoland, Buescher has finished inside the top 10 in every race in which he has competed in the division this season. Carmichael has logged five top 10s and is 16th in the standings. Blake Feese finished fourth and Ryan Newman was fifth in Atlanta, four races ago. Mark Martin finished seventh in the No. 32 machine at Pocono while Brad Sweet drove the same truck for the first eight races of the year, logging a pair of top-10 results.

· Blake’s Back In … For the sixth time this season, Feese will climb aboard the No. 32 AccuDoc Solutions machine for Saturday’s Smith’s 350. The Saybrook, Ill., driver has one top-five and four top-20 finishes in five starts in 2011.

· Get to the Point(s) … Carmichael jumped from 18th to 16th in the NCWTS driver point standings after finishing sixth two weekends ago in Kentucky. He’s just three points outside the top 15 and nine behind 14th-place Justin Lofton. Buescher trails current point leader Austin Dillon by a slim three-point margin. While Feese has made just five starts in 2011, the No. 32 machine is assured a spot on the starting grid by virtue of being 16th in the NCWTS owner point standings.

· Nationwide Notes … In 30 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011, TMS-fielded teams have notched three wins, 21 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes. TMS’s No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet, is currently seventh in owner’s points after Brian Vicker’s finished eighth last weekend at Kansas Speedway. Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, was 11th in the final rundown last week and held on to fifth in the driver point standings. Jason Leffler was credited with 13th in Kansas and held on to sixth in points. The drivers and teams of the NASCAR Nationwide Series will race in the “Queen City” this Friday night for the division’s annual fall visit to Charlotte Motor Speedway. ESPN2’s live coverage of the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage will be televised on Friday, Oct. 14 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be broadcast on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Qualifying for Round 31 of the 2011 Nationwide Series Championship will be televised on ESPN2 the same day beginning at 3 p.m. EDT.

· Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Smith’s 350 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, Oct. 15 beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on SPEED and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Ricky Carmichael - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

You had a great run at Kentucky and Las Vegas is obviously another mile-and-a half. You’ve got to be excited about this weekend.

“I’m really confident coming off of our great finish two weeks ago at Kentucky Speedway – especially considering how we ran towards the end of the race. I did really well at Las Vegas last year and ran up front most of the night. I like the race track and we’re bringing one of my favorite trucks. It’s our best mile-and-a-half truck and we’ve been fast with it everywhere we’ve taken it. We won a pole with this truck in Atlanta and were really strong with it in Chicago until we had a problem with an oil line. I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to it. This is going to be a busy weekend but a lot of fun at the same time. We’re looking to improve on our finish from Kentucky and get inside that top five.”

You mentioned how busy you’ll be this weekend not only with the Truck race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but you’ll also be very involved in the Monster Energy Cup at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“This weekend is going to be great. We’ve got some contest winners and after our race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, we’ll head over to Sam Boyd Stadium for the Monster Energy Cup. The race pays $1 million if one of the riders can win all three main events. Jeremy McGrath and I also played big roles in designing the track. It’s going to be an awesome weekend. There’s a lot going on but it’s all good, positive, fun stuff. But, first things first, and that’s trying to get this Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado inside the top five or maybe even a podium finish.

- Turner Motorsports Press Release

One lucky winner and a guest will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas and spend the day as a VIP honorary pit crew member of Carmichael’s race team at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway followed by a VIP experience at the Monster Energy Cup at Sam Boyd Stadium, including premium seating, a track walk and a behind the scenes look at the live SPEED television broadcast. Carmichael, who will be joining SPEED host Ralph Sheheen and color commentator Jeff Emig on the broadcast, promises that this will be the ultimate fan experience.

VIP Monster Energy Cup experience includes:

· VIP premium seating / pit passes

· Monster Energy Cup track walk

· Behind the scenes look at the live SPEED television broadcast

· An assortment of Monster Energy merchandise

· One-year supply of Monster Energy drinks

VIP honorary pit crew member experience includes:

· 2 autographed Monster Energy crew shirts

· Meet and greet with Carmichael

· Attend driver’s meeting

· Pit and garage passes

· Pit, garage and transporter tour

· Photo with Carmichael at the truck on the starting grid

· Ability to watch the race from pit road and spend time on top of the team’s “Pit Box” during the race. (This is the equivalent of being in the dugout for a baseball game or being on the sidelines for a football game.)

“This is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for two very lucky people, and I’m pumped to be part of it,” said Carmichael. “The Monster Energy Cup is going to be an unbelievable event. Monster Energy and Feld Motor Sports continue to raise the bar with amazing ideas to energize the riders and the fan base. I can’t think of a better venue to hold such an incredible event than in Las Vegas. We’re rolling out the red carpet for two lucky people. Hopefully, we can kick the weekend off with a win in the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before we head over to Sam Boyd Stadium to watch the best riders in the world race for a million bucks!”

Monster Energy Cup

The unique hybrid track will consist of supercross/motocross terrain and will have a tremendous motocross-style influence, making it unlike any other stadium race in the world. This track will be the perfect blend of supercross and motocross combined and created into the ultimate battleground. The Monster Energy Cup posts a $250,000 purse with the winner walking away with a $100,000 check, and for the “first time ever” $1 Million will be paid to a rider that wins all three main events.

Tickets for the 2011 Monster Energy Cup can be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office, UNLVtickets outlets, online at www.UNLVtickets.com, www.MonsterEnergyCup.com, or by phone at (702) 739-FANS. Tickets will be available at the Sam Boyd Stadium Box Office on the day of the event only.

About Feld Motor Sports®

Feld Motor Sports®, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Nuclear Cowboyz℠, and IHRA® Nitro Jam®. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.

