I’m always happy to post quotage from Turner Sports especially when it comes from the same day of one of their events. In this case, it’s the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at the Michigan Speedway from earlier today. If you missed anything or want to relive certain things from today’s broadcast, check out the press release below.
Notes from TNT’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coverage from Michigan – Sunday, June 13, 2010TNT’s coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues on Sunday, June 20 from Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. Countdown to Green begins at 2 p.m. (ET) and the Toyota/Save Mart 350 begins at 3 p.m. (ET).Countdown to GreenLindsay Czarniak (host), Kyle Petty (analyst) and Larry McReynolds (analyst)Lindsay Czarniak sat down with NASCAR President Mike Helton to talk about the importance of rivalries in NASCARHelton on the history of rivalries in NASCAR: “I think rivalry is part and parcel to any professional sport and certainly to NASCAR. I think one of the things we’re experiencing, and some of us have seen this in the past, where you’ve got a changing of the guard, sort of speak…you know, when Darrell Waltrip came in and chased Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty, (Waltrip) wasn’t very popular early on. Then you’ve got Jeff Gordon who challenged Dale (Earnhardt) Sr. when he first showed up and there was a great rivalry between the up-and-comer and the “Intimidator” (who was) a seven-time champion. We’re back in the cycle right now. We’ve got new faces like Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano who are challenging Jimmie Johnson who is challenging Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. We’re in that timeline change again, and that’s exciting, it can be.”Helton on how he handles confrontations between drivers: “It’s probably evolved into I want to be fair but clear. If there’s an issue we don’t need to dance around it, let’s just get straight to it, but I want to be fair about it. And understand hopefully based on the experience I’ve had in conversations privately and professionally with drivers as to the challenges they go through and recognize that and be reasonable about that.Czarniak: “So you’re not necessarily putting an arm around their shoulder but not hitting them upside the head either?Helton: “Not in that order (laughs).”McReynolds on the biggest difference between “old school” drivers and “new school” drivers: “The biggest complaint that I’ve had over the last couple of years and it’s getting a little better, is some of the veteran drivers complaining about other young drivers racing them hard. (Racing hard is) what we do. I don’t care if its lap two or lap 200, you’re here to do a job and race hard. The thing that’s the difference between “old school” (driver) and “new school” (drivers) is the “old school” driver lets things settle down out there after a re-start. With a “new school” driver like Kyle Busch, its full steam ahead the minute you see a green flag.”No. 16 Greg Biffle on the struggles of Fords this season: “We’ve got to do a better job at executing and I predicted a few weeks ago that within the next four to six weeks, you’re going to see a win out of the Ford camp. I still believe that.”No. 29 Kevin Harvick joined the crew on the set during Countdown to Green to discuss his confrontation with No. 20 Joey Logano following the June 6 race in PoconoHarvick on if he could relate to what Joey Logano was going through mentally following the race at Pocono: “You can definitely relate (to Logano). You’ve been in those situations before and you have to handle things a certain way. I just kind of laughed afterwards because it’s just one of those things and you just have to go through it.”Harvick on if his dispute with Logano will carry over onto the track in future races: “I think it’s on the track. You go out there and race the car and you don’t really worry about it. He doesn’t want to make it too personal because it won’t be in favor of him.”Harvick on the “I Wear the Firesuit in This Family” t-shirts his website is selling for cha
rity that came from last week’s comments from Logano: “We didn’t make them in men’s sizes because anyone who’s married knows how this whole deal works. One thing about being 20 (years-old like Logano) is you don’t understand anything about marriage.”Ralph Sheheen sat down with No. 48 Jimmie Johnson, No. 24 Jeff Gordon and No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (more of the interview will air during TNT’s NASCAR coverage on Sunday, June 20)Gordon on if Earnhardt. Jr. is able to be himself on and off the track: “I think he is able to be himself more than anybody (else) out there. But I don’t know him that well. I’ve been to his house and hung out with him and he’s cool but I have no idea what he does the other 20 hours when I wasn’t there.”