Pocono Raceway

Sunday, June 12, 2011

NASCAR on TNT

Adam Alexander (host), Kyle Petty (analyst) and Wally Dallenbach

TNT host Alexander to Kyle Petty on Petty pick to win the race: “The sleeper in this [the race today] may just be your pick this week – Jeff Gordon.”

TNT analyst Petty commenting on Alexander’s question about early leader Denny Hamlin after 20 laps in the race: “In these first few laps, I’m not so sure he just came to play as opposed to ruin everybody else’s day.”

TNT analyst Petty commenting on the NASCAR.com ULTIMATE TAILGATING VEHICLE (UTV) that is loaded with big screen TVs, full kitchen, sleeping quarters, bathroom, two taps and the ability to play video games: “That UTV is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen…if you’re a guy.”

TNT’s Lindsay Czarniak and Larry MacReynolds have special guest Carl Edwards – in a rare ‘in-race’ interview before jumping back into his car to rejoin the race after his car was repaired – in the booth while his car was being worked on in his garage. Edwards explained the valve problems he experienced during the race.

Edwards: “We’re off right now, we’re not out…I brought part of the valve. The head of the valve…it’s not a failure based on the way it was built there was some type of failure. I thought I would come up here right now and talk to you about what’s going on what’s happening on the race track. There’s a lot of shifting going on out there and the cars are getting looser. It’s really tough out there.”

MacReynolds: “I heard you and Bob Osborne talking before the race…to shift or not to shift…either way it’s a lot of rpm on these long straight-aways.”

Edwards: “It’s a lot of rpm. We’re looking at Kurt Busch, I don’t think when I was racing him [Kurt Busch], I don’t think he was shifting. I was watching the broadcast and we were watching Tony Stewart shifting six times each lap, down into third, back to fourth, down to third, back to fourth…and his transmission, I think, gave up. It’s tough because as a driver you’re trying to get every last bit of speed you can. But, when you’re sitting in that car and you put the car into third gear you take the chance that something could go wrong.”

MacReynolds comments on Edwards’ team trying to get him back out in the race to try to at least get some points from this race.

Edwards responds: “The guys are working hard. Watching the broadcast…with the sun coming out it’s going to be an interesting race.”

Czarniak: “How much pressure do you feel being the points leader halfway through the chase?”

Edwards: “It’s a lot of pressure and I think what we’re seeing here with Kurt leading that a lot of things can happen with 13 races left. We came in here with a 40-point lead and it looks like we’ll leave with about a five-point lead. That’s how quick things can change. This year is a lot like the race.”

Czarniak comments on the reemergence of the Penske teams in the last three weeks:

Edwards: “This race hasn’t played out with fuel mileage but it looks like Kurt and Denny are the guys to beat. You got guys out there racing for the wins and that’s what we were out there doing today but it wasn’t meant to be. It’s going to be an exciting race and I’m going to stick around to see the end of it.”

Gordon comments on his win at Pocono: “We were embarrassed by the way we were running…we went on a streak where we weren’t competitive. What it takes is a team that you believe in and they work with you to get there. Welcome TNT, it’s a great way to kick it off [TNT’s Summer Series].”

Runner-up Kurt Busch speaking about his day at Pocono: “It’s great to run this good with the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. We gave it everything we had from the back.”

Third place finisher Kyle Busch speaking about his day at Pocono: “We ran a solid day. I can’t say enough about Joe Gibbs Racing…can’t thank them enough. We had a great ride. [It] seemed like we were a third or fourth place car today.”

Denny Hamlin, who led a great part of the race today, but ended up having car problems: “We were a little out of sequence [on pit road]. When we left pit road [near the end of the race] and had a flat tire, it was just a slew of problems.”

- Turner Sports, Press Release

SOUND-ACTIVATED AND DIGITAL MULTIPLATFORM MARKETING INITIATIVES

NASCAR on TNT

TNT’s brand activation will create awareness within the Charlotte EpiCentre and add to Turner Sports’ already growing resume of creative and original marketing campaigns. TNT will be the first to market with a sound-activated initiative that helps demonstrate the depth of TNT’s overall assets.

“This fully integrated campaign allows us to reach NASCAR fans on all touch points through unique, eye-catching, high-impact marketing,” said Christina Miller, senior vice president, Turner Sports Strategy/Marketing/Programming. “This is the first time NASCAR has ever done something like this with its partners and we are excited to be able to lead the way with our brand activation.”

The campaign involves branding elements, including the full takeover of a four-story elevator shaft in the main courtyard, staircases, and a 26-foot TNT logo on the ground at the base of the elevator shaft. Enhanced audio technology called “directional audio” will complement the EpiCentre campaign with a concentrated beam of audio (imagine a flashlight, but with audio instead of light) directed to a specific location. When an individual walks through the audio beam, they will hear custom tune-in audio messaging – AC/DC’s “T.N.T.”, engines revving, cars speeding around the racetrack – only heard within the beam. When individuals exit the beam, they won’t hear it anymore.

Working with Valvoline, NASCAR on TNT also will equip several service stations in Charlotte with Summer Series signage, banners, as well as outfit each service tech in “NASCAR on TNT” crew shirts. The centerpiece is an event on May 27th featuring Greg Biffle and a live radio remote by Charlotte’s #1 country music station – WSOC – to generate additional awareness and exposure for the Summer Series.

Turner’s digital out of home advertising portfolio also includes previous initiatives during the following:

Major League Baseball postseason in which the Times Square Shuttle was wrapped in promotional advertising made to look like a stadium with video screens running video updates of the 2010 League Championship Series and American League Championships Series.
During the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, Turner used digital boards to provide real-time updates and scores, match-ups and tune-in, as well as current coverage of the NBA Playoffs and Eastern Conference Finals.

The TNT NASCAR Summer Series kicks off on June 12 – as part of its six consecutive races of exclusive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – at the Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 500. Following Pocono, the Series will go to Michigan and the Helluva Good: Sour Cream Dips 400 (June 19), Toyota/Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, Calif. (June 26), Coke Zero 400 from Daytona International Speedway (July 2), Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway (July 9), and end in Loudon, N.H. at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (July 17).

Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in televised and online sports programming, airing championship level sporting events on TBS, TNT and truTV, and managing some of the most popular sports sites on the Internet. Turner Sports’ television line-up includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NASCAR and professional golf. The company’s digital portfolio includes SI.com, NASCAR.COM, NCAA.com, PGATOUR.COM, GOLF.com and PGA.com, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile websites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Hawthorne, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Memphis Beat, with Jason Lee; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula; and Southland, from Emmy®-winning producer John Wells (ER); as well as the upcoming Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle, and Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Turner Sports, Press Release

NASCAR 3 Series Logo

Regular season points races in the Eastern and Central regions of the country will begin at 1 p.m. ET; West Coast events will begin at 3 p.m. ET; and night races will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET (Note: NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600, will start at 6 p.m. ET on May 29).