- Feld Motor Sports® Press Release

NASCAR on TNT

The network’s pre-race coverage will get underway at 6:30 p.m. (ET) with Countdown to Green featuring Lindsay Czarniak (host), Petty and McReynolds, along with reports from pit reporters Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider, Phil Parsons and Matt Yocum.  No. 18 Kyle Busch will join TNT’s infield rig for an interview prior to the race to discuss his current season on the track.  In addition, the pre-race show crew will talk to No. 29 Kevin Harvick who is the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader.

TNT’s acclaimed Pride of NASCAR series will feature the late Alan Kulwicki who was the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year and, in 1998, was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

Dallenbach will once again break down race strategy during Wally’s World, as he is superimposed into live race footage from last season’s race in Chicago.  He will virtually walk along the track to discuss its nuances, with the ability to stop the race footage.

Throughout this year’s NASCAR on TNT Summer Series, the network will join forces with NASCAR.COM, the official site of NASCAR, to provide TNT RaceBuddy a multiplatform experience for race fans which features live feeds from the racetrack including pit road and in-car cameras, as well as live chats and polls.

2010 NASCAR on TNT Summer Series:

ALL TIMES EASTERN (ET)

- Turner Sports, Press Release

NASCAR on TNT

TNT’s coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues on Sunday, June 13 from Michigan International Speedway. Countdown to Green begins at Noon ET. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing from Michigan begins at 1 p.m. ET.

Countdown to Green

Lindsay Czarniak (host), Kyle Petty (analyst) and Larry McReynolds (analyst)

Petty on the recent success of Kyle and Kurt Busch: “We started the year and it was Jimmie Johnson, Jimmie Johnson, Jimmie Johnson was all we heard. Then we heard all about Denny Hamlin. Now all we hear is the Busch brothers. What I like about it is it adds the Penske organization to the mix. First Hendrick and Gibbs, now we’re talking Penske. If they (Kyle and Kurt Busch) can grind it out then they do have a shot at the championship.”

McReynolds on the increased focus of Kyle Busch: “Obviously he and his new crew chief have messed well but I think the biggest difference is a lot of the distractions are behind him. He finally got the Nationwide Championship and got engaged to Samantha and the biggest thing is he decided to stop racing all over the country (in Nationwide) and said my focus is on this Cup car and trying to win the 2010 championship.”

Ralph Sheheen sat down with auto racing legend Mario Andretti in nearby Nazareth, PA as part of TNT’s ‘Pride of NASCAR’ series. Andretti was chosen by AP as the Driver of the Century and was voted into 5 different motorsports Hall of Fames.

Andretti on the importance of winning the 1967 Daytona 500: “I’m just looking at my career. Is it more complete with the Daytona win? You’re darn right it is. It’s all about the classics. You look at Daytona, Indianapolis, these are the ones that if you have an opportunity to race in it and you are lucky enough to win, these are the ones that will be on top of your mantle.”

Carl Edwards joined the crew on the set during Countdown to Green

Edwards on the struggles of Roush Racing: “It’s a number of things. When we come to the racetrack we try and make this car go around the corner and do what we want to do it to do. It’s just been a little bit of a struggle and Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle and myself, we’re all really good drivers and we’ve just got to keep believing in ourselves and the tide will turn and we’ll get back to 2008 when we were winning every week or at least it felt that way.”

‘The Ponytail Express’ returned with Kyle Petty planning to run 6,000 miles on his motorcycle between TNT’s six Summer Series races. Petty’s first stop was the wax museum in Washington.

Petty on his favorite wax museum exhibit: “I did stop by Tiger Woods, I also stopped by JLo (Jennifer Lopez) and she has a wax derriere that is incredible.”

Car owner Joe Gibbs sat down with Lindsey Czarniak to discuss his team and the recent on track issues between his drivers Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin

Gibbs on whether his guys can win a championship this season: “The good thing about professional sports is that you can’t talk your way up there, you r not going to con your way up there, you have to race your way up there.”

Kyle Busch on his ability to conserve fuel: “On a scale of 1-10, a zero, I’m horrible at saving fuel.”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Pocono at Pocono Raceway

Announcers: Adam Alexander (play-by-play), Wally Dallenbach (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst); Larry McReynolds (analyst) contributes from the in-field with the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car (TORC) with Lindsay Czarniak (host)

Pit reporters: Marty Snider, Ralph Sheheen, Phil Parsons and Matt Yocum

Kurt Busch on his ability to conserve fuel: “I wouldn’t give it an ‘A’, but I haven’t flunked out on it…you always hope the guy running the guy running the calculator helps you.”

Carl Edwards on the rain: “I’m noticing the rain isn’t so much coming down, it’s coming sideways.”

Joey Logano on whether he likes racing at Pocono: “No. I wish I did, it’s a tough race track, its a tricky triangle.”

Matt Kenseth on how his plans to ride his motorcycle from Washington to Pocono with TNT analyst Kyle Petty got derailed: “The main thing I can tell you is I had a real good friend of mine this week, and I was getting ready to ride my motorcycle up here on Thursday, ended up blowing me off and I ended up sitting at home by myself. He’s not answering my texts or anything. Somebody in the booth may know something about that.”

Petty: “I had to be in DC to tape something for NASCAR.COM for ‘The Ponytail Express.’ Matt can not pass a Starbucks, so I had to leave his sorry butt at home.”

Dallenbach on the long pit road at Pocono: “Fifty-five miles an hour (on pit road) is torture. Its 1800 feet long and it takes forever to get from one end to the other end.”

Kyle Busch on his in-car radio to his crew early in the race: “Tight, tight, tight, loose all of a sudden. One lap I can go through a groove, the next lap I’m following all the time. No consistency.”

