Fox is in the pits and ready to start its engine for its 12th season of NASCAR. It all begins on Saturday with the Budweiser Shootout, part of the Daytona Speedweeks, leading up to next Sunday’s Daytona 500. The Budweiser Shootout will feature last Sprint Cup season’s top 25 racers including champion Tony Stewart.
Then on Sunday, Fox will carry the qualifying for next Sunday’s Daytona 500 pole position.
The regular NASCAR on Fox crew of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds will be in the broadcast booth to call the race. Chris Myers and Darrell will be in a refurbished Hollywood Hotel on the track’s infield and the regular Fox crew will have both the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 Qualifying covered in the pits.
Here’s the Fox Sports press release.
FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
Green Flag Drops for NASCAR on FOX’s 12th Season
Primetime Coverage of the Budweiser Shootout Saturday & Daytona 500 Qualifying Sunday
McReynolds: “Bud Shootout Sets Tone For Great Season”
NASCAR ON FOX BEGINS 12TH SEASON SATURDAY WITH 34TH ANNUAL BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT IN PRIMETIME – A deep and talented field hits the Daytona International Speedway as Tony Stewart’s quest for back-to-back championships gets underway Saturday, Feb. 18 (8:00 PM ET) at the Budweiser Shootout. The network airs Daytona 500 Qualifying Sunday, Feb. 19 (1:00 PM ET).
NASCAR on FOX host Chris Myers and analyst Darrell Waltrip provide Bud Shootout prerace coverage with up-to-the-second reports and live interviews with drivers, crews and officials shaping the night’s action. FOX Sports’ Jeff Hammond serves as the network’s roving analyst taking fans from the garages to pit road and everywhere in between. Once the green flag drops, race announcer Mike Joy is alongside analysts Waltrip and Larry McReynolds to call all the twists and turns on the track while Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda and Matt Yocum patrol the pits for reports on teams and pit stops.
MCREYNOLDS: ANTICIPATION BUILDING FOR BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT – “It’s going to be one of the largest fields we’ve ever had. It’s almost like an All-Star race at Daytona because it’s the top 25 drivers from last year and any other driver who has ever won a points event at Daytona or a Budweiser Shootout, which would include Trevor Bayne and Jamie McMurray,” said McReynolds. We’re going to see speeds well over 200 MPH and the drivers are going to be in big packs of racing 3- and 4-wide. Even though it’s a 75 lap race, we probably won’t have a clue who is going to win until they come off the last corner of the last lap and get close to that checkered flag.”
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012
Budweiser Shootout (Daytona International Speedway), 8:00 PM ET
Prerace Host Chris Myers/Prerace Analyst Darrell Waltrip
Announcer Mike Joy/Analyst Darrell Waltrip/Analyst Larry McReynolds/Roving Analyst Jeff Hammond
Pits Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda, Dick BerggrenSunday, Feb. 19, 2012
Daytona 500 Qualifying (Daytona International Speedway), 1:00 PM ET
Announcer Mike Joy/Analyst Darrell Waltrip/Analyst Larry McReynolds
Pits Jeff Hammond, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda, Dick BerggrenBelow are drivers scheduled to compete in Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout:
Jamie McMurray (No. 1 – Earnhardt Ganassi Racing – Chevrolet)
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 – Penske Racing – Dodge)
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Marcos Ambrose (No. 9 – Richard Petty Motorsports – Ford)
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 – Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota)
Tony Stewart (No. 14 – Stewart-Haas Racing – Chevrolet)
Clint Bowyer (No. 15 – Michael Waltrip Racing – Toyota)
Greg Biffle (No. 16 – Roush Fenway Racing – Ford)
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 – Roush Fenway Racing – Ford)
Kyle Busch (No. 18 – Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota)
Joey Logano (No. 20 – Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota)
AJ Allmendinger (No. 22 – Penske Racing – Dodge)
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Paul Menard (No. 27 – Richard Childress Racing – Chevrolet)
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 – Richard Childress Racing – Chevrolet)
Jeff Burton (No. 31 – Richard Childress Racing – Chevrolet)
David Ragan (No. 34 – Front Row Motorsports – Ford)
Ryan Newman (No. 39 – Stewart-Haas Racing – Chevrolet)
Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 – Earnhardt Ganassi Racing – Chevrolet)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Kurt Busch (No. 51 – Phoenix Racing – Chevrolet)
Michael Waltrip (No. 55 – Michael Waltrip Racing – Toyota)
Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 – Michael Waltrip Racing – Toyota)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 – Roush Fenway Racing – Ford)100 HOURS OF SPEEDWEEKS ON SPEED™ NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars take to the track Friday for the first Budweiser Shootout practice session and SPEED brings viewers the Budweiser Shootout Selection Show on Friday, Feb. 17 (8:30 PM ET).
See Full Daytona Speedweeks on SPEED Schedule Here: http://bit.ly/wiRjwf
That’s it.