In addition, NASCAR announced new start times for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with six of the first seven races beginning at 2 p.m. ET and the last three races, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, beginning at 3 p.m. ET. The 52nd annual Bank of America 500 from Charlotte Motor Speedway is the only night race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races will again be seen on either FOX, TNT, ESPN or ABC.

“The 2011 broadcast schedule strikes the right balance between keeping the start times in familiar slots and highlighting the races down the stretch, building more excitement at the end of the season,” said Paul Brooks, senior vice president of NASCAR and president of NASCAR Media Group. “Continuing to raise the profile of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was also on the top of our list and we believe these new start times for those 10 races will help do just that.”

The preseason non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will be on FOX (8:10 p.m. ET on Feb. 12). In addition, two other non-points events – the Gatorade Duel at Daytona (2 p.m. ET on Feb. 17) and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (7:30 p.m. ET on May 21 at Charlotte Motor Speedway), will be on SPEED.

FOX will have the first 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races, beginning with the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 (Feb. 20, 1 p.m. ET) and ending with the June 5 race at Kansas Speedway, the first of two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at that track this year.

TNT will have the next six events, beginning with the Pocono 500 at 1 p.m. ET on June 12 at Pocono Raceway and ending with New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s first of two races on July 17 at 1 p.m. ET. In addition, TNT will have the inaugural Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on July 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN and ABC will carry the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. ABC will telecast three races, including the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup “cutoff race” – the Richmond 400 on Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN will telecast 14 races, including the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. ET and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. ET.

ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will telecast 33 of the 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011. ESPN2 opens the season with the DRIVE4COPD 300 at 1:15 p.m. ET on Feb. 19 at Daytona International Speedway. ESPN2 will also telecast the season finale Ford 300 on Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (4:30 p.m. ET).

SPEED will air one NASCAR Nationwide Series race in 2011 with the 24th running of the Bubba Burger 250 from Richmond International Raceway on April 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to SPEED for a ninth consecutive season. As was the case last year, SPEED will show the entire 25-race schedule, opening with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET at Daytona.

The full telecast schedules for all three national series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – are available via the Word and PDF links at the top of this page.

- NASCAR, Press Release

Brandon McReynolds

“I am excited for this opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” McReynolds said. “I grew up in the NASCAR garages, so it is thrilling to be able to compete this weekend at Gateway. I’m honored to have opportunity to compete against the best in the sport. I have to thank Eddie Smith and everyone at Team 42 Racing for their support. It means everything to me to have the shot to compete in the Nationwide Series. ”

The 2010 season marks the team’s second year in the NNS. In 2009 the team competed in 15 events, scored three top-15 finishes and qualified in the top-10 five times.

“I couldn’t be more excited to have Brandon McReynolds in our car,” team owner Eddie Smith exclaimed. “We have a car that is more than capable of running up front, and I’m thrilled to have Brandon race with us. He is a level-headed young man, and we want to give him every opportunity in his first shot in the NASCAR circuit.”

McReynolds will be promoting the NAPA Brakes Adaptive One brand on his Dodge Charger this weekend. Adaptive One is a revolutionary brake pad design that achieves the perfect balance of consistent friction performance with virtually no noise. By using two different ceramic formulas in the same set of friction, Adaptive One adapts to all stopping conditions. Pairing the industry’s best ceramic formulas with the features of the Advanced Noise Reduction System blends consistent braking performance with no noise and low dusting.

“NAPA Brakes is excited about its partnership with Brandon McReynolds,” said Mike Gaffney, Vice President-Marketing, NAPA Brakes. “Anytime we have the opportunity to be a part of the next generation of NASCAR talent breaking into the sport, we are excited to do it.”

McReynolds is the son of Larry McReynolds, two-time Daytona 500 winning crew chief with Davey Allison and Dale Earnhardt, and current NASCAR TV analyst on SPEED, Fox Sports and TNT. The young driver spent his childhood at the track with his father and continues to make a name for himself in the racing industry.

This season, McReynolds competed in the UARA Series and clenched two wins, both at the historic Rockingham Speedway.

Also in the 2010 season, McReynolds competed in select events in the ARCA Racing Series. Piloting the No. 6 Eddie Sharp Racing car at Salem Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Pocono Raceway, McReynolds gained valuable experience on a short track and NASCAR-circuit tracks. In his highest finish in the Series, McReynolds came home with a top-10 finish at Pocono Raceway after battling a cut tire early in the event. Last weekend, McReynolds competed in a double-header at Rockingham Speedway, collecting his UARA Series win, and then competed in the No. 92 Ricky Benton Racing machine.

The green flag drops on the 5 Hour Energy 250 on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. CDT (3:30 p.m. EST). The race will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and MRN.

- Activ8 Communications Press Release

(Right to left) Kyle Busch and fiancee Samantha Sarcinella pose with the NASCAR Nationwide Series New England 200 trophy in New Hampshire Motor Speedway's Victory Lane Saturday in Loudon, N.H. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion is again teaming up with animals, but this time in two recently-released national commercials for Z-Line Designs, one of the leading designers and import manufacturer of home office, home entertainment furniture and office seating.

The spots ask viewers if they can resist buying Z-Line Designs furniture, even with Busch and his fiancée, Samantha Sarcinella, encouraging them to do so. At the end of one commercial, the viewer is asked if they can resist buying furniture even with adorable puppies crawling all over it, while the other commercial asks them if they can resist buying furniture with ponies walking around the items.

The commercials are part of a major advertising campaign for Z-Line Designs, which has sponsored Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in the Nationwide Series since 2007. Together, Z-Line Designs, JGR and Busch have won 15 Nationwide Series races.

“Z-Line’s national television advertising campaign, featuring more than 4,000 spots nationwide, has been well received by both our retail partners and the consumer,” said Jim Sexton, founder and CEO of Z-Line Designs. “By featuring our commercials on multiple networks we have been able to reach a greater audience. Kyle and Samantha provided an extra personal touch tying our racing promotions into the commercials.”

The spots have aired in the some of the biggest markets in the country during NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events, as well as IndyCar Series races. The commercials have also been shown on HGTV, Discovery, USA, TNT, FX, CNN, A&E and BRAVO in select markets.

“Z-Line Designs and Jim and Monica Sexton have been huge supporters of my career,” Busch said. “Beyond that, Jim and Monica have become great friends to Samantha and I, and it was awesome for them to ask us to be a part of their ad campaign. It was really cool for me to have Samantha be a part of the commercials and we had a lot of fun shooting them.”

