FOX NASCAR at MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE at Charlotte Motor Speedway Quotes & Programming Schedule

MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE, MONSTER ENERGY OPEN & NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES Live on FS1 under the Lights

Key Players Larry McReynolds & Mike Joy Recall 1992 “One Hot Night”
25 Years Later

CHARLOTTE, NC – It’s all about the trophy and the $1 million winner’s bonus in this weekend’s MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of the iconic 1992 race dubbed “One Hot Night” this year.

FOX Sports is set to offer 16 hours of live action from the 1.5-mile circuit, which, in 1992, became the first superspeedway to light the entire track. Included are FS1’s live race coverage of the MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE (Saturday, May 20 at 8:00 PM ET), the MONSTER ENERGY OPEN last-chance qualifier (Saturday, May 20 at 6:00 PM ET) and the NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES (Friday, May 19 at 8:30 PM ET).

ARCA RACING SERIES:
Stock car action continues on Sunday from Ohio, when FS1 offers a delayed broadcast of the ARCA RACING SERIES race from Toledo Speedway at 5:00 PM ET.

NASCAR RACE HUB:
During the week, FS1’s NASCAR RACE HUB, NASCAR’s most-watched daily news and information program, continues Mondays through Thursdays at 6:00 PM ET. On Wednesday, May 17, Clint Bowyer is in-studio as a driver analyst. On Thursday, May 18, FOX NASCAR analysts Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond join the show. Also airing on Thursday’s Hub is a special feature on the 1992 NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE that includes interviews recorded at a recent Charlotte Motor Speedway dinner with key players from the ’92 race. Included are Larry McReynolds (led Davey Allison to victory as crew chief), Mike Joy (called the race for TNN), Kyle Petty (battled for the win at the finish), Michael Waltrip (won the Winston Open preceding the main event) and Robin Pemberton (Petty’s crew chief). During the evening, the group reflected on the night and relived their roles in the iconic event.

Also on Wednesday, May 17 at 7:00 PM ET, FOX NASCAR offers a special Facebook Live red carpet show from Sherry Pollex and Martin Truex Jr.’s Catwalk for a Cause in Charlotte. Kaitlyn Vincie reports during the live stream.

MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE:
It wasn’t the race that put NASCAR on the map, but the 1992 MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE (then-The Winston) was the one that truly put it under the lights and in the history books.

With pressure mounting on Charlotte Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler to maintain the non-points race’s relevance, the innovative promoter pulled off what many said couldn’t be done — lighting a 1.5-mile track for a night race. The spectacle that unfolded in front of 130,000 fans, the largest-ever live audience to see a primetime sporting event, became one for the ages on May 16, 1992, as young guns Allison and Petty crashed after crossing the finish line. Wheeler’s enormous gamble, coupled with a unique field inversion format and riveting finish, catapulted the 1992 race into NASCAR history and validated the “One Hot Night” moniker given the race in the weeks preceding it.

Below are McReynolds’ and Joy’s recollections of that night, in addition to the complete FOX Sports programming schedule from Charlotte:

MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE

• Date/Time: Saturday, May 20 (8:00 PM ET)
• Network: FS1
• Announcers: Mike Joy, Hall of Famer and three-time champion Darrell Waltrip, four-time champ Jeff Gordon and Larry McReynolds
• Pit reporters: Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum
• Hosts: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip
• Pre-race:
  • NASCAR RACEDAY (7:30 PM ET on FS1), hosted by Chris Myers with analysts Darrell Waltrip and Gordon; reporters Little, Welch and Yocum
• Format: 70 laps – an ode to the 1992 race, dubbed “One Hot Night,” with three 20-lap segments, followed by a final 10-lap shootout

MONSTER ENERGY OPEN

• Date/Time: Saturday, May 20 (6:00 PM ET)
• Network: FS1
• Announcers: Mike Joy, Hall of Famer and three-time champion Darrell Waltrip, four-time champ Jeff Gordon and Larry McReynolds
• Pit reporters: Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum
• Hosts: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip
• Format: 50 laps in three stages – 20 laps, 20 laps and 10 laps. The winner of each stage advances to the Monster Energy All-Star Race, as does the winner of the Fan Vote.
• Pre-race:
  • NASCAR RACEDAY (5:30 PM ET on FS1); hosted by Myers and Waltrip; reporters Little, Welch and Yocum

