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FOX NASCAR AT NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE QUOTES & PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES teams have a home game worth $1 million this weekend, competing at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Saturday’s NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE, the annual non-points event pitting race winners against one another. FS1 is live from Charlotte all weekend, offering coverage of the SPRINT SHOWDOWN and NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES race on Friday, May 20 (7:00 PM & 8:30 PM ET, respectively), and Saturday’s NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE (9:00 PM ET).

The 2016 NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE features 20 drivers battling for a $1 million, winner-take-all prize in a new 113-lap format consisting two 50-lap segments with mandatory green-flag pit stops and culminating in a 13-lap dash for the cash.

On Saturday night, Mike Joy leads the FOX NASCAR booth with analysis from NASCAR Hall of Famer and inaugural All-Star Race winner Darrell Waltrip (1985), four-time champ/three-time NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE winner Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997 & 2001) and two-time All-Star Race-winning crew chief Larry McReynolds (1991-’92). Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum cover pit road. Chris Myers hosts pre-race coverage on NASCAR RACEDAY, beginning at 8:00 PM ET, alongside analyst and 1996 All-Star Race winner Michael Waltrip.

Other than next weekend’s 600, which airs on FOX (Sunday, May 29 at 5:30 PM ET), FS1 airs live coverage of the balance of NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES races scheduled during FOX Sports’ portion of the 2016 NASCAR season.

Friday’s Sprint Showdown (7:00 PM ET on FS1), the last-chance qualifier for Saturday’s All-Star Race, is called by Joy, Gordon, Darrell Waltrip and McReynolds, with reporting by Little and Yocum. The 40-lap battle pits Sprint Cup drivers not already qualified for the All-Star Race against each other to determine who advances to the big show. In addition, FS1 offers live coverage of no-speed-limit All-Star Qualifying (Saturday at 7:00 PM ET).

Welch calls NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES action Friday at 8:30 PM ET alongside analysts Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip, with pit reporting by Hermie Sadler and Kaitlyn Vincie. NCWTS SETUP, hosted by John Roberts and two-time series champ Todd Bodine, sets the stage for the Truck Series race at 8:00 PM ET on FS1.

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 Gordon, McReynolds and Michael Waltrip on the week’s headlines and the race ahead, as well as the full FOX NASCAR programming schedule from the NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE at Charlotte:

On which drivers could race their way from the Sprint Showdown into the NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE:

“There are four drivers who could easily advance from the qualifier and into the All-Star Race and win it. Chase Elliott is at the top of the list. Then it’s Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. But don’t take your sights off Austin Dillon and the No. 3 car. Any of those could win a segment in the Showdown and perform a lot better in the big show than some who are already qualified for it.”

--Larry McReynolds

“You’d like to say Chase Elliott would surprise everybody by racing his way into the All-Star Race, but he wouldn’t be a surprise. He has shown he can run up there with everybody. Ryan Blaney is the same type of story. Both those rookies can do something special this weekend, and I’ll be watching them.”

--Michael Waltrip

On whether the chassis changes for the NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE were needed:

“These changes were needed because teams have been slowly pecking away at regaining some of the downforce and sideforce NASCAR took away with this year’s aero package. But to be clear, these are chassis changes – not aero changes. Kansas has the most amount of grip of any track the teams had competed at yet this season, and it wasn’t the best race we’ve had. And with the fresh track surface at Pocono looming, a fairly high-grip surface at Michigan on the horizon and the brand-new surface at Kentucky coming up, I had been saying NASCAR should look at taking some downforce away. I’m glad to see this. The changes they’re making for All-Star are a way to affect aero without changing the spoiler or anything about the body of the car. The cars just won’t be as ‘dog-tracked’ and skewed going down the track as we’ve been seeing.”

--Larry McReynolds

On whether the chassis changes for the All-Star Race will accomplish NASCAR’s intended goal:

“It’s a step in the right direction. Denny Hamlin said it best in an interview with Adam Alexander and me – anything you can do to slow down the speed in the center of the corner, and downforce and sideforce affect that a lot, will foster better racing. Will we see a huge difference? Absolutely not, but it’s chipping away at the issue without making huge jumps or affecting the way the cars are built in the middle of the year.”

--Larry McReynolds

On whether NASCAR may make another change later in the season (if it adopts the changes implemented for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race for all other downforce races):

“We’re 10 races in with this package since we don’t run it at Daytona or Talladega. After Charlotte, we’re halfway through the regular season. I don’t see NASCAR making another change as we get closer to the Chase. This skew degree is only for the All-Star Race right now. A lot of this is testing the waters to be able to present the teams their 2017 package by August or September. That’s very smart on NASCAR’s part. The All-Star Race is a great place to try this.”

--Larry McReynolds

On the sheer dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing:

“They’ve done their homework. They’ve invested a lot into this sport. They’ve put a lot into technology and engineering … And you can throw the No. 78 car into that. Now all that hard work and engineering are paying off.”

--Jeff Gordon

On how quickly other teams could possibly catch up to JGR:

“That’s always one of the questions you have. It’s a long season, and when you have an advantage at the beginning, but you’re parked right next to one another and go through inspection together, everyone has their eyes on the best team out there. You’ll be surprised how other teams will catch up.”

--Jeff Gordon

On whether the recent lug nut mandate could prompt teams to take a chance on failing to properly install all five lug nuts in an attempt to execute a faster pit stop:

“The way the rules are right now, it’s probably worth the risk to push the envelope a bit. To this point, we haven’t seen NASCAR take away a win. We’ve seen points and monetary fines but the way the rules are today, you keep the win, which would put you into the Chase.”

--Larry McReynolds

FOX NASCAR AT NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

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

Thursday, May 19

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (4:30-6:00 PM) (FS1)

Friday, May 20

Sprint Showdown final practice (1:30-3:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race final practice (3:00-5:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR RACE HUB (5:00-5:30 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying (5:30-7:00 PM) (FS1)

Sprint Showdown (7:00-8:00 PM) (FS1)

NCWTS SETUP (8:00-8:30 PM) (FS1)