Alexander on Denny Hamlin’s strong finishes at Pocono and strong recent performances: “And these days you’d better stay in front of him because if you have one opportunity where you miss an adjustment on the race car, it may take you out of contention.

Petty: “And especially at a place like this where you have a tendency to make longer runs and you get so spread out. If you are in a place where you are only one or two seconds behind, you can get seven or eight seconds behind fairly fast.”

Dallenbach on Jimmie Johnson’s poor pit stop costing him more at Pocono: “Two seconds on pit road is seven seconds at Pocono on the racetrack because they are running 200 miles per hour down on the straightaway.”

Alexander on Denny Hamlin’s dominance at Pocono: “You can’t make a mistake at this racetrack with Hamlin behind you or he will pounce.”

McReynolds on Clint Bowyer and the Richard Childress Racing team: “I think the biggest thing is when they went from four teams to three teams it actually freed up what I think is one of the smartest crew chiefs over there, Scott Miller, who had actually been over there with Jeff Burton. Scott is like the competition director, he has been tying those three teams together and I think that is something that has been missing at RCR. They’ve (Bowyer’s team) have had some good runs, they’ve had some freak things happen to them…He (Bowyer) knows performance-wise they are Chase material.”

McReynolds on his Cutaway Engine: “How do you like my Toyota Cutaway engine made by Cutaway Creations?”

Petty: “That’s really cool, when you showed it the other day I thought ’that’s the kind of piece you’d like to have in your living room.’”

McReynolds on the back to back cautions with approximately 40 laps to go: “I know what Kyle said, those guys who came down to pit road and topped off took themselves out of the race, but now when you look at all of our leaders we are within the window of pitting and making it to the end, so honestly if these guys come (to get fuel), those guys (who already topped off) at the last caution, they may actually gain some spots.”

Petty: “Excellent point Larry, that’s why I was a driver and you were a crew chief; I’m an idiot and you’re not.”

Petty on Hamlin coming back from major knee surgery this year: “What better physical therapy can you have than standing in Victory Lane holding that trophy?”

Petty on the collision between Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick with a few laps to go: “That is truly two guys going for the same position and the same patch. Tough break for Joey Logano.”

Dallenbach on Logano confronting Harvick after the race: “He needs to do this, he needs to vent. Joey has been taken out so many times from a race, whether it was a Nationwide race or whatever. He should be mad…He has got to man up on some of these guys or you are going to get pushed around in this business.”

Logano on the incident with Kevin Harvick: “He let me go in the middle of the straightaway and decided to dump me on the next lap. It’s probably not his fault, his wife wears the firesuit in the family, tells him what to do, so it’s probably not his fault…I don’t know what I ever did to piss him off but he’s obviously stupid.”

Unofficial Pocono 500 Results:

1. #11 Denny Hamlin
2. #18 Kyle Busch
3. #14 Tony Stewart
4. #29 Kevin Harvick
5. #48 Jimmie Johnson
6. #10 Kurt Busch
7. #31 Jeff Burton
8. #42 Juan Pablo Montoya
9. #33 Clint Bowyer
10. #43 AJ Allmendinger

- Turner Sports, Press Release

TNT’s coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series concludes on Saturday, July 11 from Chicagoland Speedway. NASCAR on TNT Live! begins at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by Countdown to Green at 7:30 p.m. ET. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing begins at 8 p.m. ET.

NASCAR on TNT

“I don’t know if I was real proud of that but I don’t know what else I could have I done there. I went where I had to go and he went where he had to go. You just hate seeing a guy who’s been up front all day, especially a guy that helped me the whole race, get wrecked like that. I don’t like winning them like that.”

– No. 14 Tony Stewart on winning in the final lap after a collision with No. 18 Kyle Busch

NASCAR on TNT Live! from Daytona International Speedway

Marc Fein (host), Larry McReynolds (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst)

Petty on the gravity of racing at Daytona International Speedway: “It’s Daytona and that’s all that needs to be said. Churchill Downs, Indianapolis Raceway for open wheel racing, Boston Garden where the Celtics used to play, so many sports arenas. This is the Holy Grail, this is the Mecca of stock car racing. It’s not the 500 (in February), but it’s still the Daytona 400 and it’s still Daytona.”

McReynolds on NASCAR’s substance abuse policy: “I support (NASCAR) very, very much being very aggressive with the substance abuse policy. Our athletes, they do not have a baseball bat, a football or basketball, they have 3,550 pound race cars with over 800 horsepower driving off in the corners at over 200 miles per hour. And right here driving at 55 miles per hour where there are crew members out there on pit road. I think NASCAR has to be as aggressive as any sport out there with their substance abuse policy.”

Petty on the recent court case involving driver Jeremy Mayfield who challenged NASCAR banning him after a drug test: “We are independent contractors and that’s why Jeremy (Mayfield) is fighting so hard. If I believe I’m innocent on anything I’m going to fight for it, and that’s why Jeremy Mayfield is fighting so hard. So you’ve got to give him kudos and you’ve got to give NASCAR credit for standing up and fighting for their substance abuse policy. We’re going to have a better policy in the sport when this is all said and done, the loopholes will be closed. I’m not a legal scholar, I’m not a doctor and I can’t address any of those issues, and I’m not going to. As Larry said, this is not striking out, this is not missing a free throw, this is not missing an extra point. This is a life and death sport and there is not room in this sport for any substance that impairs your ability to drive.”

Legendary driver and current NASCAR owner Richard Petty joined the TNT rig to discuss the 25th anniversary of his 200th and final win on July 4, 1984 in Daytona, along with being in contention for the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Petty on his father Richard wearing a fire suit: “I’ve just got one simple question, does Mama know that you’re in a uniform?”