This week at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Busch’s Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry will have a bit of a different look, as the pink racecar featured in the Toyota commercial will move from the small screen to the .75-mile oval. There, Busch will don a pink firesuit and drive the overwhelmingly pink No. 18 Toyota Kimmy / Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry in the Richmond 250 Nationwide Series race.

Z-Line Designs happily agreed to trade its normal red-and-black logos for pink-and-purple on Busch’s car, while the standard red-and-black Z-Line Designs scheme will be featured on Denny Hamlin’s No. 20 Toyota Camry for JGR.

Busch will drive the regular Z-Line Designs car three more times in 2010 – Oct. 16 at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway, Nov. 7 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and in the Nov. 20 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Z-Line Designs commercials featuring Busch can viewed online at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tnMV48Jj3M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3WcI4hWlvc

- True Speed Communication 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 concludes on Saturday, July 10 from Chicagoland Speedway.  Countdown to Green begins at 6:30 p.m. (ET) and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Chicago begins at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

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Countdown to Green

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

McReynolds on Daytona being one of the marquee racetracks at which to win a race: “It doesn’t matter if you’re a driver, an owner or a crew chief. If you run in Formula One, you want to say, ‘I won at Monaco.’ If you run Indy cars you want to say, ‘I won at Indy.’ If you run in NASCAR you want to say, ‘I was a winner at Daytona.’”

McReynolds on the Daytona racetrack getting repaved before the Daytona 500 in February: “If you talk to any of the drivers in this race tonight, they are not excited about this racetrack getting new asphalt, they love the character it has. You have to man out you’re way around this racetrack.  But because the asphalt is so old, there are so many cracks, we’ve had some flooding here the last couple of years and water is getting down in those cracks and that’s what caused the pothole problem that we had in February.”

Petty on the impact of new asphalt on the track at Daytona: “The new asphalt is going to totally change this place. It’s just now getting its character, it’s just now getting to where these guys have to race the racetrack too. When the racetrack is paved you race each other, you don’t worry about the racetrack.”

No. 14 Tony Stewart joined the TNT pre-race show live on the set.

Stewart on driving a back-up car at Daytona and the positive aspect of starting at the back of the pack: “There’s not a problem if (a first long pit stop) happens (early in the race). It’s better to do it at the beginning than it is at the end. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise when you don’t know what it’s going to do on the front end. It’s probably better to be back and out of the way, that way if something is not right we don’t get run over.”

Stewart on the significance of winning any race at Daytona: “Anytime you go in any series to their biggest race at the biggest racetrack of the year as far as popularity and how important this track is to this sport, it makes you want to win. It doesn’t matter if it’s an IROC race win, Nationwide win or Cup win, it’s pretty big. This a pretty cool place to be in Victory Lane no matter what kind of car it’s in.”

Stewart on the heat affecting the condition of the track: “In February you hear us talk about handling of the cars, but it’s a lot cooler temperature. With the track sitting with cooler temperatures during the rest of the year that asphalt isn’t retaining the heat that it does here in July. So even though we’ve got cool night tonight, that surface temperature and the ground underneath still has heat in it and it makes the handling even that much more critical. Especially the last couple of years, with the splitters and the bump stops on the front, this place is so sensitive to bumps. You’re not going to get around them, there’s no place you are going to drive to get around the bumps, you’re going to have to go through them so you’ve got to make your car go through the bumps good. It seems like every time we come back this asphalt sags and settles more and it just makes it rougher because of that.”

TNT’s Pride of NASCAR featured a tribute to legendary driver No. 3 Dale Earnhardt.

Dale Earnhardt, Sr.’s crew member Chocolate Myers on the reaction of all of the NASCAR competitors congratulating Earnhardt on pit road after his first win at Daytona in 1998: “To win that race and see the people come out there, all the people, all those other guys, whether they loved or hated him, they respected him. When he won that race and came down pit road, there’s never been a more special moment in the history of the sport.”

Petty on No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who won the Nationwide race on Friday night driving his father’s No. 3 Wrangler car: “Last night (Friday) was an incredibly emotional win not just for Junior fans, but for all of Earnhardt fans. When I say Earnhardt fans, it’s all of Earnhardt nation. It’s Dale Earnhardt, Jr., it’s Dale Earnhardt, Sr., it’s NASCAR. Last night was an incredible win. It was an emotional day for those guys.”

McReynolds on the rain delay cooling down the track but disrupting the drivers’ race day routines: “(The drivers) know when they get this track dry it’s going to be cool, it’s going to have a ton of grip. Normally when you get more grip it means handling problems you had in practice are going to be better. But the biggest thing is that these guys have waited all day. They have their routine and it’s the anticipation that we should be ready to race now and now we’ve got to wait and the question becomes how long will we have to wait?”

McReynolds on NASCAR having a foundation built on drivers expressing their emotions: “These guys love what they do and they’re very passionate about what they do. I’ve said all along, our sport was built on race cars and racetracks, but it was also built on emotion and feelings and these guys show it. Even NASCAR today, they say, look, we still have to maintain law and order, you can’t have guys getting out of their race cars swing jack hammers at each other, but if we want to see these guys get out of their car, as we’ve seen nearly every single weekend in 2010, and put out their emotions and their feelings, that’s what our sport was built on starting in 1979 and let’s go at it in 2010.”

No. 9 Kasey Kahne on details that still need to be worked out in regards to his move to Hendrick Motorsports and his expectation that he would know by this Daytona race: “Yeah, I was wrong. I think sometimes you just have to let things play out and let the best situation happen. That’s what we’re doing and that’s what they’re working on. I know it’s going to be good no matter what it is. Mr. Hendrick told me it’s going to be good equipment and it’s going to be a great car. Whatever it ends up being, it’s going to be fast. But it will be probably be another month (before we know).”

No. 33 Clint Bowyer on his desire to be the last Daytona winner before the new surface is laid: “I love this place, it means a lot to me. Being a kid from Kansas, growing up in the Midwest and beating up bull rings in the Midwest, this is what you work your whole life to get to, Daytona. This is an old worn out track and I want to be the last winner on this surface. It would mean a lot to me.”

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Coke Zero 400 at Daytona presented by Coca-Cola

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

Dallenbach on No. 2 Kurt Busch and No. 48 Jimmie Johnson, who battled the previous week, working together in the race: “You completely forget about last week. In a restrictor plate race you’re simply looking for the fastest guy you can hang onto to work with. You seem to forget about a lot of the things that happened in the past because you never know which car is going to work best with you.”

