“Inside NASCAR” special Daytona 500 edition Feb. 29

Showtime’s Inside NASCAR studio show returns for a third season with a special one-hour Daytona 500 edition on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 9pm ET. Host Chris Myers and analysts Michael Waltrip and Kyle Petty look at this year’s Daytona 500 and preview the 2012 NASCAR season. Press release from Showtime below:

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INSIDE NASCAR RETURNS TO SHOWTIME®WITH SPECIAL ONE-HOUR DAYTONA 500 EDITION

The Fastest Show on Television Premieres Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME

NEW YORK (Feb. 14, 2012)—Inside NASCAR, the premium motorsports studio show co-produced by EMMY® Award-winning NASCAR Media Group and SHOWTIME Sports®, will return for a third season on SHOWTIME® with a special Daytona 500 edition premiering Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The announcement was made jointly by Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports, and Jay Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, NASCAR Media Group LLC and Vice President, Content and New Media for NASCAR.

The one-hour Daytona 500 special will feature vibrant highlights of all the action and drama from the sport’s premiere race and exclusive driver-crew scanner audio, one segment for which Inside NASCAR has become known.  Host Chris Myers returns along with analysts Michael Waltrip and Kyle Petty to discuss, debate and breakdown all the provocative topics carrying the momentum of what was arguably the most exciting season in NASCAR history in 2011.  The special also will serve as an in-depth preview show to the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season featuring a sit-down interview with Danica Patrick who makes her anticipated NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut on Feb. 26 at the 54th annual Daytona 500.

Inside NASCAR’s weekly episodes will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, the week before the final “Race to the Chase” event at Richmond International Speedway. The Sept. 5 episode will be a one-hour recap of the 2012 season and look ahead to The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship before the series returns to its regular 30-minute format for the remainder of the season.

“I’m very happy to announce the renewal of Inside NASCAR,” said Espinoza. “This continued partnership with America’s No. 1 spectator sport solidifies our commitment to a broad sports offering at SHOWTIME. We’ve worked diligently with the talented people at NASCAR Media Group to refine the format for season three, and we believe that 2012 will produce the best episodes yet of the fastest show on television.”

“We are extremely pleased to partner with SHOWTIME for another season of Inside NASCAR,” said Abraham. “We know that NASCAR fans want to see the race inside the race and this season of Inside NASCAR will offer an exceptional behind-the-scenes viewpoint like never before.”

Last year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup season culminated with an epic championship battle as Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards fought for the title through the final turn of the final lap in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The drama is expected to continue in Daytona as Stewart, the first new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion since 2006, will look to secure his first Daytona 500 victory.

In 2009, SHOWTIME Sports signed a multi-year deal to produce and televise Inside NASCAR throughout the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Produced in conjunction with NASCAR Media Group, Inside NASCAR is filmed at NASCAR Plaza, the state-of-the-art television production facility at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.

2 Comments

  1. Why not all season? It sounds like you think it’s great that it starts in Sept. Why not every week? What a bummer

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About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.