Richard Petty: “I slipped out and she said, ‘how many laps are you going to make?’ That’s what she was worried about. She said as long as I don’t make but one lap I’ll be able to come home tonight.”

Richard Petty on being one of 25 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class: “You’ve got to figure I’ve been here a long time. I think it started with who’s been here the longest. It started with Bill France and then Richard Petty. It’s a great honor to even be mentioned at the same time with a lot of guys whose names are on there. It makes you feel real honored.”

Current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader No. 14 Tony Stewart joined the TNT rig prior to the race.

Stewart on the heat affecting the track conditions: “It is absolutely hot here and we can sit there and wipe our foreheads, but as soon as we get the rag off it’s sweaty again. It’s blistering hot and handling is a premium here versus February. We even talk about in it February of Talladega and Daytona, Daytona is definitely the handling track. The asphalt is worn out but that’s what makes this place fun. That track has heat soaked all day long and it’s going to take a while before the track starts getting some grip in it again.”

Stewart on his old tradition of climbing a fence after he won a race: “I’m too fat to be climbing fences. It was fun to do that, but it’s a lot tougher than it looks, let me tell you. The first time I did it when we won the July Fourth race, I got to the top and I thought, ‘man, what was I doing?’ But it was such a cool view that I did it again the next week. But man, it’s a lot harder than it looks, I can promise you that.”

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Countdown to Green

Marc Fein (host) and Wally Dallenbach (analyst)

TNT’s Wally Dallenbach interviewed No. 5 Mark Martin prior to the race

Martin on how his intensity benefits him: “I’m a real intense guy and I have real hard time relaxing. When it comes time to do business, whether it’s training, driving or anything like that, my intensity is a big benefit.”

Martin on competing in NASCAR at a high level while at the age of 50: “I suppose it is remarkable at this stage in the game and in (NASCAR) with the youth movement that we’ve experienced in the last few years. I’ve even surprised (myself) that I’m able to compete at this level.

Martin on how much he’s enjoyed this season: “I would like to freeze (this year) and do it over and over (again).”

Martin on how he has an advantage due to his experience: “There’s something to be said for experience. Obviously, at 50-years-old there are things that decline. My reaction time is not what it was 25 years ago. But what I do with that reaction time is better. I have as much fire and desire every day that I go to the racetrack as any 20-year-old.

TNT’s Lindsay Czarniak interviewed No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. prior to the race.

Earnhardt, Jr. on why he loves racing at Daytona and the strength of his car in this race: “I love the area, I’ve been coming here for a long time. It’s a fun racetrack, a fun area and a good time in the race car. We’ve got a pretty good car in the National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet. Hopefully all the troops who are watching will appreciate it, especially since it’s July Fourth. We’ve worked real hard to make this car drive good, the engine is amazing. I want to tell all the engine guys back at Hendrick that this is the best motor I’ve had down here in a long time. I can’t thank them enough for all the hard work they’ve done, they’ve made some big gains even since February. It’s pretty awesome.”

TNT’s Matt Yocum interviewed No. 39 Ryan Newman prior to the race.

Newman on driving the U.S. Army car: “All the Armed Forces, all the people who helped to get us to where we are and allow us to do this…there’s a lot more to it than fireworks. We’ll go out there with our U.S. Army Chevrolet and do our best job we possibly can and hopefully have a good run at it.”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing: Coke Zero 400 at Daytona presented by Coca-Cola

Announcers: Ralph Sheheen (play-by-play), Wally Dallenbach (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst); Larry McReynolds (analyst) contributes from the in-field at the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car (TORC)

Pit reporters: Adam Alexander, Lindsay Czarniak, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum

TNT’s Wally Dallenbach spoke to No. 2 Kurt Busch on the radio prior to the green flag dropping.

Busch on scoring the most points at Daytona in the past six races but being unable to win the race: “I think scoring the most points means I just missed the most wrecks. But to have a good car it starts back at the race shop. I want to thank all my guys and all the viewers who root for the Miller Lite Dodge. This is as good car as any and we want to bring it home tonight.”

Dallenbach on No. 11 Denny Hamlin pushing No. 2 Kurt Busch to the front spot early in the race: “When (Hamlin) had him sideways (Busch) was really mad, but he’s really happy right now. When a guy does that, he’s like, ‘what the heck are you doing? Oh, I’m in the lead, it’s ok.’ It’s one thing to get pushed on the straightway, but you don’t want to get hit in the corner because it just turns you sideways.”

Dallenbach on the unscientific method he used to gauge if there was a problem with his car: “I used to say all the time, your butt never lies. What that race car is telling you and what you’re feeling in the seat you can never second guess. I’ll second guess the crew chief, I’ll second guess the tire guys, I’ll second guess everyone, but I won’t second guess my butt. If that car feels like something is wrong than you’ve got to believe it.”

Dallenbach on No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya being a lap down amongst race leaders: “The leaders don’t have much patience for a guy who is a lap down from the leaders. They want to be on the tail of a guy (who is on the lead lap). Especially coming in for a pit stop, that one or two seconds is critical when you leave pit lane and you don’t want to have a lap car in between you and the guy you’re racing.”

Petty on why No. 00 David Reutimann would attempt to repair his car and return to the race after a wreck: “You say why do we try to put this thing back together? Because we were right there in the cusp of being 12th in points, we are 13th in points or 14th. We interviewed (Reutimann) out at Sonoma and he said I’d take a 15th place finish and go to the house (rather) than lose time.”