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

• Date/Time: Friday, May 19 (8:30 PM ET)
• Network: FS1
• Announcers: Vince Welch, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip
• Pit reporters: Hermie Sadler and Kaitlyn Vincie
• Pre-race: NCWTS SETUP (8:00 PM ET on FS1); hosted by John Roberts with analyst Todd Bodine; reporters Sadler and Vincie
  • NCWTS SETUP includes: a sit-down feature with Austin Cindric, who graduates from high school this week; a look back at the Kansas race, won by Kyle Busch after Ben Rhodes dominated; and a flashback to Matt Crafton’s 2016 win at Charlotte.

FOX NASCAR QUOTES

How significant was the 1992 MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE to the future of NASCAR?
“Seeing so large a speedway dazzle in the glow of all those lights made the ’92 Winston a ‘first-time’ event that would never be forgotten. An hour after it was over, the lights were still blazing, and the grandstand still held a large crowd. Seven-time champion Richard Petty looked up at the crowd from the garage area and said to TNN’s Glenn Jarrett, ‘Why are all these folks still here? Do they think we are going to go back out there and do this again?’”
–Mike Joy

What precipitated the move to light Charlotte Motor Speedway? What was the race lacking prior to 1992?
“There were a lot of races in that area in a short amount of time. The traditional NASCAR race was 500 miles or 500 laps, and it was a little difficult to get the fans to go for the idea of seeing the same stars in a short race. The format, even with a lot of money at stake, maybe just didn’t seem compelling enough for fans who were used to getting 500 miles or 500 laps of entertainment for their ticket.”
–Mike Joy

You joined Roberts Yates Racing and driver Davey Allison at the beginning of the 1991 season. How did that come about and how well did you and Davey click in the beginning?
“Davey had been trying to get me to go over there and work with him for a couple of years, but I wouldn’t leave the No. 26 car that I had been with since the beginning. Finally, Robert and Davey convinced me to move. There was no question, from the very beginning, how great the chemistry between Davey and I was. It didn’t take me long to realize that if we just dotted our I’s and crossed our T’s, with Davey’s talent and knowledge of the race car, we could win a lot of races and battle for some championships. Davey made my job pretty easy because his father, Bobby, made him work on his race cars growing up. He was smart and always thinking about we could do to improve. He was still climbing to the pinnacle of his career, and he was spot-on every week.”
–Larry McReynolds

How strong was your car in the 1992 MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE?
“All our cars at the No. 28 team had names, and that one was James Bond 007. It was our mile-and-a-half track car, and we were in contention to win with it or won every time we took it. It was the same car we won the 1991 All-Star Race with and came back the next weekend and won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte with. In 1992, the series sponsor, Winston, had a bonus called the Winston Million. If you won three of the big four races – the Daytona 500, the Winston 500 at Talladega, the Coke 600 and the Southern 500 at Darlington – they paid a $1 million bonus. We already had won the Daytona 500 and the Winston 500, so we only had one race to go. We debated about taking that car to the All-Star Race because we knew the 600 was the next week. However, it didn’t take Robert, Davey and me but 15 seconds to decide that the next race – the All-Star Race – was the most important one, and what better test session for the Coke 600 than to run that car the week before. All our cars were fast but that one had something special.”
–Larry McReynolds

How do you recall the final few laps of the 1992 race?
“It didn’t take me long into that final segment to figure out that we probably weren’t going to win the race. We had gotten a little bit off on our chassis adjustments, but it was part of building the notebook that we were trying to create for racing under the lights at Charlotte because we didn’t have a previous notebook for that. It was our first race under the lights and in the evening at Charlotte. The car was too tight, particularly in traffic. When we got to the white flag, we were third, so I had accepted the fact we were going to finish third and Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt were going to battle for the win. Back then, we didn’t have mammoth pit boxes back like teams do now. I’d stand in the pit box with one foot up on the pit wall. Roman Pemberton, one of our crew members, had flipped a trash can upside down and was standing on top of it. They took the white flag and, all of a sudden, the crowd started going crazy. I started thinking about Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt running first and second, wondering if they had taken each other out or wrecked. Maybe we could win. Then all of a sudden, I saw Roman, whose eyes were as big as saucers, and I knew something was going on. I started looking toward turn 4 and saw Davey coming out beside Kyle and knew immediately who would win that drag race. It would be the guy with the Robert Yates horsepower (Allison). Lo and behold, we won the race. The funny thing about our season leading up to the race was that we were going through a bit of a cycle in which we would win the race one week and wreck the next week. That night, we figured out how to do both in the same night.”
–Larry McReynolds

