FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 24th, 2014

HIGHLIGHTS FROM ‘NASCAR AMERICA’ PREMIERE ON NBCSN

Daytona 500 Winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Provides a Personalized Welcome and Interview During Premiere Episode

Jeff Burton Breaks Down the Great American Race; Kelli Stavast Reports from HMS in Charlotte; Nate Ryan, Marty Snider Check in from Daytona

Stamford, Conn. – February 24, 2014 – “Hi, I’m Dale Earnhardt Jr. and this is NASCAR America.”  The winner of last night’s exciting Daytona 500 provided a fitting welcome today as NBCSN’s premiere episode of NASCAR AMERICA made its anticipated debut at 5p.m. ET, less than 24 hours after Earnhardt Jr. captured the checkered flag.

Originating from NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., host Rick Allen and analyst Jeff Burton covered the major storylines stemming from last night’s epic finish of the Great American Race.  Reporters Marty Snider, Nate Ryan and Kelli Stavast contributed from Daytona and Charlotte.

Highlights included:

Reporter Marty Snider caught up with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Crew Chief Steve Letarte in Daytona last night after their thrilling victory. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr.:  “This is the greatest feeling that you can have, and I wanted to feel it again.  We worked really hard for ten years, and especially the last several years coming down here.  We’ve come so close, and to come close really makes you want it so much more.”

Marty Snider to Crew Chief Steve Letarte: “I know [winning the Daytona 500] is a lot of fun, but you’re not going to quit your TV gig before you start, are you?”

Steve Letarte: “It’s going to be hard to replace [this feeling].  You guys have some big shoes to fill after tonight.  This is what it’s all about.  When you grow up in racing and you come down here.  I remember being here at 10 years old watching the 125s back there with my dad.  This is what you do if you’re into stock car racing.  To win this one… I’m not eloquent enough in my words to really describe it.”

Marty Snider: “You guys really smell like champagne.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “We like smelling like champagne. I hope that’s a problem all year.”

Back in the studio, Rick Allen and Jeff Burton discussed the Daytona 500.

Jeff Burton: “This race was really intense, and I think the rain had a lot to do with that.  Emotionally, these drivers felt like they had to race hard in case the rain returned and the race ended early. It created this environment where everybody wanted to be in the front all the time.”

Jeff Burton on Dale Jr.’s ability to hang onto the lead: “Getting a lead is one thing, keeping a lead is another thing.  He was doing more driving out of his mirror than he was out of his windshield.  He won this race because he got great restarts, he had the help of his teammates, and he did everything that it took to protect that lead.  He did not want to have to come from the back, because that had not worked three out of the last four years.”

Team Owner Rick Hendrick offered the following on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s renewed confidence: “I think last year was a tremendous confidence booster. He rolled out of last year with a lot of momentum, and has now kicked off [2014] by winning the Daytona 500.”

Tomorrow’s 5 p.m. ET episode of NASCAR AMERICA features a visit to Joe Gibbs Racing in Huntersville, N.C., and an exclusive interview with Daytona 500 winning crew chief Steve Letarte.

 

–NBC SPORTS–