Petty on the impact of pit selection during the race: “That’s why pit selection and qualifying is so important. It all starts when you unload that thing on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning for practice. That’s when everything starts that happens during the course of a race.”

Dallenbach: “And who you pit around. If a guy is going to come in like that (wild) you’ve got to know that going down the road.”

Petty: “People used to always pit next to me when I used to drive because they always knew I was going to wreck or fall out so they knew they’d have an extra pit.”

Dallenbach on the intense driving that is causing minor collisions on the track with only 40 laps left to go: “As it gets closer to the end of the race, you’re going to see more of this. It’s not erratic (driving), but you’re going to see these moves because everyone is trying to protect their real estate right now. You can’t afford to get shuffled to the back.”

Dallenbach on the final three laps of the race: “You’ve got to give it everything you’ve got. You either give a good finish or bring back the steering wheel.”

TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed No. 14 Tony Stewart who won the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona presented by Coca-Cola.

Stewart on winning in the final lap after a collision with No. 18 Kyle Busch: “I don’t know if I was real proud of that but I don’t know what else I could have I done there. I went where I had to go and he went where he had to go. You just hate seeing a guy who’s been up front all day, especially a guy that helped me the whole race, get wrecked like that. I don’t like winning them like that.”

Stewart on if the accident in the final lap was a product of the drivers doing what they needed to do: “It is but you still don’t like it. You’re kind of forced in that position. I made my move to the outside, got up to his right rear tire and when he went to block us and we were already there. It still doesn’t mean you like it, you don’t want to win that way. That’s not the way you want to win these things. We had a good car all day and you feel bad because you want him to have a good day too but we weren’t going to give it to him. If I did something wrong, I’m sorry. I don’t think I did but I was out there when he moved so you just feel bad about it. It’s not the way you want to win these things.”

Petty on Kyle Busch declining to comment about the finish of the race: “That’s probably good because you can tell he’s upset. I would be upset too. He had a shot at winning this race and (the accident) happened. That’s probably the best thing to do, not say anything because whatever you say, there are fans out there that love you and fans out there that hate you and the ones who hate you are going to use it against you so keep your mouth shut.”

Unofficial Coke Zero 400 at Daytona presented by Coca-Cola Results:

1. No. 14 Tony Stewart

2. No. 48 Jimmie Johnson

3. No. 11 Denny Hamlin

4. No. 99 Carl Edwards

5. No. 2 Kurt Busch

6. No. 47 Marcos Ambrose

7. No. 83 Brian Vickers

8. No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya

9. No. 17 Matt Kenseth

10. No. 26 Jamie McMurray

- Turner Sports, Press Release

TNT gears up for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan on Sunday, June 14th live from Michigan International Speedway. The network will air exclusive coverage of the LifeLock 400 beginning at 2 p.m. ET with play-by-play announcer Bill Weber calling the race alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach in the booth. In addition, analyst Larry McReynolds will make frequent contributions from the in-field as he breaks down crew strategy and analyzes car adjustments.

The network will rev up its pre-race coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR on TNT Live! with Marc Fein (host), Petty and McReynolds. No. 33 Clint Bowyer and owner Richard Childress will join TNT’s infield rig for an interview prior to the race.

Grammy-nominated artist and Detroit native Kid Rock will also join TNT’s pre-race coverage, stopping by the set to speak to the NASCAR on TNT Live! announcers.

TNT’s acclaimed Pride of NASCAR series will feature racing legend Darrell Waltrip who is a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and 1989 Daytona 500 winner.

Dallenbach will once again breaks down race strategy during Wally’s World, as he is superimposed into live race footage from last season’s race in Michigan. He will virtually walk along the track to discuss its nuances, with the ability to stop the race footage.

In addition, Lindsay on Location with will go behind the scenes of NASCAR’s Race Control for a Lindsay Czarniak piece to explain how NASCAR officials assess penalties and determine car positions, particularly with the implementation of double-file restarts.

Ralph Sheheen will take viewers on a private tour of Jack Roush’s personal garage in Lavonia, Mich. where Roush will put on display his private collection of rare cars.

The show will be followed by Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ET with Weber (host), Dallenbach (analyst) and Petty (analyst) with reports from pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Sheheen and Czarniak.

Countdown to Green leads into coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing in Michigan at 2 p.m. ET with Weber, Dallenbach and Petty calling the action with frequent interaction with McReynolds (analyst) who will man the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car.

Throughout this year’s NASCAR on TNT Summer Series, the network will join forces with NASCAR.COM, the official site of NASCAR, to provide TNT RaceBuddy a multiplatform experience for race fans which features live feeds from the racetrack including pit road and in-car cameras, as well as live chats and polls.

REMAINING 2009 NASCAR ON TNT SCHEDULE:

(All times ET)

SUNDAY, JUNE 14

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!
1:30 – 2 p.m. Countdown to Green
2:00 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan (from Michigan Intl. Speedway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 21

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live! and
4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Countdown to Green
5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Toyota/Save Mart 350 (from Infineon Raceway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 28

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!
1:30 – 2:00 p.m. Countdown to Green
2:00 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Loudon (from New Hampshire Intl. Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 4

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!
7:30 – 8:00 p.m. Countdown to Green
8:00 – 11:15 p.m. Coke Zero 400 at Daytona powered by Coca-Cola (from Daytona Intl. Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 11

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!
7:30 – 8:00 p.m. Countdown to Green
8:00 – 11:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Chicago presented by Papa John’s (from Chicago Speedway)

NASCAR on TNT Live! from Pocono Raceway

Marc Fein (host), Larry McReynolds (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst)

McReynolds on NASCAR implementing double-file restarts during races: “I’m excited about it. When you look back at the All-Star race, we have the double file restarts there every single May and it’s exciting, it’s exciting for the fans. It’s going to be a learning process, it will be a learning process for the teams, for the drivers, for the broadcasters and for the fans, but I’m excited about them doing it.”