***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from Michigan International SpeedwayAnnouncers: Adam Alexander (play-by-play), Wally Dallenbach (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst); Larry McReynolds (analyst) contributes from the in-field with the TNT Offtrack Robotic Car (TORC) with Lindsay Czarniak (host)Pit reporters: Marty Snider, Ralph Sheheen, Phil Parsons and Matt YocumPetty on racing at Michigan International Speedway: “The first two laps of the race at Michigan are trying to get in the place that you want to run. You just want to get clear of these cars. The cars are running two-wide and you see them get three-wide. The first, second and third place cars will check out from (the rest of the field) a little bit. So what you really want to do is find the place that you are most comfortable and work (the car) in.”Dallenbach on how some cars improve over the course of a race: “It’s funny how all of these cars are supposed to be built the same but they have their own character. You’ll have times when you get a race car and it doesn’t do anything for you for the first four or five laps but the longer you run, the better the car gets. I don’t know why that is but there are a lot of times when your car is good for the short runs.”Dallenbach on the importance of a spotter is to the pit crews and the driver: “When you’re a driver
, sometimes you get stuck looking for something that you think is working. But the spotter will look to see who is beating you and he’ll come up with something that you haven’t tried. It’s very helpful.”Dallenbach on teammates taking each other out of races: “The number one rule when you’re teammates, do not take your teammate out for any reason.”Alexander: “I think we’re all going to get into a fight because it seems to be a theme among teammates this year.”Petty on the safety innovations of NASCAR that don’t always garner attention: “That’s an interesting thing for fans that watch NASCAR and might not know that NASCAR makes safety innovations and doesn’t make a big deal about it. We know about the harness collar, we know about the safety walls and we know about the C.O.T. (Car of Tomorrow). But there are those little things that change internally in that garage area that doesn’t get a lot of press that will make these cars safer in the long run for the crews, the drivers and the safety teams.”Dallenbach on No. 18 Kyle Busch driving well in traffic: “(Busch’s) car has been awfully strong especially in traffic. If this guy ever gets out front, it could be trouble for everybody else if he gets into that clean air. But his car is working really well in traffic, he’s been patient and he’s been picking (other drivers) off one by one.”Dallenbach on No. 16 Greg Biffle not being able to keep up with the leaders: “Biffle has been ripping off some pretty good lap times. I’m just not sure his car comes in fast enough to be able to stay up in front and actually race with these guys. I think the long runs are working in his favor but it seems like he’s losing ground to the leaders. That’s tough to make up when you’re running the same exact times as the leaders.”Petty on No. 9 Kasey Kahne not being able to get around No. 2 Kurt Busch: “We’ve had a couple of restarts today and a couple of opportunities for (Kasey) Kahne to close the gap and run up on the No. 2 (Kurt Busch) car. As he closed that gap, he’d get right to him and he couldn’t get around him.”No. 11 Denny Hamlin on his win at Michigan: “Anything can happen and I knew a caution (flag) was coming so I might as well back off and save my tires. But we’ve got to do what’s right for the fans and they need to see a great race in the end and the best car won. That’s all you can ask for.”No. 9 Kasey Kahne on the improved performance of his pit crew: “I was happy with (the pit crew). (After) all of the pit stops, we only lost a little bit, three or four spots. That’s much better than the past two months. I was really happy with them and they did a nice job. We still have a lot to work on. I do and the team does if we want to win a race.”No. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on finishing in the top ten at Michigan: “I enjoyed the car all day and it was fun to drive. (No. 17) Matt Kenseth was better and all the cars in front of us were better but we felt like we had a top ten car and we were able to show it today. That caution (flag) came out and it got me worried, (I thought,) ‘what the (heck) is going to happen here?’ But we were on the good end of it for a change.”No. 14 Tony Stewart on making the cut for the Chase for the Sprint Cup: “We have to keep plugging away and keep doing what we do. I’m not as panicked about the top 12 (for the Chase) as some of the other guys who are clo
se to that bubble. We just have to keep going out and if we keep rifling off top five (finishes), we’ll be there.”Unofficial Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 Results:
- #11 Denny Hamlin
- #9 Kasey Kahne
- #2 Kurt Busch
- #24 Jeff Gordon
- #14 Tony Stewart
- #48 Jimmie Johnson
- #88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- #31 Jeff Burton
- #16 Greg Biffle
- #20 Joey Logano
That’s it.
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