FOX NASCAR at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Quotes & Programming Schedule

02/28/2018

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES Live on FOX Sunday; Plus NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES & NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Live From Las Vegas Friday and Saturday on FS1

Charlotte, NC – NASCAR heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the third race of the season, with FOX Sports set to offer 21 hours of live action from the 1.5-mile oval, which kicks off the three-race “NASCAR Goes West” portion of the 2018 schedule. Below are programming information and quotes from FOX NASCAR analyst and Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip on the week’s storylines and the weekend ahead.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Date/Time: Sunday, March 4 (3:30 PM ET)
Network: FOX
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
Pre-race: MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP PRE-RACE (3:00 PM ET on FOX); hosted by Chris Myers with Michael Waltrip, Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
NASCAR RACEDAY (2:00 PM ET on FS1), hosted by John Roberts with analysts Jeff Hammond and Bobby Labonte; pit reporting by Alan Cavanna and Kenny Wallace
Hosts: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Date/Time: Saturday, March 3 (4:00 PM ET)
Network: FS1
Announcers: Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip and driver analyst Brad Keselowski
Pit reporters: Regan Smith and Matt Yocum
Pre-race: NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (3:30 PM ET on FS1); hosted by Shannon Spake and Larry McReynolds
Hosts: Spake and McReynolds

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

Date/Time: Friday, March 2 (9:00 PM ET)
Network: FS1
Announcers: Vince Welch, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip
Pit reporters: Hermie Sadler and Alan Cavanna
Pre-race: NASCAR RACEDAY-NCWTS (8:30 PM ET on FS1), hosted by John Roberts with analysts Todd Bodine and Jeff Hammond

FOX NASCAR QUOTES

On the recent uptick in performance at Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Aric Almirola was in position to win the Daytona 500 and ran pretty well at Atlanta, and with Kevin Harvick’s win, Stewart-Haas Racing is at the top of the heap. Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch also are running well. For a team that switched manufacturers last year and was forced to overcome that hurdle, yet remained competitive, I’d say SHR is the best group out there across the board, from cars to drivers and crews, right now.”
–Darrell Waltrip

On possible performance concerns within the No. 48 team:
“Even though the season is just starting, if I was Jimmie Johnson, I’d be worried. They didn’t just fall into a slump; they’ve been there for a while and don’t seem to be working their way out of it. Once you’re in that situation, your confidence is shaken, despite how many races or championships you have. When you hit a plateau, wins aren’t as easy to come by. Then you throw in the age factor – usually once you are older than 40 or so – and it only works against you. Look no further than Richard Petty and me. Of course, there are some exceptions, such as Mark Martin and even Kevin Harvick right now. But the norm is the older you get, the harder the wins are to come by.”
–-Darrell Waltrp

On any “magic age” when a driver isn’t as able to perform at the highest level:
“Look at any athlete in any sport, or even any individual outside sports, and it’s harder for a 40-year-old to compete against a 20-year-old. The reflexes and reactions of a young man are much quicker and more aggressive than someone twice his age — it’s just a fact of life. That doesn’t mean he is washed up or is a ‘has-been.’ It just means he is aging like every single person to walk the face of the earth. Some of those skills diminish, which is evident in the results.”
–Darrell Waltrip

On this weekend’s race at Las Vegas as a litmus test for how a team stacks up for the season:
“We usually say the season really starts at Atlanta, but maybe Atlanta isn’t the best gauge because its surface is so worn-out and not reflective of any other track. Las Vegas really is a better test of how teams will measure up against each other. However, once we get through Auto Club Speedway, we will have run a few more configurations and can better evaluate what everyone’s future will look like this year.”
–Darrell Waltrip

On anything that stands out so far in the 2018 season:
“We have seen quite a bit of driver emotion the first couple of weeks — from Austin Dillon winning the Daytona 500 with a ‘lucky penny’ in his car to spinning through the grass like Dale (Earnhardt Sr.) did, to Kevin Harvick appearing emotional after winning Sunday and holding up three fingers in a salute to Dale, to Bubba Wallace crying in the media center after the Daytona 500. There have been some incredible storylines and storybook endings thus far in 2018, and those situations inevitably draw out the emotion in all of us. Storybook endings produce strong emotional reactions, and it’s been refreshing to see both the past couple of weeks.”
–Darrell Waltrip

FOX NASCAR AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
(All times live/Eastern unless otherwise indicated & subject to change)

Friday, March 2
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES practice (2:00-3:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES practice (3:00-4:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (4:00-5:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES final practice (5:00-6:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES qualifying (6:00-7:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES qualifying (7:00-8:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACEDAY-NCWTS (8:30-9:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES Racing (9:00-11:00 PM) (FS1)

Saturday, March 3
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES practice (12:00-1:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES qualifying (1:00-2:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (2:00-2:30 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES final practice (2:30-3:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (3:30-4:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Racing (4:00-7:00 PM) (FS1)

Sunday, March 4
NASCAR RACEDAY (2:00-3:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP PRE-RACE (3:00-3:30 PM) (FOX)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES Racing (3:30-7:00 PM) (FOX)