Sports Media News

ON TONIGHT’S INSIDE NASCAR:

“SPOTLIGHT” ON FOUR-TIME NASCAR SPRINT CUP CHAMPION JEFF GORDON; COLORFUL INTERVIEW WITH TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PRESIDENT EDDIE GOSSAGE; ALL-ACCESS FOLLOWS FATHER-SON HAULER DUO

Plus The Panel dissects last weekend’s race in Phoenix

And what to expect this weekend in Texas

New Episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 14, 2010) – This week Inside NASCAR premieres its newest weekly segment titled “SPOTLIGHT” featuring four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon.  This original segment will profile one selected driver each week with an in-depth and revealing portrait of NASCAR’s hero athletes.  Following Gordon, in the consecutive weeks to follow, SPOTLIGHT will feature Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (April 21), Jeff Burton (April 28), Tony Stewart (May 5), Mark Martin (May 12) and Martin Truex, Jr. (May 19) with many more to follow.  Episode 8 premieres tonight, Wednesday, April 14, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

The panel is joined this week via satellite by Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage who is universally known as one of the wildest promoters in the sport.  Hear what he has to say about his track and what to expect this weekend at the Samsung Mobile 500 in Fort Worth.

In this week’s All-Access segment, Paul and Jeff Icenhour take the Inside NASCAR cameras cross-country as they travel the lonesome highway to bring the #19 race team from their shop in Charlotte to the Phoenix International Raceway. This father-and-son duo is just one of many truck-drivers who bring the shop to the track every race week, making them one of the sport’s hidden heroes.

Did the best team win in Phoenix?  The Inside NASCAR panel will discuss which teams made the right calls and which may have cost themselves the win with exclusive highlights from the Subway Fresh Fit 600.

Inside NASCAR is hosted by Chris Myers with analysts Brad Daugherty, Randy Pemberton and Michael Waltrip. Inside NASCAR is produced in conjunction with the NASCAR Media Group.  New episodes will air on SHOWTIME Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT for 38 weeks corresponding with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.  The co-executive producers are Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports and Jay Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, NASCAR Media Group.  The executive in charge of production is Jim Jorden with Mike Wells acting as consulting director.

Episode 8 Quotes:

Discussing the excitement of the unpredictability of NASCAR race finishes

Waltrip: The Masters.  I watched that golf tournament and it was pretty predictable for about six or seven holes where Phil Mickelson was gonna take home the green jacket.  At Phoenix, I’m sitting there going, “What’s gonna happen if the caution flies?”  And it flew!  And it made everything crazy.

Daugherty: There’s going to be chaos whenever you have a restart.  You have to be lucky and get yourself in position to take advantage of the chaos, whether it be someone spinning their tires in front of you or a crash or whatever.

Discussing the restart in Phoenix

Pemberton: So the point is with Jeff Gordon, he committed himself to the outside line. I think it was a mistake. If you commit yourself to the outside you better sail that thing in there (into turn1).

Waltrip: You would have seen an amazing finish if (Ryan) Newman couldn’t have cleared Jeff Gordon off turn 2.

Discussing the challenges of team hauler drivers who spend six days a week on the road

Waltrip:  As we grow up through this world of racing we seem to be gone a lot.  You know you’re on the road trying to race your car somewhere or another and you miss out on that family time.  I love seeing families brought together by this great sport.

For additional bonus content including behind-the-scenes video and photos visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

SHOWTIME® TO AIR “TOGETHER:

THE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS STORY”

ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7

“Inside NASCAR” Will Return To Regularly Scheduled Day and Time

On Wednesday, April 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

NEW YORK (April 6, 2010)—With no NASCAR Sprint Cup race scheduled last weekend, the next new episode of Inside NASCAR, the popular auto racing program from SHOWTME, will air on its regularly scheduled day and time following the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway on Wednesday, April 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

In place of Inside NASCAR this Wednesday (April 7) will be the premium television network premiere of TOGETHER: The Hendrick Motorsports Story. The documentary-style film, which chronicles the history of the eight-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship team, will air at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT immediately following the Episode 5 premiere of Fight Camp 360: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise, “TOGETHER” takes viewers through the 25 year history of Hendrick Motorsports from Rick Hendrick’s humble beginnings as a farmer’s son in South Hill, Va., launching a one-car race team. Featured drivers in the film include current and former Hendrick Motorsports team members Darrell Waltrip, Tim Richmond, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Inside NASCAR features auto racing legend Michael Waltrip, accomplished racing reporter Randy Pemberton, NBA All-Star and NASCAR team owner Brad Daugherty and Emmy Award winner Chris Myers providing in-depth analysis and highlights from each week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Key features of the show include exclusive audio and video of never-before-seen aspects of race week and in-depth feature stories plus forecasts on upcoming races and opinions on America’s No. 1 form of motor sports.

