FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 21st, 2018
NASCAR ON NBC ANALYST DALE EARNHARDT JR. JOINS FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA ON-SITE FROM KANSAS CITY
Earnhardt Travels from Kansas Speedway to Join Liam McHugh, Cris Collinsworth & Al Michaels On-Site from Arrowhead Stadium for Football Night in America
FNIA Includes Features on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ Childhood and Interviews with Parents Randi and Pat Mahomes
“Patrick got the chance to be around a lot of great guys – (Alex Rodriguez), Derek Jeter, I mean, icons of the game … He was always a student.’ – Pat Mahomes
Tafoya and NASCAR on NBC Analyst Jeff Burton Ride Around Kansas Speedway at 100-Plus Miles Per Hour
STAMFORD, Conn. – October 21, 2018 – NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will drive 23 miles from Kansas Speedway following today’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on NBC to join Liam McHugh, Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels on-site from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., for tonight’s Week 7 edition of Football Night in America, which begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
FNIA leads into the AFC-leading Kansas City Chiefs (5-1) hosting the Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) on Sunday Night Football, beginning at a new, earlier 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff time.
Football Night in America looks back at the childhood of Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, including interviews with his parents, Randi Mahomes and former MLB pitcher Pat Mahomes, detailing his upbringing around professional athletes and athletic abilities at a young age.
In addition, FNIA will include a feature with SNF sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who rode shotgun as NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton gave her a tour at 100 miles per hour around Kansas Speedway. NBC Sports celebrates a Kansas City Sunday doubleheader with NASCAR Cup Series racing from Kansas Speedway today.
Click here to watch Burton take Tafoya for a few laps around the 1.5 mile track at 100-plus miles per hour in the NBC Sports on-track car.
Tafoya on the experience: “This was new, and it was amazing. Jeff is incredible. This was different because it wasn’t in my control. I wasn’t driving. I wasn’t determining how fast we went. I’ve never gone that fast in my life, ever. The straightaways were incredible; the turns were a little uncomfortable. It is a rush because it is like nothing you have ever done. You feel like you are being catapulted or rocketed with the varying speeds and acceleration.”
Mike Tirico will host FNIA alongside Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, and NFL insider Mike Florio from NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. McHugh will co-host FNIA on-site from Arrowhead Stadium.
Below are excerpts from tonight’s segments detailing Mahomes’ childhood. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing on Football Night in America.”
RANDI, PAT AND PATRICK MAHOMES ON PATRICK’S CHILDHOOD
Randi Mahomes: “Patrick had it set in his head that he was going to be a professional athlete. It was not like, ‘It’s a dream of mine.’ It was, ‘I’m going to be that.’ And I knew he had the talent to be that.”
Former New York Mets P Pat Mahomes on bringing his son to Shea Stadium: “He was four years old the first time I started taking him up to Shea Stadium. I had the clubhouse manager make him a little uniform. I was watching him run around and I knew he was having a great time.”
Patrick Mahomes added: “Being able to go out there and shag (batting practice) and doing all those things was something that I’ll never forget.”
Pat Mahomes on Patrick participating in batting practice: “He was out there diving, catching balls. I started thinking to myself, ‘A normal five-year-old does not do stuff like this.”
Randi Mahomes on Patrick Mahomes’ competitiveness: “Patrick was very competitive even as a kid. He wanted everything to be a ball. Wherever we were, he was going to try to toss something at you.”
Patrick Mahomes on being around baseball: “I loved being in the locker room and at the field, so I would go in there every single day.”
Pat Mahomes on Patrick being around Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and other stars: “Patrick got the chance to be around a lot of great guys – (Alex Rodriguez), Derek Jeter – icons of the game. He got to go there and see the way they worked and what they did to prepare themselves for the games. He was always a student.”
Pat Mahomes on his son playing football: “A friend of mine named Willie Banks, he was playing catch with Patrick with a football and Willie told me, ‘This boy is going to be a quarterback.’ And I was like, ‘No, he’s going to be a baseball player. And if he’s not going to be a baseball player, he’s going to be a basketball player. He’s just messing around with football.’ Evidently, I was wrong.”
Randi Mahomes on Patrick Mahomes being drafted by Kansas City: “To see your child get to live his dream and to know that he’s happy, that can’t be replaced. I prayed for him to go somewhere that felt like home. And I will say, Kansas City feels like home. I wanted him to be in a place that he could feel home.”
—FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA—