Petty on the pit strategy of cars taking two tires as opposed to four tires early in the race: “If I’m a driver and I’m watching some of those cars out there, I’m thinking give me four (tires). Let me get my adjustments, let’s get my car under me so I am comfortable with it, then I’ll gamble when I’m comfortable. I hate to gamble on something when I’m just not comfortable out there in it.”

Dallenbach on drivers avoiding No. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr.: “These guys don’t look like they want to run behind the No. 77. A few of these guys went right up behind him and looked like they were going to help him and saw him get loose and they backed way off. When a guy is that loose in front of you, you do not want to make it worse.”

Petty on No. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. driving in the same spot all night: “(Sam Horish, Jr.) is staying with the girl who brought him to the dance, the high line. He’s going to make these guys go under him at some point in time.”

Petty on a wreck involving No. 42 Juan Montoya turning No. 18 Kurt Busch on the back stretch: “It always amazes me at Daytona that we have so many crashes in the middle of the straight away, but we do. We have so many crashes in the middle of the super stretch. You hate to bring this up, but it’s kind of like the same situation between what the No. 18 did to the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) in practice. They just hooked bumpers while they were crossing each other.”

No. 18 Kurt Busch on his reaction to his wreck that involved No. 42 Juan Montoya and eliminated him from the race while he was leading: “I don’t even know what to say, too many thoughts running through my head. Yeah, I guess it was my fault. I’m going to down the straight away as straight as I can be and I went right across the nose of the No. 42 for nothing else to do. Yeah, I wanted to wreck myself. Nobody really understands the draft when you’re beside somebody like that, they can move you, they have control on your car. He was too close to my side and he started turning me sideways down the straight away without even touching me just like I did to Denny (Hamlin), he started turning before I even got over the No. 6 (David Ragan) in practice. When you have no grip on these tires, I was two laps away from pitting, the thing started rear steering me down the straight away and I had no control over it. I didn’t turn across the nose of the No. 42. Why would I do that? Why would I wreck myself?  I was leading the race, I had the fastest car, thought I was going to win the thing. (I) thought we had the best car out there, drove from the back to the front. Can’t believe the Interstate All Battery Center Camry is all torn up again, another week, but whatever.”

Petty on No. 18 Kyle Busch’s explanation of the wreck: “A really good explanation once (Kyle Busch) got past the attitude part of it, where he said, ‘hey, I didn’t wreck myself.’ He was being sarcastic and that’s ok.”

Dallenbach on No. 2 Kurt Busch needing to be more aggressive: “(Kurt Busch) said it tonight, he needs to stop being so nice, he feels like he’s being too nice especially at the end of these races. He’s going to have to be aggressive, he’s in a position where he could win this thing in the last couple of laps and it’s got to be a take no prisoners attitude.”

Petty on the first and last races raced on this asphalt at Daytona: “If you can bookend (the asphalt in Daytona) with the ‘79 Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 tonight and the way this thing has played out, two pretty good races to bookend a racetrack and the pavement here. That’s pretty cool.”

McReynolds: “Hopefully we won’t have a fight down in turn three.”

No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on being lucky in the race to finish fourth: “We were terrible all night. We didn’t go a good job this weekend as a team, putting our car on the racetrack and making it as god as we could. We thought we were going to be ok, but we just weren’t when the raced started. We have to do a little bit better job, we got real lucky to get what we got tonight, I’m proud of the work the guys did. You’d rather be good than lucky. But anybody wants to trade you some luck like they did tonight we’ll take it.”

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

1. No. 29 Kevin Harvick

2.      No. 9 Kasey Kahne

3.      No. 24 Jeff Gordon

4.      No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

5.      No. 31 Jeff Burton

6.      No. 99 Carl Edwards

7.      No. 2 Kurt Busch

8.      No. 83 Reed Sorenson

9.      No. 71 Mike Bliss

10.  No. 82 Scott Speed

- Turner Sports, Press Release

Special Pre-Race Elements Include Dale Earnhardt
Tribute and No. 14 Tony Stewart Joining the Studio Show

NASCAR on TNT

The eight national sponsors featured in this year’s innovative telecast include Coke Zero, Burger King, Coors Light, Goodyear, Dimension Films’ Piranha 3-D, Sprint, Subway and Toyota.

TNT, in partnership with NASCAR Media Group, will also present NASCAR’s first foray into 3D programming with a special presentation of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona powered by Coca-Cola being made available through TNT RaceBuddy on NASCAR.COM (NASCAR.COM/RaceBuddy3D).  In addition to the mosaic of HD-quality complementary unique camera angles available on TNT RaceBuddy on NASCAR.COM each week, two custom racing feeds, sponsored by Coca-Cola, will be produced specifically for 3D. The first will provide a unique look at the racing action from strategically placed cameras around the track designed to maximize the effect of 3D. The second stream will bring the mayhem of pit row into the third dimension creating a one-of-a-kind visual experience.  In addition to NASCAR.COM, DIRECTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks will also air the 3D production.

The network will rev up its pre-race coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green with Lindsay Czarniak (host), Petty and McReynolds.  TNT will air a special feature on legendary driver No. 3 Dale Earnhardt to honor the approaching anniversary of his fatal race at the 2001 Daytona 500. Offering their memories and thoughts on the Hall of Fame driver are former owner Richard Childress, crew chief Larry McReynolds and pit crew teammates Chocolate Myers and Danny Lawrence. Joining the studio show prior to the race will be No. 14 Tony Stewart, defending champion of the Coke Zero 400 and winner of the July race three times in the past five years.

TNT will air the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona powered by Coca-Cola beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with play-by-play announcer Adam Alexander 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 using the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car (TORC).   Pit reporters Phil Parsons, Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum will provide reports throughout the race.

In addition to his TNT duties, Petty will appear on Showtime’s Inside NASCAR tonight (June 30) at 10 ET and PT to promote this weekend’s race.

REMAINING 2010 NASCAR ON TNT SCHEDULE:

(All times ET)

- Turner Sports, Press Release

NASCAR on TNT

TNT’s coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues on Saturday, July 3 with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona powered by Coca-Cola, presented in the network’s Wide Open format. Countdown to Green begins at 6:30 (ET) and the green flag will drop on the race at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

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Countdown to Green

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

McReynolds on whether No. 56 Martin Truex, Jr. will retaliate against No. 24 Jeff Gordon after Gordon wrecked Truex and eliminated him from the race: “Here’s the question, did Martin Truex, Jr. mean Loudon in June or did he mean Loudon in September when the Chase actually starts? I honestly believe that we will not see retaliation from Infineon this week, there’s too much on the line. You think about Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, those guys need to be focused on winning a race. You think about Martin Truex, Jr. he’s trying to get to the top 12. I saw David Ragen and Elliott Sadler, those guys are fighting for their ride. They need to focus on performance, not retaliation.”