How badly was Davey hurt in that wreck at the checkered flag?
“He was hurt a lot worse than we originally thought. You could do things back then that you wouldn’t dare do now during a race. When the car hit the wall and spun, almost hitting the pace car in turn 1, we all ran down there. I got to the car and was looking at Davey through the windshield. He was slumped over and knocked out. It was quite scary. Eventually, he started coming to a bit, so I gave him a thumbs-up and he gave me a half thumbs-up. But the racer in me started coming out. I was focused on Davey but kept one eye on the scoreboard, which had Kyle Petty’s No. 42 car as first and our No. 28 in second. I’d look back and forth between the scoreboard and Davey and thought, ‘Damn, I know we won this race.’ Then, all of a sudden, they flipped the numbers, so my focus then solely went to Davey. They cut the roof off and put him in the ambulance. Bobby (Allison, father) and I got in the ambulance with him to ride to the infield care center. He would say, ‘So, now, what happened?’ I’d say, ‘Well, we wrecked, but we won the race.’ He’d say, ‘You’re kidding me.’ Then, a few seconds later, he’d say, ‘So, what happened?’ He must have asked me that 10 times on that short ride to the infield care center. There was no question he had a pretty severe concussion. They flew him to the hospital, and my wife, Linda, and I went straight to the hospital.”
–Larry McReynolds

Neither you nor the car went to Victory Lane, correct?
“I didn’t even go to Victory Lane. Humpy Wheeler (then-Charlotte Motor Speedway president) and the group at Charlotte really wanted the car and the team in Victory Lane because it was a really big night for the track. The stands were full. It was a watershed moment for the sport. Humpy was convinced he was going to take the car to Victory Lane. I wasn’t down there because I was at the care center, but it was my understanding that Robert (Yates, car owner) threatened the wrecker driver, telling him that he didn’t want to celebrate a win without the driver. Finally, the officials at Charlotte and Robert compromised a bit. Robert, Carolyn (Yates) and a few of the crew members went to Victory Lane. But if you look at the pictures, nobody was smiling. They got their pictures with the trophy and with RJR. I won 23 Cup races and two All-Star Races, but that was the only time I was part of winning a race and didn’t even consider going to Victory Lane.”
–Larry McReynolds

How bold of an idea was it to light a superspeedway like Charlotte in 1992?
“Most people in the sport thought it couldn’t be done successfully — to have enough light so that the drivers could see and the fans could see, but there wouldn’t be glare in everybody’s eyes, including the competitors’. It was a daunting task to come up with major-league-stadium-level lighting that didn’t somewhere, somehow, shine in everybody’s eyes. But the folks at MUSCO figured out a way, with their mirror system, and pulled it off to the surprise, I think, of just about everybody.”
–Mike Joy

What were the safety concerns of drivers going into the race with regard to the lighting?
“The last time NASCAR had run a night race on a track a mile or longer was the Raleigh (N.C.) Fairgrounds in 1971. That was a flat dirt track with horse-track-level lighting. To be able to run a race with the track lit sufficiently on a mile-and-a-half superspeedway, everyone was hopeful, but I know everyone was skeptical.”
–Mike Joy

FOX NASCAR AT MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE
PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
(All times live/Eastern unless otherwise indicated & subject to change)

Friday, May 19
MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE practice (1:00-2:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (2:30-3:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY OPEN practice (3:00-4:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES qualifying (4:30-6:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE qualifying (6:00-8:00 PM) (FS1)
NCWTS SETUP (8:00-8:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES racing (8:30-11:00 PM) (FS1)

Saturday, May 20
NASCAR RACEDAY (4:00-4:30 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY OPEN qualifying (4:30-5:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACEDAY: MONSTER ENERGY OPEN (5:30-6:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY OPEN (6:00-7:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACEDAY: ALL-STAR RACE (7:30-8:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE (8:00-10:00 PM) (FS1)

Sunday, May 21
ARCA RACING SERIES racing (Toledo Speedway) (5:00-7:00 PM) (FS1) (delayed)