NASCAR on TNT Summer Series to launch June 10th from Pocono Raceway
TNT announced today its new programming lineup for the networks upcoming NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series coverage, which includes coverage of six consecutive Cup races beginning on Sunday, June 10th from Pocono Raceway. The NASCAR on TNT Summer Series will feature new race analysts, a new pre-race show that will provide extended trackside coverage prior to the start of each race, and a cutting-edge new television format called Wide Open Coverage which will make its debut Saturday, July 7th from the Daytona International Speedway. TNTs first race telecast of the season will include a tribute to the late Bill France Jr., who passed away earlier this week.The networks summer 2007 race programming marks TNTs 23rd year of televising Cup coverage, making it NASCARs longest running broadcast partner. TNT, along with former NASCAR broadcast partner NBC, won an Emmy® for its 2006 NASCAR coverage. TNTs new NASCAR announcing booth will include seven-year veteran TNT announcers Bill Weber (play-by-play) and Wally Dallenbach (analyst), who will be joined by current Cup Series driver, Kyle Petty. Petty, as previously announced, will serve as an analyst for all six of TNTs Cup races, calling the race in Sonoma, CA on June 24 from behind the wheel of his No. 45 Dodge. Veteran NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds will also join the TNT broadcast team, serving in a specialty role of analyst and reporter. From interviewing crew chiefs on pit road to conducting demonstrations on the TNT Ford Test Car, McReynolds unique role will take him from the infield set position to various locations around the track to help bring viewers closer to the action. The networks roster of announcers will be rounded out by veteran pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen and Lindsay Czarniak. For six straight weeks the NASCAR on TNT Summer Series is the destination for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series racing, and were looking forward to showcasing the best drivers in the world along with our talented on-air announcers and production capabilities that are second to none, said Jeff Behnke, Turner Sports executive producer. From our innovations in putting a race analyst behind the wheel during the race, to utilizing a mobile set, to introducing an innovative new TV format, were giving fans more race coverage than theyve ever seen before and giving them six weeks of dramatic race action.On June 10th preceding the Pocono 500, TNT will debut NASCAR on TNT Live! Hosted by Marc Fein, the show will include all of the TNT announcers and pit reporters who will provide analysis and commentary on the NASCAR season to date. Additionally, the show will include a segment from TNTs six-part series on the roots of racing, entitled The Pride of NASCAR. The weekly features will spotlight six racing legends and their contributions to the sport, including Richard Petty, David Pearson and Junior Johnson, among others. TNTs 90-minute pre-race coverage will also include the Allstate Countdown to Green show, hosted by Bill Weber, which will include the shows signature Wallys World segment featuring various celebrities taking a ride around the track with Wally Dallenbach. The network will utilize its new state-of-the-art mobile set for all of its pre-race coverage. Located in the track infield during all six TNT Cup telecasts, the fully-functioning rig features a retractable platform stage that can rotate a full 360-degrees and be raised seven feet off the base of the truck into the air. Once fully extended, the height of rig reaches a towering 26 feet tall. Please cut and past the links below into your Web browser to view images of the Turner Sports rig:http://www.nascar.com/multimedia/webcast/2007/nascar247_live/967x597/images/NASCAR247live.truck.jpgmms://wmsturner.stream.aol.com/nascar/demos/2007/02/07/truckanimation.demo.tsi.300k.wmvTNT will debut its highly-anticipated new NASCAR broadcast format, Wide Open Coverage, during the primetime NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race the Pepsi 400 on Saturday, July 7 from Daytona International Speedway. A groundbreaking new television format, Wide Open Coverage will provide continuous race coverage free of national commercial breaks and will feature animated national sponsor messages, including original branded content and distinct on-screen graphic elements. The unique sponsor graphics and vignettes will appear along the lower portion of the screen in place of traditional commercial interruptions, limiting the telecast to only three local commercial breaks per hour. In addition, the landmark production features 22% more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast. Autozone, Direct TV, Ford, Miller Brewing, Pepsi, Principal Financial, Sprint, Subway and Toyota are the initial sponsors for TNTs coverage of the race.