Petty on the race dictating whether No. 56 Martin Truex, Jr. will retaliate against No. 24 Jeff Gordon: “A driver never forgets, you’ll ride a guy a little high, you won’t give him any room. You won’t see retaliation here today. If (Martin) Truex (Jr.) is running good, Jeff Gordon is the farthest thing from his mind. If Truex gets into an accident, Jeff Gordon had better be leery every time he laps his butt on the racetrack because he’s going to be laying for him.”

Dallenbach on how No. 24 Jeff Gordon’s on track demeanor against No. 56 Martin Truex, Jr. will determine how Truex responds: “That’s why Larry (McReynolds) is not a driver and I’m not a crew chief. Larry said you’ve got to focus on driving, but when you’re a race car driver you focus on getting the guy back. I think a lot of it has to do with how (Jeff) Gordon is going to race Martin (Truex, Jr.) today. If Martin gets in the back of the No. 24, I’m sure the No. 24 is going to get out of his way to give him a lot of room. If that happens you pretty much just wipe it out, you don’t think about it anymore. But if you have a problem with a guy and you come back to the racetrack and he’s jacking with you, you’re not going to wait, you’re going get it done.”

Petty on No. 47 Marcos Ambrose’s recovery from losing the Toyota/Save Mart 350 last week: “I’m going to tell you something, I was impressed with Marcos (Ambrose) this week. The interviews he gave, his line, the way he talked, the way he held himself, the way the team carried itself, they come right back here and go back out on the racetrack. Once you’re back out on the racetrack, that’s your comfortable place. So being in New Hampshire back in the car, it’s behind him now.”

No. 11 Denny Hamlin joined the TNT rig during Countdown to Green.

Hamlin on using negative press as motivation to succeed: “It’s amazing, whenever anything negative in the media is put out about us, we’ll poster it, we’ll put it up in the hauler and use it as motivation. We usually use the beginning of the year predictions when it says, ‘who will miss it,’ and our names is mentioned as going to miss it. We post it right up and use it as motivation. The knee stuff is no different. I’ve really relied on my team to pick me up over those few weeks right after that and since then our team has been on fire.”

Hamlin on having a great competitor in teammate No. 18 Kyle Busch to push him to be better: “It’s no different than the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson). When you have a competitor like myself and Kyle (Busch) on the same team, it’s motivation. We knew right from the very first test, when he was still with Hendrick Motorsports and they let him come over and test Atlanta with the Gibbs cars, he got in his race car, (and ran) top of the chart. I was top of the chart until he got there. He showed up fastest. I went back out and topped that, and we kept going back and forth, and that’s what it takes to keep the fire in your stomach.”

McReynolds on legendary crew chief Dale Inman who was the focus of this week’s Pride of NASCAR feature: “We can talk about Richard Petty’s seven championships, we can talk about Dale Earnhardt, not to dilute their championships, but that man (Dale Inman) has eight championships. I know this year we put Bill France, Sr., Bill France, Jr., and three very notable drivers in the Hall of Fame, and rightfully so, but when we start putting crew chiefs and great mechanics into the Hall of Fame, that’s the man that needs to go into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, no question.”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing: LENOX Industrial Tools 301

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

Alexander on No. 31 Jeff Burton clearing the way for No. 24 Jeff Gordon: “It almost looked like a running back with an offensive lineman in front of him. (Jeff) Burton cleared the way and (Jeff) Gordon said I’m following you through.”

Dallenbach: “It’s good if you can follow someone who will do that. It will definitely open the door up for you if you can follow a guy like that, and Jeff Burton knows how to get through traffic, especially at this racetrack.”

Snider on his conversation with No. 47 Marcos Ambrose regarding his penalty at the end of the race in Sonoma which caused him to lose the race: “I talked to Marcos Ambrose this morning and he said, ‘listen, we had to come here with a different attitude. We had a team meeting on Tuesday and told everyone to put it behind them.’ He said, ‘it was absolutely the most devastating moment of my career, but we had to come here, relax and believe in ourselves, knowing we could run. That meant more than anything, it could have devastated us, but we weren’t going to let it.’ They came here with the right attitude and are running well here so far.”

Dallenbach on No. 47 Marcos Ambrose’s positive attitude: “(Marcos Ambrose) is one of the guys who has the best attitude in the sport right now, I don’t know if I could put it away like he put it away after what happened last week. I’d still be thinking about it.”

Petty: “After last week, I’d be staying in a hotel here (in Loudon) because I would have ripped the door off my bus when I got back to my motor coach. I could not have put it behind me.”

Petty on No. 29 Kevin Harvick: “That’s a team (No. 29) that has the big picture in mind. When you can take nothing and make something out of it, they do it week in and week out. They’ve done it this year better than any other team. There have been times I thought they were going to get lapped in the first 50 laps of the race, but you see (him at Pocono) and they finished fourth.”

Dallenbach on No. 31 Jeff Burton returning to his past form of racing well in New Hampshire: “(Jeff Burton) gets a hold of this racetrack and he is a tough guy to beat at this place. He hasn’t been a threat like he used to be, you used to come here and you had to beat Jeff Burton on this racetrack. But he looks it used to be here when he was winning all these races up here.”

Petty on bubble drivers No. 39 Ryan Newman, No. 99 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and No. 33 Clint Boyer trying to gain points: “If you’re racing against each other, trying to gain ground on each other, you don’t gain anything. Here you are 13^th, 14^th and 15^th and here you are racing at the racetrack eighth, ninth and tenth, so you don’t really gain anything. That’s the tough part about Cup racing, it’s hard to make up those points because they are so competitive week in and week out they run the same. ”

Alexander on No. 48 Jimmie Johnson winning the race: “For all those naysayers who wondered what was wrong with Johnson, I think driver No. 48 is back.”

Dallenbach: “I never listened to what those people said anyway.”

Petty: “Back from what, seventh place in points?”

Dallenbach: “Back from the big slump.”

Petty on the Chase starting in Loudon: “This is where the Chase starts. If these guys come here now and run like they ran (today), you’ve got to take that into account and say, ‘hey, they won here in the first race, they can win here when we start the Chase.”

No. 29 Kevin Harvick, the Chase leader, on how he will approach the final few weeks before the Chase starts: “You definitely want to be solid for the next few weeks, then you can start doing some things that you normally wouldn’t do, trying some things that you normally wouldn’t try. Even now, we can be a little bit more aggressive because you do have a little bit of a cushion. But we do want to win a race or two before the Chase starts and hopefully get our winnings streak in the last 10 weeks, that’s when it all counts.”

LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Unofficial Results:

1. No. 48 Jimmie Johnson
2. No. 14 Tony Stewart
3. No. 2 Kurt Busch
4. No. 24 Jeff Gordon
5. No. 29 Kevin Harvick
6. No. 39 Ryan Newman
7. No. 33 Clint Bowyer
8. No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
9. No. 20 Joey Logano
10. No. 43 A.J. Allmendinger

- Turner Sports, Press Release

Inside NASCAR on SHOWTIME

Airing every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Inside NASCAR is the newest program in the SHOWTIME Sports® lineup. Inside NASCAR features breathtaking and comprehensive highlights from every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (38 weeks) as well as exclusive interviews, never-before-seen audio and video of race week and in-depth feature stories and opinions from the cast: Racing legend Michael Waltrip, NBA All-Star and NASCAR team owner Brad Daugherty, racing reporter Randy Pemberton and EMMY® Award winning host Chris Myers.

The official site of NASCAR, NASCAR.COM is managed by Turner Sports, which is currently airing the Summer Series of NASCAR Sprint Cup races on TNT.  SHOWTIME is currently offering a $25 cash back incentive for new subscribers. For more information, go to www.SHO.com/order.
This week

NASCAR President Mike Helton will be on the set to discuss the state of the sport. In addition, Stewart Hass Racing Competition Director Bobby Hutchens will be featured in a special Father’s Day Spotlight.

Helton, who the assumed the role of president for NASCAR in November 2000, succeeded Bill France, Jr., who had served as president since 1972. Helton became the first person outside the France family to take over the day-to-day operations at NASCAR when he was promoted from his position as vice president of competition and was named senior vice president and chief operating officer in February 1999.

Bobby Hutchens, who was named director of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing on Nov. 14, 2008, spent 20 years at Richard Childress Racing helping engineer 56 Sprint Cup wins with drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon and Jeff Burton, including victories in the prestigious Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in 1995 (Earnhardt) and 2003 (Harvick) and the Daytona 500 in 1998 (Earnhardt) and 2006 (Harvick).

In addition to these rare interviews, exclusive highlights, expert analysis and behind-the-wheel action from Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway, the Inside NASCAR panel looks ahead to the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Inside NASCAR is produced in conjunction with the NASCAR Media Group.  New episodes air on SHOWTIME Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT for 38 weeks corresponding with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.  The co-executive producers are Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports and Jay Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, NASCAR Media Group.  The executive in charge of production is Jim Jorden with Mike Wells acting as consulting director.

For additional bonus content including behind-the-scenes video and photos visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

About NASCAR Media Group

NASCAR Media Group (NMG) is NASCAR’s media, marketing and entertainment company that creates and produces programming related to the sport, manages its media partnerships, and forges relationships to integrate NASCAR into mainstream entertainment.  Projects developed by NMG include award-winning television programs and theatrical releases, such as the acclaimed biopic “DALE”; Quest for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup; “NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience”; and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” Earlier this year, in partnership with BET, NASCAR Media Group announced the development of a new program, “Changing Lanes,” which will spotlight up and coming drivers and those supporting them behind the scenes, and this fall began producing Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, an up close HD look at the drivers competing in NASCAR’s playoffs, for VERSUS.

- Turner Sports, Press Release

ABOUT SHOWTIME NETWORKS

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

NASCAR on TNT

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

Lindsay Czarniak sat down with NASCAR President Mike Helton to talk about the importance of rivalries in NASCAR

Helton on the history of rivalries in NASCAR: “I think rivalry is part and parcel to any professional sport and certainly to NASCAR. I think one of the things we’re experiencing, and some of us have seen this in the past, where you’ve got a changing of the guard, sort of speak…you know, when Darrell Waltrip came in and chased Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty, (Waltrip) wasn’t very popular early on. Then you’ve got Jeff Gordon who challenged Dale (Earnhardt) Sr. when he first showed up and there was a great rivalry between the up-and-comer and the “Intimidator” (who was) a seven-time champion. We’re back in the cycle right now.  We’ve got new faces like Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano who are challenging Jimmie Johnson who is challenging Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.  We’re in that timeline change again, and that’s exciting, it can be.”

Helton on how he handles confrontations between drivers: “It’s probably evolved into I want to be fair but clear.  If there’s an issue we don’t need to dance around it, let’s just get straight to it, but I want to be fair about it.  And understand hopefully based on the experience I’ve had in conversations privately and professionally with drivers as to the challenges they go through and recognize that and be reasonable about that.

Czarniak: “So you’re not necessarily putting an arm around their shoulder but not hitting them upside the head either?

Helton: “Not in that order (laughs).”

McReynolds on the biggest difference between “old school” drivers and “new school” drivers: “The biggest complaint that I’ve had over the last couple of years and it’s getting a little better, is some of the veteran drivers complaining about other young drivers racing them hard.  (Racing hard is) what we do.  I don’t care if its lap two or lap 200, you’re here to do a job and race hard.  The thing that’s the difference between “old school” (driver) and “new school” (drivers) is the “old school” driver lets things settle down out there after a re-start.  With a “new school” driver like Kyle Busch, its full steam ahead the minute you see a green flag.”

No. 16 Greg Biffle on the struggles of Fords this season: “We’ve got to do a better job at executing and I predicted a few weeks ago that within the next four to six weeks, you’re going to see a win out of the Ford camp.  I still believe that.”

No. 29 Kevin Harvick joined the crew on the set during Countdown to Green to discuss his confrontation with No. 20 Joey Logano following the June 6 race in Pocono

Harvick on if he could relate to what Joey Logano was going through mentally following the race at Pocono: “You can definitely relate (to Logano).  You’ve been in those situations before and you have to handle things a certain way.  I just kind of laughed afterwards because it’s just one of those things and you just have to go through it.”

Harvick on if his dispute with Logano will carry over onto the track in future races: “I think it’s on the track.  You go out there and race the car and you don’t really worry about it.  He doesn’t want to make it too personal because it won’t be in favor of him.”

Harvick on the “I Wear the Firesuit in This Family” t-shirts his website is selling for charity that came from last week’s comments from Logano: “We didn’t make them in men’s sizes because anyone who’s married knows how this whole deal works.  One thing about being 20 (years-old like Logano) is you don’t understand anything about marriage.”

Ralph Sheheen sat down with No. 48 Jimmie Johnson, No. 24 Jeff Gordon and No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (more of the interview will air during TNT’s NASCAR coverage on Sunday, June 20)

Gordon on if Earnhardt. Jr. is able to be himself on and off the track: “I think he is able to be himself more than anybody (else) out there.  But I don’t know him that well.  I’ve been to his house and hung out with him and he’s cool but I have no idea what he does the other 20 hours when I wasn’t there.”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan International Speedway

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

Petty on racing at Michigan International Speedway: “The first two laps of the race at Michigan are trying to get in the place that you want to run.  You just want to get clear of these cars.  The cars are running two-wide and you see them get three-wide.  The first, second and third place cars will check out from (the rest of the field) a little bit.  So what you really want to do is find the place that you are most comfortable and work (the car) in.”