Inside NASCAR is a natural extension of regularly scheduled SHOWTIME Sports programming, which includes the Emmy Award winning Inside The NFL, live boxing and mixed martial arts events, and the critically acclaimed, behind-the-scenes documentary series Fight Camp 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic, among other titles.

For bonus content, including additional segments and behind-the-scenes video and photos visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

About NASCAR Media Group

NASCAR Media Group (NMG) is NASCAR’s media, marketing and entertainment company that creates and produces programming related to the sport, manages its media partnerships, and forges relationships to integrate NASCAR into mainstream entertainment.  Projects developed by NMG include award-winning television programs and theatrical releases, such as the acclaimed biopic “DALE”; Quest for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup; “NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience”; and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” Earlier this year, in partnership with BET, NASCAR Media Group announced the development of a new program, “Changing Lanes,” which will spotlight up and coming drivers and those supporting them behind the scenes, and this fall began producing Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, an up close HD look at the drivers competing in NASCAR’s playoffs, for VERSUS.

ABOUT SHOWTIME NETWORKS

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

SHOWTIME NETWORKS NAMED TITLE SPONSOR

FOR SOUTHERN 500 AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY

SHOWTIME SOUTHERN 500—NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACE

Saturday, May 8, 2010 at Darlington, S.C.

NEW YORK (April 1, 2010) – Showtime Networks Inc. announced a deal with Darlington Raceway to be named the official title sponsor of the Southern 500, becoming one of the only television networks ever to title sponsor a NASCAR event.  The newly branded SHOWTIME Southern 500^® is one of the most exciting and anticipated races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.

The title sponsorship builds on the premium television network’s recent entry into NASCAR. In February, SHOWTIME premiered Inside NASCAR, premium television’s first weekly highlights and analysis show dedicated to auto racing. The network committed 38, one-hour episodes of Inside NASCAR on SHOWTIME (weekly premiere on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT) featuring exclusive narrated highlights and in-depth analysis of every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this season.

“The NASCAR fan is a deeply loyal and passionate one,” said Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports. “With the launch of the Inside NASCAR series, we were looking to connect with the fans in a meaningful and emotional way, and to affirm our commitment to the NASCAR family.  Sponsoring a race at an historic track like Darlington Raceway, one that has hosted all the legends in the sport, was the perfect fit.”

“We are very excited to partner with a company as well known as Showtime,” said Darlington Raceway President, Chris Browning. “The timing of this announcement could not be better with the recent launch of their new program Inside NASCAR. From the start, Showtime recognized the value in the Darlington Raceway brand and the significant role the track has played in the history of NASCAR, which we believe makes Darlington the perfect partnership for Showtime.”

As part of the title sponsorship, Showtime has activated a range of marketing and promotional initiatives including a robust presence on the grounds at Darlington Raceway for the Mother’s Day weekend event and the launch of the SHOWTIME Southern 500 Experience Sweepstakes.

The sweepstakes Grand Prize (http://sports.sho.com/500sweeps to enter) is a VIP trip for two to the SHOWTIME Southern 500 with round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations, VIP access at Darlington Raceway, two Hot Passes, an opportunity to meet and greet the Inside NASCAR talent and access to the SHOWTIME infield suite.

The Grand Prize winner will also be part of the SHOWTIME Southern 500 Gatorade Victory Lane celebration and will be presented with a replica of the coveted SHOWTIME Southern 500 Trophy.

The SHOWTIME Southern 500 Experience sweepstakes launched on Tuesday, March 30 and has an entry deadline of April 23. The Grand Prize winner will be announced on the April 28 edition of Inside NASCAR.

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You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame.

Darlington Raceway or the track “Too Tough to Tame” as it is known to many, is where the purest of NASCAR competition meets true southern hospitality. A NASCAR staple since 1950, Darlington Raceway has seen some of motorsports most talented drivers thunder to Victory Lane. In 2010, NASCAR’s stars return to battle the track “Too Tough to Tame” in the Sprint Cup Series SHOWTIME Southern 500® and Nationwide Series Darlington 200. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will also make a stop at Darlington for the first time since the 2004 season.

Don’t miss any of the paint-scraping action at Darlington Raceway in 2010. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series will visit the track on Mother’s Day Weekend, May 7-8, for the SHOWTIME Southern 500® and Darlington 200. The Camping World Truck Series will make its return to Darlington Raceway for first time since 2004 on August 14 for the Too Tough to Tame 200. Tickets for all three events are on-sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Darlington Raceway ticket office at 866-459-RACE or online at http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/tickets/.