Petty on the double-file restarts changing the sport for the better: “If crew chiefs and engineers don’t understand, it’s for dang sure drivers don’t understand it, we just put our head in a bucket and get in a car. But I agree with Larry on this, we’re going to have to wait until it plays out to see exactly what it is. I give NASCAR huge kudos for changing something. They had their town hall meeting, everyone talked about it, but now they’ve stepped out and they’ve made a change on the race track. Let me say one thing, I compare this to the NBA. This is like when the three-point shot was implemented in the NBA, it was a game changer. (Double-file restarts) is a game changer, this is on the same level as that. This sport will be different moving forward.”

NASCAR president Mike Helton joined the TNT set to discuss the new double-file restart rule.

Helton on why and why now NASCAR implemented double-file restarts: “Why is because of the fans, why now is we noodled it out for a good period of time and we fine tuned it. Pocono is a good place to start because there are two and half miles to get used to this, not just for drivers, but for crew chiefs too.”

Helton on whether NASCAR will continue to implement changes to help the sport: “I would say yes. It may not be visible to the fans and masses, but certainly it should be visible to the car owners and drivers. What the meetings were in Concord, as much as anything, was to establish a newer, broader, better way of communicating with the stakeholders and obviously car owners and drivers are a huge part of that. It’s also a matter of explaining that today we are all in unique times and it helped for the drivers and the owners to hear the input we get from fans, we have a fan council of over 12,000 fans that our offices talk to every week. Telling the drivers and owners what the fans are saying is important and it was a good opportunity to do that, and from that comes, ‘what can you do for me now?’ And that’s the double-file restarts.”

Helton on the support given to the new double-file restart rule from the drivers and owners: “I’ve never seen a procedural issue that we implemented that has had the most wide ranging support from the drivers and car owners and that is because they know that this is something that the fans will like. They understand it’s complicated and we understand it’s complicated and there are some things that we have to figure out on the fly, but we tried to figure out most everything we could. Everyone in this garage understands why we are doing it.”

TNT’s acclaimed Pride of NASCAR series returns with the first installment featuring legendary driver Dave Marcis who was notable for being one of the longest independent drivers.

Petty on Dave Marcis’ work ethic: “(Marcis) was a great race car driver, one of the first guys to come out of Wisconsin and come south and race against the guys from the south in the late 60’s. But what Marcis was always about is this, it was a job, he loved to drive a race car, but he had that work man’s ethic. He hammered it out, he beat the fenders out, he built the engines, he drove the car, he drove a van home after he drove the car. It didn’t make any difference, it was all about getting to the race track, doing his job and going home. The wins were gravy, that was icing on the cake, but that’s what he wanted to do.”

Petty on No. 18 Kyle Busch smashing the guitar trophy on Saturday night after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Nashville: “I don’t think it was very well thought through. I understand the mentality of smashing the guitar because rock stars do it, sorry, (Busch) is not a rock star. He’s a race car driver, number one. Number two, that’s a trophy, all those other guys driving the race cars would have given anything in the world to hold it in their hand, not to smash like that. I understand they talked about it before and he said I’ll smash it and we’ll give everyone on the crew a piece of it. I would rather see him say, ‘I’m not going to smash this one, but I’ll buy all of you guitars and we’ll get Sam Bass to paint it up special for you guys to commemorate it.’ I don’t think it was disrespectful because I don’t think he meant it that way. I just think it was poorly thought through, maybe well executed from his side, but not thought through. I don’t like to see trophies destroyed for any reason.”

McReynolds on No. 18 Kyle Busch showing emotion after a win: “I’m not going to say right, I’m not going to say wrong, and I’m not saying that’s what I want to see. But I would like to see that personality, that emotion rather than that driver hunt his hat, hunt his sunglasses and soft drink, and saying, ‘the crew is working hard at the shop and I’m going to thank all my sponsors.’ We’ve been looking for personalities and that’s personality right there.”

TNT’s Lindsay Czarniak joined No. 39 Ryan Newman and his father, Greg, for a fishing trip in the surrounding area of Pocono Raceway.

Newman on what it would mean to win a championship with his father serving as his spotter: “It would be the completion of all the things that my dad has done for me to help me in my racing career. That’s the ultimate, I’ve always said stock car racing is where I want to be, and NASCAR in particular, and to win a championship would be the ultimate for what I could give back to him for what he’s sacrificed for me.”

Greg Newman: “He’s given me plenty already, but the championship is what we’re looking for. That makes things go full circle.”

Petty on teammates No. 14 Tony Stewart and No. 39 Ryan Newman: “I thought Tony (Stewart) was taking a chance and I just thought Ryan (Newman) was crazy to go along with him. You taking a chance is one thing, talking someone else into coming along with you is crazy.”

Reining NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion No. 48 Jimmie Johnson joined the TNT set for an interview prior to the race.

Johnson on how his team has continued success: “In a lot of ways we try to focus on ourselves and we know when we’ve given 100% and we’ve got the job done. Other times we’ve given 100% and we’ve just gotten beat. That’s the thing we all focus on and what I’m most proud of is regardless of race wins and championships, we know what we’re capable of and we can look ourselves in the eye and say, ‘ok, we got lucky today and we go this win or we worked our butts off and finished 15th. You’ve got to recognize those things in order to stay together as long as we have and to have continued success. I feel the sky’s the limit, but that garage area is full of a lot of tough teams and you just never know how long it will last.”