Dallenbach on how some cars improve over the course of a race: “It’s funny how all of these cars are supposed to be built the same but they have their own character.  You’ll have times when you get a race car and it doesn’t do anything for you for the first four or five laps but the longer you run, the better the car gets.  I don’t know why that is but there are a lot of times when your car is good for the short runs.”

Dallenbach on the importance of a spotter is to the pit crews and the driver: “When you’re a driver, sometimes you get stuck looking for something that you think is working.  But the spotter will look to see who is beating you and he’ll come up with something that you haven’t tried.  It’s very helpful.”

Dallenbach on teammates taking each other out of races: “The number one rule when you’re teammates, do not take your teammate out for any reason.”

Alexander: “I think we’re all going to get into a fight because it seems to be a theme among teammates this year.”

Petty on the safety innovations of NASCAR that don’t always garner attention: “That’s an interesting thing for fans that watch NASCAR and might not know that NASCAR makes safety innovations and doesn’t make a big deal about it.  We know about the harness collar, we know about the safety walls and we know about the C.O.T. (Car of Tomorrow).  But there are those little things that change internally in that garage area that doesn’t get a lot of press that will make these cars safer in the long run for the crews, the drivers and the safety teams.”

Dallenbach on No. 18 Kyle Busch driving well in traffic: “(Busch’s) car has been awfully strong especially in traffic.  If this guy ever gets out front, it could be trouble for everybody else if he gets into that clean air.  But his car is working really well in traffic, he’s been patient and he’s been picking (other drivers) off one by one.”

Dallenbach on No. 16 Greg Biffle not being able to keep up with the leaders: “Biffle has been ripping off some pretty good lap times.  I’m just not sure his car comes in fast enough to be able to stay up in front and actually race with these guys.  I think the long runs are working in his favor but it seems like he’s losing ground to the leaders.  That’s tough to make up when you’re running the same exact times as the leaders.”

Petty on No. 9 Kasey Kahne not being able to get around No. 2 Kurt Busch: “We’ve had a couple of restarts today and a couple of opportunities for (Kasey) Kahne to close the gap and run up on the No. 2 (Kurt Busch) car.  As he closed that gap, he’d get right to him and he couldn’t get around him.”

No. 11 Denny Hamlin on his win at Michigan: “Anything can happen and I knew a caution (flag) was coming so I might as well back off and save my tires.  But we’ve got to do what’s right for the fans and they need to see a great race in the end and the best car won.  That’s all you can ask for.”

No. 9 Kasey Kahne on the improved performance of his pit crew: “I was happy with (the pit crew).  (After) all of the pit stops, we only lost a little bit, three or four spots.  That’s much better than the past two months.  I was really happy with them and they did a nice job.  We still have a lot to work on.  I do and the team does if we want to win a race.”

No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on finishing in the top ten at Michigan: “I enjoyed the car all day and it was fun to drive.  (No. 17) Matt Kenseth was better and all the cars in front of us were better but we felt like we had a top ten car and we were able to show it today.  That caution (flag) came out and it got me worried, (I thought,) ‘what the (heck) is going to happen here?’  But we were on the good end of it for a change.”

No. 14 Tony Stewart on making the cut for the Chase for the Sprint Cup: “We have to keep plugging away and keep doing what we do.  I’m not as panicked about the top 12 (for the Chase) as some of the other guys who are close to that bubble.  We just have to keep going out and if we keep rifling off top five (finishes), we’ll be there.”

Unofficial Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 Results:

1. #11 Denny Hamlin
2. #9 Kasey Kahne
3. #2 Kurt Busch
4. #24 Jeff Gordon
5. #14 Tony Stewart
6. #48 Jimmie Johnson
7. #88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
8. #31 Jeff Burton
9. #16 Greg Biffle
10. #20 Joey Logano

- Turner Sports, Press Release

NASCAR on TNT

• According to Nielsen Fast Nationals, TNT’s race coverage delivered a 3.3 US rating and 5,344,000 Total Viewers, becoming the #1 program of the day on ad-supported cable in Households, Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, Men 18-49 and Men 25-54.
• TNT’s Sprint Cup Series racing from Pocono delivered more households than the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC (3,750,000) and MTV Movie Awards (3,274,000)
• NASCAR.COM had over one million unique visitors, an increase of +13% vs. the Pocono race in 2009.
• The site received about 7.4 million page views, an increase of +25% vs. the 2009 race at Pocono.
• There were 1.5 million visits to the site which is an increase of 16% vs. the 2009 Pocono race.
• Total video streams on Sunday (on demand + live) were up 227% YOY to 724,000 streams including the 2010 debut of RaceBuddy, a multiplatform experience which features four camera angles and a mosaic view.  NASCAR.COM also featured an exclusive live video chat with TNT NASCAR analyst Kyle Petty.

NASCAR on TNT and NASCAR.COM returns this weekend 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).

Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised and online sports programming.  With events airing on TBS ,TNT and truTV, Turner Sports’ line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, professional golf, PGATOUR.COM and PGA.com.  Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband, NBA Mobile, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.

Television Source:  Nielsen Media Research based on Live + Same Day ad-supported cable data from 06/06/10.  NASCAR on TNT:  6/7/09 vs. 6/6/10 (NASCAR).

Source: Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Research based on data from Omniture SiteCatalyst. Periods: 6/7/09 vs. 6/6/10 (NASCAR).

- 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.”

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

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

NASCAR on TNT

In a new role, TNT announcer Lindsay Czarniak will become the new host for Countdown to Green, 60 minutes of pre-race coverage that leads into TNT’s green flag racing coverage. In addition, she will host TNT and NASCAR.COM’s post-race coverage, as well as give mid-race updates and reports. Czarniak will be joined by analysts Larry McReynolds and Petty.

“Adam’s knowledge of the sport and his smooth delivery make him an excellent addition, and we’re confident that he will bring out the best in Wally and Kyle in the broadcast booth,” said Jeff Behnke, senior vice president and executive producer for Turner Sports.  “Adam has a terrific reputation within NASCAR, and we have appreciated his work for a long time.”

Behnke said TNT is also pleased to welcome Czarniak to pre-race coverage.  “Lindsay’s experience as veteran studio host, along with the enthusiasm, energy and knowledge she has cultivated as a pit reporter for the past three years on TNT, make her ideal to serve as TNT’s studio host,” Behnke said.

