TNT’s NASCAR Summer Series Coverage Continues with Toyota SaveMart 350 from Sonoma, June 24, at 3 p.m.

TNT’s NASCAR Summer Series Coverage Continues with Toyota SaveMart 350 from Sonoma, June 24, at 3 p.m.

TNT’s NASCAR Ratings Up 6% Through Two Races

Interview with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., During Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show

TNT’s NASCAR Summer Series will continue Sunday, June 24, with the Toyota SaveMart 350 from the open road course in Sonoma.  Coverage will begin with the Countdown to Green pre-race show – hosted by Adam Alexander with analysts Larry McReynolds and Kyle Petty – at 2 p.m. ET. Alexander will also provide play-by-play for the SaveMart 350 with analysts Petty and Wally Dallenbach and reporters Ralph Sheheen, Marty Snider, Matt Yocum and Chris Neville.  Additionally, McReynolds will make frequent contributions during the race from his customized, unique broadcast unit that will house his own studio, as well as his base location where he’ll provide analysis using a cut-away display car.

Through two races, TNT’s NASCAR Summer Series is averaging a 3.3 U.S. HH rating, up 6% over last year’s comparable 3.1 rating through two races. The corresponding 5,271,000 total viewers are up 4% over last year’s average of 5,055,000 total viewers. Turner Sports is in its 30^th consecutive year of live NASCAR broadcasts.

Highlights for this week’s NASCAR coverage:

• An interview with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., winner of last week’s Quicken Loans 400.
• TNT’s Countdown to Green pre-race show will include a special guest appearance by NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.
• TNT’s Sheheen will trade four wheels for two as he and Carl Edwards go riding Ducati motorcycles.
• Martin Truex, Jr.’s “56” crew will be miked up for TNT’s Inside Trax.
• Countdown to Green will continue its weekly feature segment titled “NASCAR Generations” with Jimmie Johnson, Ned Jarrett and Bill Elliott, along with TNT analysts Petty and McReynolds – including a discussion about the current trend of apologizing within the sport.

A few comments which will be part of Sunday’s “NASCAR Generations” segment:

Kyle Petty on how drivers apologized during the earlier days of NASCAR: “I look at the King [Richard Petty] and Bobby [Allison] and Cale [Yarborough] and Donnie [Allison] and all them racing, I never remember them apologizing for anything. Why should I apologize to you? My job is to beat you. My job is to go out there and win this race. It was just a different deal.”

Jimmie Johnson on today’s protocol for apologizing: “My era, I believe, spends more time apologizing and doing that kind of thing. There are times when you make mistakes and I’ll say I’m sorry. But if you’re going to go up there and take something from the guy [knock him out of a race], you should be man enough to go up and talk to him about it afterwards, whatever it is.”

Petty on his grandfather Lee Petty: “He could stand there and chew you out one minute and walk off, but it was over with. For him – no grudges at all – it was over with. And he moved on to the next thing.”

2012 TNT NASCAR Summer Series Schedule:

(All Times Eastern)

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