FOX NASCAR at Talladega Superspeedway Quotes & Programming Schedule

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES Race & Qualifying, NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Race Live on FOX from NASCAR’s Biggest Circuit

NASCAR RACE CLASSIC: THE 1987 WINSTON 500, Hosted by Earnhardt Jr., Premieres Friday on FS1 at 9:00 PM ET

CHARLOTTE, NC – NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, with FOX Sports set to offer 22 hours of live action from the 2.66-mile circuit, NASCAR’s largest. Included are FOX’s live race coverage of the MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES (Sunday, May 7 at 2:00 PM ET) and the NASCAR XFINITY SERIES (Saturday, May 6 at 1:00 PM ET), as well as FS1’s live presentation of the ARCA RACING SERIES race on Friday, May 5 (6:00 PM ET).

On Friday, May 5, FS1 and NASCAR Productions debut NASCAR RACE CLASSIC: THE 1987 WINSTON 500, hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The 30-minute cut-down version of the classic race at Talladega Superspeedway, celebrating its 30th anniversary, features pop-up fun facts and trivia about the race and pop culture in 1987. Bobby Allison’s crash in the event, for which Bill Elliott won the pole at the fastest-ever speed recorded in NASCAR at more than 212 mph, ushered in restrictor plates. The race marked Davey Allison’s first career win, which broke Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s four-race win streak.

During the week, FS1’s NASCAR RACE HUB, NASCAR’s most-watched daily news and information program, continues Mondays through Thursdays at 6:00 PM ET. Additionally, the NASCAR RACE HUB PODCAST launched recently and is available on iTunes, SoundCloud and Google Play Music.

Below are programming information and quotes from FOX NASCAR analysts Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Larry McReynolds and Michael Waltrip.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

• Date/Time: Sunday, May 7 (2:00 PM ET)
• Network: FOX
• Announcers: Mike Joy, Hall of Famer and three-time champion Darrell Waltrip, four-time champ Jeff Gordon and Larry McReynolds
• Pit reporters: Jamie Little, Chris Neville, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum
• Hosts: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip
• Pre-race:
  • FOX NASCAR SUNDAY (1:30 PM ET on FOX), hosted by Myers with Michael Waltrip, Gordon and Darrell Waltrip; reporters Little, Neville, Welch and Yocum
  • NASCAR RACEDAY (11:30 AM ET on FS1), hosted by John Roberts with analysts Jeff Hammond and Bobby Labonte; reporters Alan Cavanna and Kenny Wallace
    • Features include a sit-down with Clint Bowyer and longtime spotter/friend Brett Griffin regarding their relationship professionally and personally; a Kenny Wallace “Riding Shotgun” feature with Kyle Larson at Talladega; live interviews include Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott, among others.
• Post-Race: NASCAR VICTORY LANE (9:00 PM ET on FS1; delayed)

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

• Date/Time: Saturday, May 6 (1:00 PM ET)
• Network: FOX
• Announcers: Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip and driver analyst Kevin Harvick
• Pit reporters: Chris Neville, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum
• Pre-race: NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (12:30 PM ET on FOX); hosted by Shannon Spake with analysts Michael Waltrip and Larry McReynolds; reporters Kenny Wallace and Chris Neville
• Hosts: Spake and McReynolds

ARCA RACING SERIES

• Date/Time: Friday, May 6 (6:00 PM ET)
• Network: FS1
• Announcers: Kevin Lee and Phil Parsons
• Pit reporters: Jim Tretow and Heather DeBeaux

FOX NASCAR QUOTES

On Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s popularity and success at Talladega Superspeedway:
“Talladega is Dale Jr.’s best track. He loves the place. It’s Earnhardt’s house. His father started there with a lot of success, and he has carried that on in recent years. Without a doubt, Dale Jr. will be strong on Sunday and the fans will cheer for him louder than ever before.”
–Michael Waltrip, FOX NASCAR analyst

On Ford’s dominance lately and at Richmond, with six cars finishing in the top 10:
“That was a great run for Richard Petty’s team. We’ve seen steady performance from Aric Almirola and the No. 43 team all season. He’s creeping up on the top five.”
–Michael Waltrip, FOX NASCAR analyst

On Kyle Busch receiving a pit-road commitment box penalty Sunday at Richmond after Joey Logano, the driver in front of him, made his turn onto pit road late, likely blocking the commitment box from Busch’s view:
“This is a change this year and something that is unique. They’re going to have to get used to that. I don’t think there’s as much wrong with what Logano did as some of the drivers understanding they need to have all four tires under the box. If you know that and you got that in the driver’s meeting, you’re going to be way below it. So, I love what Joey Logano did. He kind of pulled him (Busch), suckered him in so he couldn’t see it. I would have loved to have seen those two go at it on the restart, so Logano not having to go up against Kyle Busch – those are two of the best restarters – helped Logano’s chances of winning that race.”
–Jeff Gordon, FOX NASCAR analyst

“We saw a number of times at Richmond where the square was confusing to some of the drivers. It’s not like a cone, where you can more easily see it and know if you’re below it or not.”
–Darrell Waltrip, FOX NASCAR analyst

On the improvement of Roush Fenway Racing in 2017:
“It’s a long way to the end of the regular season at Richmond in September, but the Roush Fenway drivers, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne, really jump out at me in the point standings right now. That team hasn’t put a driver in the playoffs in the last two years. Go back to 2005 when they put all five teams in the playoffs. They’ve definitely stepped their game up, and they seem more suited for a two-car operation. Obviously, it works well for Team Penske.”
–Larry McReynolds, FOX NASCAR analyst

On the points separation Kyle Larson is creating between himself and the rest of the field:
“They’re performing so well each week in stages 1 and 2 and piling up the points under the new stage format. They’re executing in the stages and overall performance when the checkered flag waves.”
–Larry McReynolds, FOX NASCAR analyst

FOX NASCAR AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
(All times live/Eastern unless otherwise indicated & subject to change)

Friday, May 5
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES practice (11:30 AM-12:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (12:30-1:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES final practice (1:30-2:30 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES practice (2:30-3:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (3:30-4:30 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES final practice (4:30-5:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB WEEKEND EDITION (5:30-6:00 PM) (FS1)
ARCA RACING SERIES Racing (6:00-8:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE CLASSIC: 1987 WINSTON 500 (9:00-9:30 PM ET; delayed) (FS1)

Saturday, May 6
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES qualifying (10:30 AM-12:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (12:30-1:00 PM) (FOX)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Racing (1:00-3:30 PM) (FOX)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES POST-RACE SHOW (3:30-4:00 PM) (FOX)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES qualifying (4:00-5:30 PM) (FOX)

Sunday, May 7
NASCAR RACEDAY (11:30 AM-1:30 PM) (FS1)
FOX NASCAR SUNDAY (1:30-2:00 PM) (FOX)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES Racing (2:00-6:00 PM) (FOX)
NASCAR VICTORY LANE (9:00-9:30 PM) (FS1) (delayed)