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******

Countdown to Green

Bill Weber (host) and Wally Dallenbach (analyst)

TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Earnhardt, Jr. on the mounting pressure to be a winner and no longer having excuses for why he is not winning: “The pressure, it comes and goes. When I first game to Rick’s, I knew all this stuff about this is the place where I’m really going to have to prove myself. Ninety percent of me was not even looking back, but there was a small percentage of me that was asking myself some serious questions like you’re putting yourself in the best equipment, you’re not going to have any excuses. We’re in a definite rut that we’re trying to get out of. This is the type of situation that I kind of feared could happen. I asked myself when I got the opportunity to drive for Rick whether I would be able to handle going through this type of thing and if I even wanted to because I’ve always had excuses before. I wouldn’t even have to make excuses, either my fan base or the media would come up with a reason why we weren’t a winner. It was never really placed squarely on my shoulders. I knew that at Rick’s it would be if we didn’t win. I can handle that and I would have not made that decision if I thought I couldn’t.”

Earnhardt, Jr. on not alienating people around him because things aren’t going well: “It’s not the hardest thing (to be me). It’s really good most of the time. It’s really easy and really fun. I never have days where I don’t feel like I’ve got it really good. When things get tough that’s when you really rely on those feelings and thoughts. You’ve got it really good, don’t get crazy here and make any rash judgments or say anything wrong. When things are bad you can do a lot of things on gut feeling and you can damage a lot of relationships. Once the bad is behind you, it’s hard to repair those relationships so you have to be careful when things aren’t good to upset everyone around you because you’re cranky.”

Earnhardt, Jr.’s crew chief Lance McGrew on when the No. 88 car will start winning races: “I want him to win yesterday, too. I’m going to be a little non-committal on that, I hate to disappoint millions, but I’m not sure yet. Jr. has used the quote time and time again, we’re building Rome here and that doesn’t happen overnight. As we go along and as we progress, we should see progression. We will continue to build on that and we need to put ourselves in position to win. You’re not going to win from 15th, you’re just not. You have to put yourself in the top five on a weekly basis and then you start winning races.”

No. 18 Kyle Busch on whether his smashing of a guitar in Nashville was controversial: “No, that’s not controversial, a guy showing true emotion in Victory Lane. It’s great to be able to go out and win races. I talked to Sam (Bass) and I talked to the Gibson (guitar) people and they all thought it was great, it was fine. What it was to me was to give the pieces to the team. Unfortunately, it didn’t break on my part, but fortunately for Gibson they have a great product in their guitars and I ordered up two more of them for myself and for my crew chief. The one from last night, it will be going to the band saw tomorrow to break it up and distribute it, and I’m to assign the pieces to all the guys on the crew last night and share it with them. They never get a chance to get a piece of the trophy after we win races, it’s the best opportunity for them to get that.”

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Pocono at Pocono Raceway

Announcers: Bill Weber (play-by-play), Wally Dallenbach (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst); Larry McReynolds (analyst) contributes from the in-field with the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car (TORC)

Pit reporters: Lindsay Czarniak, Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum

Petty, in reaction to No. 11 Denny Hamlin having engine issues immediately after the race began, on a car never having mechanical issues when you want it to: “It never does. When you’re out there begging for the thing to blow up because you’re 40 laps down, you can clutch it and it won’t blow up.”

Dallenbach on No. 5 Mark Martin moving on turn two to make room for another driver: “When you’re on the inside it’s really your corner. I say that because when you’re up on the high side in turn two, you’re in the marbles.”

Petty: “They preach in the drivers’ meeting all time, give and take, give and take. A lot of drivers take but never give. That’s an example of a veteran driver (in Mark Martin) giving a little bit. Knowing that he’s not going to lose anything and even if he loses position, it’s only 18-20 laps in. We’re not going to name the guys who don’t give.”

Petty on No. 5 Mark Martin being one day short from the oldest driver to win a race at Pocono at 50 years, five months and 29 days: “Maybe (Martin) just needs to hold off until the second race (to win).”

Weber: “You want to explain that to him? Jump on radio to tell him that.”

McReynolds on how to best describe the racetrack at Pocono: “You know what we like to say, it’s not really a road course, but it’s hard to call it an oval, so we’ll just call it a ‘roval.’”

Petty: “Call it whatever you want. I’m going to call it aggravating. From a driver’s standpoint, it just aggravates the rear end off of you.”

Petty on No. 99 Carl Edwards and his crew miscalculating a pit stop causing him to pit earlier than the rest of the field: “Very dejected crew, not a dejected driver though. You heard (Edwards) come back, he’s still fighting. He said, ‘ok we might want to take this adjustment.’ If this had been Kyle Petty in the car, I’d have cut somebody’s head off, if I’m late in the race and something like that happens. You just go crazy. Carl handled that incredibly well and I think (crew chief) Bob (Osborne) and those guys in the pits did also.”

Dallenbach on No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. getting into No. 12 David Stremme after Stremme was turned into the wall: “A lot of this, the No. 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) is frustrated right now. He could have cut the No. 12 (David Stremme) a little bit of slack right there, all he had to do was just get out a little bit and could have avoided that. The reason why the No. 88 is frustrated is because he blew his pit stop. He comes down, he smokes through the pit stop, he gets the car up against the wall. This puts him in the situation where it put him further back in the pack, as well as the No. 48 when they had their mistake. It put them in the back and things happen back there a lot more than they happen up front and it could have taken both these cars out.”

Petty on the frustration of No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s pit crew: “You see the pit crew guys, they’re hot right here because they are doing the best they can and Jr. just smokes in, doesn’t see where he’s supposed to be and runs through the pit box right here. We’ve seen that numerous times this year, let’s be honest about that.”

