Hot News NASCAR Cup Series

FOX NASCAR at Charlotte Motor Speedway Quotes & Programming Schedule

NASCAR stages its longest race of the season, the COCA-COLA 600, at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, live Sunday, May 27, on FOX (6:00 PM ET). In addition to the MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES’ 600-miler, included in FOX Sports’ Memorial Day Weekend line-up are Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY SERIES race (1:00 PM ET on FS1) and Thursday’s ARCA RACING SERIES event (9:00 PM ET on FS1).

1,500th EPISODE OF NASCAR RACE HUB AIRS TUESDAY:

NASCAR RACE HUB, NASCAR’s most-watched daily news program, celebrates its 1,500th episode Tuesday, May 22 (6:00 PM ET on FS1). With the milestone edition, RACE HUB extends its reign as the active FOX Sports program credited with more episodes than any other currently running across the FOX Sports family of national networks.

Tuesday’s installment will feature a retrospective of the best and most entertaining moments from FOX NASCAR’s flagship program over the past decade. It will be the 224th episode to air on FS1, while 1,276 installments aired on SPEED prior to the Aug. 2013 FS1 launch. The first episode of NASCAR RACE HUB premiered Oct. 12, 2009, on SPEED, co-hosted by Adam Alexander and Krista Voda.

FOX SPORTS REMEMBERS:

FOX NASCAR once again honors American service members who have fallen in the past year with “FOX Sports Remembers" during the May 27 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES race broadcast from Charlotte. The tribute, begun in 2009, features a running scroll listing the name of every U.S. service member who lost his or her life at home or abroad since last year’s Memorial Day Weekend race. The scroll runs throughout the MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP PRE-RACE, beginning at 5:30 PM ET on FOX, and is shown in its entirety at least once during the race broadcast.

NASCAR RACE HUB SPECIAL AIRS ON TUESDAY:

Tuesday’s NASCAR RACE HUB will be a “600 Winner’s Roundtable" edition. On the day marking the 1,500th episode of NASCAR RACE HUB, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Austin Dillon and Casey Mears gather on the set alongside Alexander and Spake to share their perspectives on why NASCAR’s longest race is so iconic, their individual feats and favorite memories in the 600.

RAIL CAM:

Following a successful test earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway, FOX Sports will deploy a Mega Trax 500 robotic “Rail Cam" for NASCAR’s iconic Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 27 (6:00 PM ET, FOX). For a look at footage from the Fontana test: https://www.mega-trax.com/videos/

FOX Sports and Mega Trax will construct about 850 feet of rail behind the inside wall on the backstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With near-silent operation, the FOX Sports Rail Cam accelerates from 0-to-60 mph in about three seconds, topping out at speeds in excess of 90 mph. For more information on the Mega Trax 500, please visit: https://www.mega-trax.com/

Below is programming information for the weekend ahead, as well as quotes from FOX NASCAR analysts Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Michael Waltrip and Jeff Hammond.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

  • Date/Time: Sunday, May 27 (6:00 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, Vince Welch, Regan Smith and Matt Yocum
  • Pre-race: MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP PRE-RACE (5:30 PM ET on FOX); hosted by Chris Myers with Michael Waltrip, Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
  • NASCAR RACEDAY (4:30 PM ET on FS1); hosted by John Roberts with analysts Jeff Hammond and Bobby Labonte; pit reporting by Kenny Wallace
  • Hosts: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip
  • FOX NASCAR production staff: Barry Landis (race producer); Artie Kempner (race director); Richie Zyontz (coordinating producer); and Jake Jolivette (pre-race producer)

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

  • Date/Time: Saturday, May 26 (1:00 PM ET)
  • Network: FS1
  • Announcers: Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip and driver analyst Erik Jones
  • Pit reporters: Jamie Little and Regan Smith
  • Pre-race: NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (12:30 PM ET on FS1); hosted by Shannon Spake, Larry McReynolds and Michael Waltrip
  • Hosts: Spake and McReynolds
  • FOX NASCAR production staff: Pam Miller (race producer); Jeremy Green (race director); Richie Zyontz (coordinating producer); and Jeremy Menell (pre-race producer)

ARCA RACING SERIES

  • Date/Time: Thursday, May 24 (9:00 PM ET)
  • Network: FS1
  • Announcers: Vince Welch and Phil Parsons
  • Pit reporter: Jim Tretow

FOX NASCAR QUOTES

With five wins in 12 races in 2018 plus the All-Star Race, where do the No. 4 team and Kevin Harvick look to improve?

“You just want to be even more consistent and continue to improve in qualifying. That’s really all they can do. They have upped their qualifying game the past two races, and it has worked out well for them. It enabled them to get stage win points and the victories. More importantly, the consistency is there. They are the total package right now. Don’t let anyone try to tell you they are not. Harvick is the class of the field."

–Jeff Hammond

One-third of the season has been completed and we’re 14 races from the start of the Playoffs. Who is your pick to be the four drivers battling for the championship at Homestead?

“We’ve talked a lot about the 4, 78 and the 18, which seem to be the three dominant cars so far in 2018. That seems to be a pattern that will continue throughout the season. Who will be the fourth to join them in the Playoffs? It’s starting to look like Kyle Larson."

–Michael Waltrip

When asked on the FS1 Kansas pre-race show if he was worried about peaking too early in the season, Kevin Harvick indicated he just wants to win as many races as he can. What do you think of that approach?

“That’s what you have to do. You have to build up those playoff points because they are so important. If you have a blown engine somewhere, you’ll be out of the chance to win the championship without them. So, I like the No. 4 team’s attitude and the way they are charging."

–Michael Waltrip

How is Ford so successful recently with the oldest body in the sport?

“There’s no doubt that everybody has the same opportunity. When Chevrolet came in and submitted this body style with the Camaro – it’s a great-looking car; they just need some more work and they’re working extremely hard behind-the-scenes to get the car better, but I don’t know if they’re going to get there in time. That’s the real question, and by not having Stewart-Haas there – they probably were the strongest Chevrolet team when they were with Chevrolet – and now they’re the strongest Ford team. There’s a common denominator there."

–Jeff Gordon, on FOX Sports’ pre-race show

“I give Stewart-Haas Racing a lot of credit. When they were with Chevrolet, Chevrolet won a lot of races. When they moved over to Ford, Ford began winning a lot of races. Stewart-Haas Racing has a lot of smart people, and I give them a lot of the credit for the success of the manufacturer."

–Darrell Waltrip

FOX NASCAR AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

(All times live/Eastern unless otherwise indicated & subject to change)

Thursday, May 24

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES practice (2:30-3:30 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (3:30-4:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES practice (4:00-5:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (5:00-6:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES qualifying (6:00-7:00 PM) (FS1)

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES qualifying (7:00-8:30 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (8:30-9:00 PM) (FS1)

ARCA RACING SERIES Racing (9:00-11:00 PM) (FS1)

Saturday, May 26

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES practice (9:00-10:00 AM) (FS1)

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES qualifying (10:00-11:00 AM) (FS1)

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES final practice (11:00 AM-12:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (12:30-1:00 PM) (FS1)

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Racing (1:00-4:00 PM) (FS1)

Sunday, May 27

NASCAR RACEDAY (4:30-5:30 PM) (FS1)

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP PRE-RACE (5:30-6:00 PM) (FOX)

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES Racing (6:00-10:30 PM) (FOX)