Beyond Alexander’s TNT duties during six weeks of Summer Series coverage, Alexander also works for SPEED as a reporter for the network’s racing coverage.  He has also worked as a play-by-play announcer on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and as a pit reporter for its NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series coverage.  Alexander began his career as an announcer for the Tri-State Speedway in Evansville, Ind.

In addition to Czarniak’s tenure as a TNT announcer, she also serves as the full-time sports anchor at NBC’s WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.  Prior to that, Czarniak was co-host with George Michael on the syndicated Sports Machine with George Michael.  In 2008, Czarniak was a studio host for NBC’s Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China, and in 2006, she was a sports desk reporter for the network’s Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.  She appeared on various NBC-owned networks.  

TNT’s NASCAR telecasts will return with popular production features and enhancements, including TNT RaceBuddy, the award-winning multi-platform experience that provides companion coverage on NASCAR.COM with integrated content, unique camera angles and social media capabilities. In addition, the acclaimed Pride of NASCAR series will continue as TNT profiles six new NASCAR legends, highlighting the sport’s history and history makers.  Finally, TNT’s innovative Wide Open Coverage will air for the fourth year during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing from Daytona.

Also returning to TNT this summer will be pit reporters Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider and Matt Yocum. This marks TNT’s 27^th consecutive year of televising Cup coverage, making it NASCAR’s longest running broadcast partner.

2010 NASCAR on TNT Summer Series:

ALL TIMES EASTERN (ET)

SUNDAY, JUNE 6

12:00– 1:00 p.m.           Countdown to Green

1:00 – 5:30 p.m.             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Pocono (Pocono Raceway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 13

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.           Countdown to Green

1:00 – 4:30 p.m.             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan (Michigan International Speedway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 20

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.             Countdown to Green

3:00 – 6:30 p.m.             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Sonoma (Infineon Raceway)

SUNDAY, JUNE 27

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.           Countdown to Green

1:00 – 4:30 p.m.             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 3

6:30 – 7:30 p.m.             Countdown to Green

7:30 – 11:00 p.m.           NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Daytona (Daytona International Speedway)

SATURDAY, JULY 10

6:30 – 7:30 p.m.             Countdown to Green

7:30 – 11:00 p.m.           NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Chicago (Chicago Speedway)

Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised and online sports programming.  With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports’ line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, professional golf, PGATOUR.COM and PGA.com.  Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA League Pass, NBADLeague.com and WNBA.com.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott; as well as the newly acquired Southland, from ER creator John Wells.  TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, CSI: NY and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards^®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA.  TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Turner Sports, Press Release

HLN and Turner Sports today announced the premiere of a new, one-hour special called With All Due Respect, featuring HLN anchor Robin Meade, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley, TBS MLB analyst Dennis Eckersley and TNT NASCAR analyst Kyle Petty. The special will include the trio giving their opinions on topics ranging from sports to world news, entertainment and current events.  With All Due Respect will premiere on HLN on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 10 p.m. (ET).

“Charles, Dennis and Kyle have diverse interests, and their perspectives reach beyond sports,” said David Levy, president of ad sales, distribution and sports, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.  “We look forward to bringing them together with Robin Meade for an exciting year-end show.  This special is a terrific way for Turner Sports to join forces with HLN for a unique program.”

“The Turner Broadcasting roster includes exceptional talent, from news anchors to sports legends, and With All Due Respect is a great way to showcase that talent,” commented Bill Galvin, SVP, HLN. “As the News and Views network, HLN is known for offering a wide range of opinions that get viewers talking – and this special will have no shortage of opinions.”

With All Due Respect will include interaction and questions from the live studio audience, along with questions from fans submitted through CNN iReport, the network’s user-generated news community. To submit an iReport, go to www.cnn.com/robin and click on the With All Due Respect assignment. In addition, fans will have the opportunity to give their thoughts and opinions on a number of the show’s topics via Facebook (HLN, NBA on TNT, NASCAR and TBS Hot Corner fan pages) and Twitter (@NBAonTNT, @NASCAR, @TBSHotCorner).

Robin Meade is the anchor of HLN’s morning show, Morning Express with Robin Meade. Among other stories, Meade anchored the network’s coverage of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the January 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama, and the July 2009 coverage of Michael Jackson’s memorial event. In July 2008, she scored the exclusive first interview with freed American hostages – at their request – after their release from Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) captors. In June 2009, Meade performed a tandem skydive with President George H.W. Bush in Kennebunkport, Maine, to commemorate the former president’s 85th birthday. Meade is also the face of HLN’s “Salute to Troops” segment, a daily message to U.S. troops using photos and videos sent in by their loved ones. Meade’s first book¸ Morning Sunshine! How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too, was an instant New York Times bestseller upon its release in September 2009.

Charles Barkley is an NBA Hall of Famer who has spent 10 years as a TNT NBA analyst on the three-time Emmy® Award-winning Inside the NBA studio show. A 16-year NBA veteran and 11-time NBA All-Star, Barkley is equally well-known for his irreverent humor and wide-ranging interests outside of basketball.  Sports Illustrated’s 2002 “Personality of the Year,” Barkley is the author of three books: Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man? (2005), I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It (2002) and Outrageous! (1992).

Dennis Eckersley is a Hall of Famer whose 24-year career in Major League Baseball includes time with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals.  Best known as one of the all-time greatest relief pitchers, Eckersley also threw a no-hitter in 1977 when he was a starting pitcher. Eckersley has had a successful post-retirement career, becoming a fan favorite through his work on TBS’s MLB regular season and Postseason coverage as well as on the New England Sports Network (NESN).

Kyle Petty is a third-generation NASCAR driver, following in the footsteps of his father, Richard Petty, and grandfather, Lee Petty.  A 30-year racing veteran, Petty now serves as a NASCAR on TNT studio and race analyst, bringing energy, humor and insight. In addition his passion for racing, Petty has committed himself to expansive charity work, including the Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America and as the founder of the Victory Junction Gang Camp, which helps terminally ill children. The camp has locations in Level Cross, N.C. and in Kansas City, Mo.

HLN updates more than 100 million households each day, providing a complete and concise national newscast every half-hour through the day and a compelling slate of legal, entertainment and news programs at night. The network delivers fast-paced, lively and engaging news, using the best resources of CNN Worldwide. HLN is designed especially for viewers who want relevant and comprehensive news in a way that suits the urgency of their schedules.

Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised and online sports programming.  With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports’ line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, professional golf, PGATOUR.COM and PGA.com.  Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA League Pass, NBADLeague.com and WNBA.com.

- Turner Sports, Press Release