Petty on No. 00 David Reutimann: “They call (No. 00 David) Reutimann the franchise guy, and what franchise means is they can build something on this. He is building a great foundation for Michael Waltrip Racing over there.”

TNT aired in-car audio between No. 24 Jeff Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte in the final laps of the race.

Letarte on which cars Gordon needs to pursue to move up in the standings: “No. 39 and 00, push it forward, those are our two, push them. They’re trying to save, don’t let them, the two cars in front of you, right now.”

Petty on No. 24 Jeff Gordon being encouraged by crew chief Steve Letarte to go after other cars on the track: “Steve Letarte smells blood in the water right there, he’s like, ‘push them, push them, go get them,’ and (even if he doesn’t believe it,) he wants (No. 24) Jeff (Gordon) to believe it and that’s what crew chiefs are good at.”

TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed Pocono 500 winner No. 14 Tony Stewart after his first victory of the season.

Stewart on whether the win is more meaningful as the owner of his race team: “It is because of the group of guys I’m working with. I’ve always had a great group of people to work with at Gibbs and it’s a little different when it’s your own, when you’re the one at the end that has to be accountable.”

Stewart on how he managed to conserve fuel to finish the race: “I’m not telling.”

TNT’s Ralph Sheheen interviewed second place finisher No. 99 Carl Edwards.

Edwards on his second place finish behind No. 14 Tony Stewart: “I bet I’ve got a gallon or two (of gas) left in there. I’ve got one of those new Fusion Hybrids, no joke, I’ve been playing around. I think I’ve been getting better at saving fuel, Tony is obviously getting better, I didn’t he was going to be a factor. My Aflac Fusion was good all day, my guys have really stepped it up. He barely beat us off pit road even with his first pit stall and I mean, we made a decision, are we going to race him or are we going to save fuel and we saved fuel. I was sure he was going to run out like Jimmie did, but he didn’t and they won the race. I’ve just got to rest on the fact that we’re stronger than we have been all year.”

Unofficial Pocono 500 Results:

No. 14 Tony Stewart
No. 99 Carl Edwards
No. 00 David Reutimann
No. 24 Jeff Gordon
No. 39 Ryan Newman
No. 47 Marcos Ambrose
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson
No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
No. 31 Jeff Burton
No. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr.

- Turner Sports, Press Release

TNT’s coverage of NASCAR action revs up on Sunday, June 7 with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Pocono as the network hits the track for the NASCAR on TNT Summer Series.  The network will air exclusive coverage of the Pocono 500 beginning at 2 p.m. ET with play-by-play announcer Bill Weber calling the race alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach in the booth.  In addition, analyst Larry McReynolds will make frequent contributions from the in-field as he breaks down crew strategy and analyzes car adjustments.

The network will rev up its pre-race coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR on TNT Live! with Marc Fein (host), Petty and McReynolds.  Current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion and winner of last week’s Autism Speaks 400 in Dover No. 48 Jimmie Johnson will also join TNT’s infield rig for an interview prior to the race.

TNT’s acclaimed Pride of NASCAR series will return this season, with the premiere episode profiling NASCAR legend Dave Marcis, Cup Series driver from 1968 – 2002. Marcis had 883 starts on the circuit, second only to Richard Petty and stands as the last successful non-factory supported independent owner/drivers, racing while wearing wingtip shoes to absorb the heat in the car.

Also, the first of six Wally’s World features will air as Dallenbach breaks down the strategy of each race in virtual reality.  Dallenbach will be superimposed into live race footage from last season from the Pocono 500 as he walks along the track to discuss the nuances necessary to contend at Pocono Raceway. Dallenbach’s new setting allows him the ability to stop the race footage and interact with the cars virtually.

In addition, Lindsay on Location returns as TNT pit reporter Lindsay Czarniak explores various hot spots at each track. This week, she’ll accompany No. 38 Ryan Newman and his father on a fishing trip to a local fishing hole around Pocono.

The show will be followed by Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ET with Bill Weber (host), Dallenbach (analyst) and Petty (analyst) with reports from pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen and Czarniak.

Countdown to Green leads into coverage of the Pocono 500 at 2 p.m. ET with Weber, Dallenbach and Petty calling the action with frequent interaction with McReynolds (analyst) who will man the TNT Off-Track Robotic Car.

Throughout this year’s NASCAR on TNT Summer Series, the network will join forces with NASCAR.COM, the official site of NASCAR, to provide TNT RaceBuddy a multiplatform experience for race fans which features live feeds from the racetrack including pit road and in-car cameras, as well as live chats and polls. Joining the Turner Sports family will be Jim Noble, who will serve as a pit reporter exclusively on NASCAR.COM throughout TNT’s six races.

2009 NASCAR ON TNT SUMMER SERIES SCHEDULE:

(All times ET)

SUNDAY, JUNE 7

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

1:30 – 2 p.m. Countdown to Green

2:00 – 6:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Pocono (from Pocono Raceway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 14

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

1:30 – 2 p.m. Countdown to Green

2:00 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan (from Michigan Intl. Speedway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 21

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live! and

4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Countdown to Green

5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Toyota/Save Mart 350 (from Infineon Raceway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 28

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

1:30 – 2 p.m. Countdown to Green

2 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Loudon (from New Hampshire Intl. Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 4

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

7:30 – 8 p.m. Countdown to Green

8:00 – 11:15 p.m. Coke Zero 400 at Daytona powered by Coca-Cola (from Daytona Intl. Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 11

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. NASCAR on TNT Live!

7:30 – 8 p.m. Countdown to Green

8:00 – 11:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Chicago (from Chicago Speedway)

- Turner Sports, Press Release