About the Show
Inside NASCAR will return for a third season on SHOWTIME® with a special Daytona 500 edition premiering Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The one-hour Daytona 500 special will feature highlights of all the action and drama from the race and exclusive driver-crew scanner audio. The special also will serve as an in-depth preview show to the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season featuring a sit-down interview with Danica Patrick who makes her anticipated NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut on Feb. 26 at the 54th annual Daytona 500.
Inside NASCAR's weekly episodes will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The episode will be a one-hour recap of the 2012 season and look ahead to The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship before the series returns to its regular 30-minute format for the remainder of the season.
Biographies
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Chris Myers
HostMoreA versatile Emmy® Award-winner, Chris Myers is a 27-year broadcasting veteran with a diverse resume that ranges from the racetrack to the baseball diamond. Myers brings his breadth of experience to SHOWTIME as host of the premium network's new series, Inside NASCAR, premiering Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010.
Myers currently hosts FOX's coverage of NASCAR alongside champion crew chief Jeff Hammond and legendary driver Darrell Waltrip.
A four-sport star, Myers also contributes to FOX's NFL, BCS and MLB coverage, serving as reporter and play-by-play announcer during select regular and postseason games. One of the busiest broadcasters in sports, Myers contributes to FSN, as well as hosting a weekday radio program entitled THE DRIVE on Fox Sports Radio.
In 1998, Myers began serving as an anchor for Fox Sports News on FSN. Prior to that, Myers worked for ESPN. During his 11 years at ESPN, Myers hosted Up Close and was a reporter and anchor for SportsCenter. He was awarded an EMMY in the Sports Features category in 1990 as an anchor/reporter.
The veteran reporter was previously a sports anchor and feature reporter with WWL-TV in New Orleans from 1982 to 1988. Prior to WWL-TV, Myers was a sportscaster with WTVJ-TV from 1980 to 1982 and WCIX-TV in Miami from 1978 to 1980.
A versatile Emmy® Award-winner, Chris Myers is a 27-year broadcasting veteran with a diverse resume that ranges from the racetrack to the baseball diamond. Myers brings his breadth of experience to SHOWTIME as host of the premium network's new series, Inside NASCAR, premiering Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010.
Myers currently hosts FOX's coverage of NASCAR alongside champion crew chief Jeff Hammond and legendary driver Darrell Waltrip.
A four-sport star, Myers also contributes to FOX's NFL, BCS and MLB coverage, serving as reporter and play-by-play announcer during select regular and postseason games. One of the busiest broadcasters in sports, Myers contributes to FSN, as well as hosting a weekday radio program entitled THE DRIVE on Fox Sports Radio.
In 1998, Myers began serving as an anchor for Fox Sports News on FSN. Prior to that, Myers worked for ESPN. During his 11 years at ESPN, Myers hosted Up Close and was a reporter and anchor for SportsCenter. He was awarded an EMMY in the Sports Features category in 1990 as an anchor/reporter.
The veteran reporter was previously a sports anchor and feature reporter with WWL-TV in New Orleans from 1982 to 1988. Prior to WWL-TV, Myers was a sportscaster with WTVJ-TV from 1980 to 1982 and WCIX-TV in Miami from 1978 to 1980.
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Kyle Petty
AnalystMoreThe latest addition to Inside NASCAR, Kyle Petty is an auto racing icon, a champion of philanthropy and one of the most popular personalities in all of sports. His name and mega-watt smile will always connect him with NASCAR's most famous family. To the world, his father Richard Petty was, and still is, "the King," the greatest champion in NASCAR history. Kyle's grandfather, Lee, was larger-than-life in the early days of stock car racing. To a young boy growing up in Level Cross, N.C., and places like Daytona, Charlotte and Talladega, they were simply Dad and Grandpa. Kyle is as much a product of racing as he is of his famous forebears. For more than three decades as a driver, owner and media commentator, Kyle has put his heart and soul into doing what a Petty does best -- compete with class and raise the game of everyone around him.
Today, it is Kyle Petty who is larger than life. Inspired by the vision of their late son Adam, Kyle and his wife Patty have in turn inspired the compassion and generosity of the NASCAR community and corporate sponsors nationwide to help those in need. Their crowning achievement is the Victory Junction Gang Camp near Level Cross, where nearly 5,000 children with life threatening or chronic illnesses find hope, laughter, friendship and adventure every year. Founded in 2000 in partnership with family friend and racing enthusiast Paul Newman, Victory Junction Gang Camp has proven wrong every "expert" who counseled the Pettys against the undertaking, citing the immense cost and complexity of building and operating a camp for kids with special requirements. The camp has not only become a shining example of what character and commitment can achieve, it has been so successful that a second Victory Junction Gang Camp is planned for the Kansas City area.
