FOX NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway Quotes & Programming Schedule

NASCAR 04/08/2015

NASCAR returns to action under the lights in primetime at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend after its first off week of the season. FOX Sports offers 18.5 hours of live coverage of the NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES and NASCAR XFINITY SERIES from Texas, culminating with the NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES race live on FOX on Saturday, April 11 (7:30 PM ET), with pre-race coverage beginning at 7:00 PM ET.

Mike Joy leads the FOX NASCAR booth from the mile-and-a-half track with analysis from NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip and former crew chief Larry McReynolds. The trio is joined on pit road by Jamie Little, Chris Neville and Matt Yocum. Chris Myers hosts the network’s coverage alongside analyst Michael Waltrip. Myers also hosts FOX NASCAR SUNDAY from the famed Hollywood Hotel alongside Darrell and Michael Waltrip.

Adam Alexander calls Friday’s NASCAR XFINITY SERIES race on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 PM ET alongside Michael Waltrip and four-time NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES champion Jeff Gordon in his first of two consecutive races in the booth for FOX Sports. Gordon, in his final year of competition, also is scheduled to offer analysis on April 18 (1:30 PM ET) from Bristol Motor Speedway on FOX Sports 1, and again from Talladega on May 2 (1:30 PM ET) on FOX. Gordon is one of five NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES drivers announced as part of a rotation in the FOX and FOX Sports 1 booth for FOX Sports’ coverage of the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES season. Also scheduled as guest analysts this season are defending NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES champion Kevin Harvick, 2012 champ Brad Keselowski, Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer. This season, FOX Sports adds coverage of the NASCAR XFINITY SERIES for the first 14 races of the year. FOX Sports 1 telecasts 10 of the events while FOX broadcasts the races from Phoenix, Talladega, Charlotte and Dover.

Reporting from the pits at Texas are Vince Welch, Little and Neville. NASCAR RACEDAY – XFINITY, FOX Sports 1’s pre-race show, airs at 8:00 PM ET, hosted by Danielle Trotta alongside analysts McReynolds and Kenny Wallace.

NASCAR RACEDAY kicks off Saturday’s coverage at 6:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1, and includes: an essay on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s first Sprint Cup Series win, which came at Texas; the “24 Salute” flashes back to Jeff Gordon’s first win at Texas; a look back to Gordon’s two fights at Texas (Jeff Burton and Keselowski); and a recap of the season’s biggest off-track storylines.

FOX Sports GO, the critically acclaimed app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on the go, offers live streaming of all NASCAR programming in 2015. Customers of participating video providers may access the live streams of the race through the FOX Sports GO app for iOS devices, as well as on desktops through FOXSportsGO.com. For the latest NASCAR news and information, please visit www.FOXSports.com and follow @NASCARonFOX on Twitter.

Below are quotes from FOX NASCAR analysts Darrell Waltrip and former crew chief Larry McReynolds on the week’s headlines and the race ahead, as well as the full FOX NASCAR programming schedule from Texas:

WALTRIP ON HOW MUCH COMPETING IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACES HELPS CUP REGULARS LIKE KEVIN HARVICK, BRAD KESELOWSKI AND JOEY LOGANO IN THE CUP RACE:

“Extra seat time in the XFINITY cars is a big deal for the Cup guys and really helps them in the Cup race. The cars are much closer than they’ve ever been, and the tire combinations between the two series are the same. Anytime a driver can compete in an event with so many similarities, the track time and info they gain about tires and changing conditions benefits them.”

MCREYNOLDS ON HOW MUCH COMPETING IN THE XFINITY SERIES RACES HELPS CUP REGULARS IN THE CUP RACES:

“When you’ve got similar racing conditions from one race to another, with the same tire combination and rules, there is no question running both races helps the Cup guys at some tracks. I can’t say running those races is the difference maker between them winning and losing, though, because Cup drivers are going to be contenders in every XFINITY race they enter. You have to be careful with what you read into Kevin Harvick’s remarks, but in Victory Lane earlier this year, he said he is learning more about his Cup car by running the XFINITY races. It’s a case-by-case deal, though. I’d want my driver running both races at a place like Texas, but at a track like Bristol where they’d be running 800 laps in 24 hours, I’m not so sure putting them through something so physical would be worth it.”

MCREYNOLDS ON WHICH MULTI-TEAM OPERATION CURRENTLY IS THE STRONGEST:

“One would expect me to say Stewart-Haas Racing because Kevin Harvick has been so dominant, but that’s only one team of four running well with another flirting with the idea. And let’s face it — the No. 14 team isn’t very good. Choosing Hendrick Motorsports also might be expected but all four teams aren’t strong week-after-week. The bigger the operation, the harder it is to be strong across the board. Team Penske is the strongest multi-car operation right now because both teams have been to Victory Lane and punched their ticket to the Chase. They’ve got 11 top-10 finishes in 12 starts, and the lone race outside the top 10 was due to an engine failure. Team Penske is the most consistently strong of the big boys at the moment.”

MCREYNOLDS ON WHETHER THEIR APPEAL OF TIRE PENALTIES WILL BE A DISTRACTION TO RYAN NEWMAN AND THE NO. 31 TEAM THIS WEEKEND:

“Race teams are special breeds, and as much as you would think the appeal and penalties would be a distraction, these guys have a way of walking into the garage on Friday, flipping a switch and focusing on the task at hand. With their appeal coming up next week, they know they have one race to get a win, putting them in the Chase and alleviating a lot of stress if their appeal fails, crew chief Luke Lambert has to sit out and they lose all 75 points. The most important thing for the No. 31 team this weekend is to stay away from the media because the less they talk about it, the less they have to worry about it.”

MCREYNOLDS ON WHETHER KEVIN HARVICK AND THE NO. 4 TEAM’S CONFIDENT, LAIDBACK ATTITUDE IS INTIMIDATING TO THE COMPETITION:

“For sure it’s intimidating. Even prior to joining Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick’s style was intimidating. Being known as ‘The Closer’ and coming out of nowhere to win a race also compounds that uneasiness in his competitors. He’s naturally an intimidating driver, but now that he’s so laidback while also dominating — he has led 37 percent of all laps in 2015 — he’s the competition’s worst nightmare.”

MCREYNOLDS ON WHETHER THE OFF WEEKEND WILL HELP STRUGGLING TEAMS LIKE ROUSH-FENWAY RACING:

“Roush Fenway Racing is one of the biggest head scratchers in the garage. This team has won 135 Sprint Cup races. Did the off weekend help them? Will a track like Texas help them begin to rebound? Roush Fenway Racing holds nine wins at Texas — more than any other team. But right now, it’s not about winning a race. They just need some top-10 finishes as they only have one in 2015.”

NASCAR ON FOX & FOX SPORTS 1

AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

*All times live unless otherwise indicated & subject to change

Friday, April 10

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES PRACTICE (11:30 AM-1:00 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (1:00-2:00 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES FINAL PRACTICE (2:00-3:30 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (3:30-4:30 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES QUALIFYING (4:30-6:00 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (6:00-6:30 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES QUALIFYING (6:30-8:00 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)

NASCAR RACEDAY – XFINITY (8:00-8:30 PM ET) (FOX Sports 1)