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

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

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.”

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

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.”

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

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

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