An avid motorcyclist, Kyle also founded the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America to benefit children's causes. Every year hundreds of NASCAR fans, drivers and crew members jump on their motorcycles to join Kyle in visiting local children's hospitals and other charities. To date, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride has raised over $14 million and is the most successful philanthropic event staged by any person in the NASCAR family. Kyle has been named or nominated by NASCAR, plus various media outlets and corporations, as Person of the Year, Father of the Year, Sportsman of the Year and the USA's Most Caring Athlete. He is an inductee in both the Philanthropy Hall of Fame and the Humanitarian Hall of Fame.
When Kyle isn't behind the wheel of a racecar or serving humanitarian or philanthropic causes, he can be seen and heard on television, radio and the Internet. He is a featured analyst on TNT's live NASCAR coverage and hosts a variety of programs for the Speed Channel, in addition to co-hosting the weekly radio show, "Fast Talk" on the Performance Racing Network. Kyle is also a popular speaker available through the Washington Speakers Bureau, the premier agency representing America's most highly sought-after public figures.
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Michael Waltrip
AnalystMoreFor the first time since 1985, the 46-year-old, two-time Daytona 500 champion plans to focus most of his energies outside a race car. Instead Michael Waltrip will devote the majority of his professional attention to guiding Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) as it starts its fourth full year of NASCAR Sprint Cup competition. In addition, Waltrip will continue his on-air television work with SPEED Channel and join the cast of Inside NASCAR on SHOWTIME as an analyst when the series premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010.
But Waltrip isn't hanging up the driving helmet yet. The Kentucky native plans another run at Daytona in February followed by a reduced schedule in the 2010 season.
No matter how his driving schedule plays out, Waltrip moves from fulltime driver to fulltime car owner of Martin Truex Jr.'s and David Reutimann's Camrys opening a new chapter in his life as one of the youngest multi-team owners in NASCAR history.
In 1983, Waltrip won the NASCAR Dash Series championship. In 1985, he started five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) events for Richard (Dick) Bahre, making his debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. The following year, Waltrip completed his first full season in the Cup Series, finishing 19th in the point standings driving for Bahre. Waltrip drove for Chuck Rider from 1987 to 1995 and the Wood Brothers from 1996 to 1998. During his tenure at the Wood Brothers, Waltrip scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win at the non-points event, the NASCAR All-Star Challenge on May 18, 1996.
Waltrip drove for James (Jim) Smith from 1999 to 2000 in the Cup Series. In 2001, Waltrip moved to Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) to drive the NAPA AUTO PARTS race car. The racing veteran earned a total of four wins during his five seasons at DEI, including Daytona 500 victories in 2001 and 2003. In 2006, Waltrip-Jasper Racing, a new team affiliated with Bill Davis Racing, fielded Waltrip's No. 55 NAPA machine.
In 2007, Waltrip not only competed for the 2007 NSCS championship in the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, but also expanded his role as a full-time car owner of MWR that included three Sprint Cup teams and a NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) team. Waltrip and his teammates, 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett and rookie David Reutimann, led Toyota's efforts during the manufacturer's first year in NSCS competition. Waltrip also opened the doors of his one-of-a-kind race shop and fan experience, Michael Waltrip Racing.
The 2008 season saw Waltrip qualify his No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry on the front row of the 50th running of the Daytona 500. On Oct. 26 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, he achieved an impressive milestone when he made his 1,000th NASCAR start. Waltrip, Mark Martin and seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty are the only drivers to have accomplished the feat. In 2009, Waltrip celebrated his 25th season in NASCAR's premiere division.
In addition to his role as co-owner, Waltrip has been a popular television personality on SPEED since 1996. He's an analyst for its NASCAR Camping World Truck Series broadcasts and was an original member of one of the longest running shows on the cable network, "This Week in NASCAR" 1996-2009.
The 2010 season holds the hope of multiple trips to victory lane for Waltrip as either one of the youngest multi-car owners in NASCAR or as a driver capping a 25-year career.