Notes from TNT NASCAR Summer Series – New Hampshire 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Kasey Kahne Wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
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Countdown to Green Adam Alexander (host), Larry McReynolds (analyst) and Kyle Petty (analyst)
Petty on the parity of the NASCAR racers, the difference in the races and styles of tracks during TNT’s Summer Series: “It’s hard for a guy, in this day and time, to put two to three races back-to-back especially on these diverse courses.”
McReynolds on the difficulty of being a consistent winner at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “If you look at the last 12 races here, we’ve had 11 different winners and in the last eight races, we’ve had eight different winners.”
Wally Dallenbach on Sam Hornish driving the No. 22 car in light of A.J. Allmendinger’s suspension: “Any time you get a second chance in that garage area, it’s big for a driver. This is really a gift. He’s got a really great opportunity to get himself back into the [Sprint Cup] Series full time.”
NASCAR driver No. 16 Greg Biffle on his season to date: “We have been very fast as a race team all season.”
Biffle on his driver/crew relationship this season: “These guys are excited. These guys are hungry. I love to see that in a race team. We’ve had a great season and we want to keep it up.”
McReynolds on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “Turn three is a little bumpy.”
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick was interviewed by Ralph Sheheen:
Hendrick on combining his love of motorsports and business: “My dad taught me how to work on cars, my mother taught me how to borrow money…If it wasn’t for my mom getting those 90-day notes for me, I wouldn’t have ever gotten into the car business.”
Hendrick on how he got started in motorsports: “I was born a car guy…I was drag racing when I was 14. Then I was boat racing. I just loved the speed. I loved water. I love cars. I loved the racing. I looked at the automobile business as a way to make a living.”
Hendrick on Jeff Gordon’s 2012 season and No. 24’s future: “He’s had the roughest luck this year of any year that we’ve raced together. It’s gonna be a void in the garage the day that Jeff Gordon doesn’t strap into a car, just like it was a void that day that Dale Earnhardt didn’t show up.”
Hendrick on one of his favorite cars from his collection: “I’m a huge ’70 Chevelle fan, and I love the ’70 convertible. So I put the LS9 Corvette motor in my Chevelle. We call it my summer ice cream car. I carry the grandkids for a ride in it. It’s a little potent for that, but it’s a lot of fun.”
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TNT NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing: New Hampshire 301
Adam Alexander (host), Wally Dallenbach (analyst), Kyle Petty (analyst), pit reporters Chris Neville, Ralph Sheheen, Matt Yocum
Petty on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “This is a momentum race track.”
**** **** **** **** TNT NASCAR Summer Series – Post-race remarks
TNT’s Ralph Sheheen interviewed the winner of the New Hampshire 301 – Kasey Kahne on his win: “We just had to battle hard the whole race. I feel like we’ve been pretty tough all year. We’ve been there [in contention] all year long. I can’t wait for some of these other tracks coming up.”
Denny Hamlin on his race today and the confusion about his last pit stop in which he had four tires changed instead of two, losing valuable time: “It was just a miscommunication. We still had a shot to win. If we’re not wrecking, it seems like we’re in contention every single week. That’s all I can ask for. I’m very, very pleased with where we’re at right now.”
Jimmie Johnson on his race today and the prospect for his success in the Chase: “I think we have enough speed, speed on the race track and pit road to get it done in the Chase. I’m real happy where we are.”
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on his fourth place finish and his prospect for returning to New Hampshire during the Chase: “We were just happy to run in the top five. We run better at this track, for whatever reason, the second time in the season. I like coming here. I love running here. We’re pretty excited about our chances when we get to the Chase.”
At last, the race gets into the hands of some announcers who know what they are talking about. I’m not talking about AA and LMac, I’m talking about Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dee.