NASCAR on FOX - Charlotte Motor Speedway 600 | Blog

NASCAR on FOX - Charlotte Motor Speedway 600 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Phoenix

FOX NASCAR AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

QUOTES & PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES 600 Live on FOX;

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Live on FS1 from Charlotte on Memorial Day Weekend

McReynolds & Darrell Waltrip Weigh in on Charlotte Weekend, Latest Headlines

NASCAR is back at Charlotte Motor Speedway this week for a full slate of Memorial Day Weekend racing. FOX Sports offers 20 hours of live action from Charlotte, including FOX’s coverage of the 600, NASCAR’s longest and most-grueling race (Sunday, May 29 at 6:00 PM ET), and FS1’s presentation of the NASCAR XFINITY SERIES on Saturday, May 28 (2:30 PM ET). Coverage from Charlotte begins Thursday at 2:00 PM ET on FS1 with NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES practice.

On Sunday, Mike Joy leads the FOX NASCAR booth with analysis from NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip, four-time champ Jeff Gordon and former crew chief Larry McReynolds. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum cover pit road. Chris Myers hosts the network’s pre-race coverage on FOX NASCAR SUNDAY, beginning at 5:30 PM ET, alongside analysts Michael Waltrip, Gordon and Darrell Waltrip. During the pre-race broadcast, FOX NASCAR will recognize all service members who have fallen in the past year, displaying their names and branch of service on a graphic scroll, in addition to showcasing the industry’s “600 Miles of Remembrance” at Charlotte.

Adam Alexander calls Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY SERIES race with analyst Michael Waltrip and driver analyst Clint Bowyer. Bowyer is one of seven NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES drivers announced as part of a rotation in the FOX and FS1 booth for FOX Sports’ coverage of the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES season. Also scheduled as guest analysts are Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Danica Patrick. Reporting from the XFINITY Series pits at Charlotte are Jamie Little, Chris Neville and Matt Yocum. Danielle Trotta hosts race coverage alongside McReynolds.

Following the 600, FS1 airs live coverage of the balance of NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES races scheduled during FOX Sports’ portion of the 2016 NASCAR season, including Pocono, Michigan and Sonoma.

FOX Sports recently launched HUBCast, a weekly podcast with NASCAR RACE HUB host Adam Alexander in which he is joined by various guests, including some of the biggest names in racing, to debate the hottest topics in NASCAR. To subscribe and download, please click foxs.pt/1RQAs09 for iTunes or foxs.pt/1qTW3ig for Google Play Music.

Below are quotes from FOX NASCAR’s Darrell Waltrip, McReynolds and NASCAR RACE HUB analyst Chad Knaus on the week’s headlines and the race ahead, as well as the full FOX NASCAR programming schedule from Charlotte:

On what has made the difference in Kyle Larson’s performance in recent weeks:

“I’ve heard it was the cars. Chad Johnston, who was Tony Stewart’s crew chief, apparently hadn’t had the chance to build cars of his own when he first arrived at Chip Ganassi Racing and had been getting by with what was there before until he got some cars of his own design. They ran the first one of those cars at Kansas and every week since. They now have much better cars, and it’s allowing us to see what we had been expecting out of him. For two years, we all said Larson would be the next guy to win a race. You can say that for someone’s entire career, but they have to fulfill it, and with some drivers, you begin to wonder if it’s ever going to happen. Larson’s cars are catching up with him now.”

--Darrell Waltrip

On when Kyle Larson’s first Cup Series win might come:

“I really like what I am seeing from Larson and his crew chief, Chad Johnston, since they got some new race cars. Charlotte likely won’t be his first win, though, since it’s a different type of event than the All-Star Race. I’m looking to Michigan, though.”

--Larry McReynolds

“He blew a perfect opportunity in Dover, and I think he’s going to have to wait a while. There’s a lot of specialty-style race tracks coming up, but I think where his first win will come is Darlington. You have to run right up against the wall, you have to be able to conserve your tires and you have to be very aggressive for that whole race distance.”

--Chad Knaus, as analyst on Tuesday’s NASCAR RACE HUB on FS1

On whether NASCAR should implement the chassis rules package employed at the All-Star Race going forward:

“I’m okay with NASCAR trying things every now and then, but when the racing is good, I’m in favor of leaving well enough alone.”

--Larry McReynolds

On the resurgence of Roush Fenway Racing and whether a strong performance is expected in the Coca-Cola 600, as happened in the All-Star Race:

“Anytime you’re behind in technology or development and NASCAR takes things away from teams that are ahead of you, you benefit. That was a different Trevor Bayne on Saturday than I’d seen in the past. When you’re young and your cars aren’t very good, you don’t know if it’s you or the car. But when you get better cars underneath you, you are able to showcase your driving talent. That’s helping Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne and Greg Biffle. If a team is behind and NASCAR takes things away from everyone, it tends to level the playing field in favor of the teams who were behind.”

--Darrell Waltrip

On whether Kyle Busch is more likely to win first at Charlotte or Pocono – the two remaining tracks at which he has yet to visit Victory Lane:

“Which one comes first on the schedule? It will be Charlotte. With the mojo that team has right now, there’s probably not a single track we can bet against Kyle Busch. And at Charlotte, he has 14 wins between the Truck Series and XFINITY Series. The Cup Series likely is next.”

--Larry McReynolds

FOX NASCAR AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

*All times live/Eastern unless otherwise indicated & subject to change

Thursday, May 26

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice (2:00-3:30 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR XFINITY Series practice (3:30-4:30 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR RACE HUB (4:30-5:30 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice (5:30-7:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying (7:00-8:30 PM) (FS1)

Friday, May 27

NASCAR RACE HUB (5:00-6:00 PM) (FS1)

Saturday, May 28