Fox Sports Notes, Quotes & Anecdotes
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FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES 2012 Sprint Cup Champ Brad Keselowski Joins NASCAR on FOX for Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited Green Flag Drops for NASCAR on FOX’s 13 th Season with Primetime Coverage of the Sprint Unlimited Saturday & Daytona 500 Qualifying Sunday The Sprint Unlimited Marks Debut of Gen-6 Car; Fans Have Say in the Action NASCAR ON FOX BEGINS NEW SEASON SATURDAY WITH THE SPRINT UNLIMITED IN PRIMETIME – A deep and talented field hits the Daytona International Speedway as the NASCAR season gets underway Saturday, Feb. 16 (8:00 PM ET) with The Sprint Unlimited. The network continues coverage Sunday, Feb. 17 (1:00 PM ET) with Daytona 500 Qualifying. The Sprint Unlimited marks the racing debut of the much-anticipated Gen-6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car – the Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry. Special guest and 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski joins NASCAR on FOX host Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip during Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited from the Hollywood Hotel studio. Keselowski offers in-race analysis throughout the duration of Saturday’s race giving viewers direct insight into what drivers on the track are experiencing. FOX Sports’ Jeff Hammond serves as the network’s roving analyst, taking fans from the garages to pit road and everywhere in between. Once the green flag drops, race announcer Mike Joy is alongside analysts Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds to call all the action on the track, while Steve Byrnes , Krista Voda and Matt Yocum patrol the pits for reports on teams and pit stops. The Sprint Unlimited returns to its original concept – a non-points race for drivers who won a pole last season along with previous event winners who participated in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race in 2012. Fans, both in Daytona and at home, have a say in the action. Fans at Daytona International Speedway determine the starting grid. Fans at home pick how the 187.5-mile/75-lap race’s three segments are run among three choices: 40 laps, 20 laps and 15 laps; 35 laps, 30 laps and 10 laps; or 30 laps, 25 laps and 20 laps. Fans also have control after the green flap drops, determining whether a pit stop will be required after the first segment and if so, whether teams execute two or four tire changes. Finally, fans decide during the race’s second segment, determining if the number of cars to be eliminated is zero, two, four or six. Fans can vote at www.nascar.com/Sprint with balloting open for all three scenarios through 11:59 PM ET tonight. Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 Event BROADCASTERS TIME The Sprint Unlimited (Daytona International Speedway) Prerace Host Chris Myers 8:00 PM ET Prerace Analyst Brad Keselowski Prerace Analyst Michael Waltrip Announcer Mike Joy Analyst Darrell Waltrip Analyst Larry McReynolds Roving Analyst Jeff Hammond Pits Steve Byrnes , Matt Yocum , Krista Voda -more- FOX SPORTS NQ&A – Page 2 Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 Event BROADCASTERS TIME Daytona 500 Qualifying (Daytona International Speedway) Announcer Mike Joy 1:00 PM ET Analyst Darrell Waltrip Analyst Larry McReynolds Roving Analyst Jeff Hammond , Pits Steve Byrnes , Matt Yocum , Krista Voda Below are drivers scheduled to compete in Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited: Entry Driver Make 1 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 2 Marcos Ambrose Ford 3 Denny Hamlin Toyota 4 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 5 Greg Biffle Ford 6 Kyle Busch Toyota 7 Matt Kenseth Toyota 8 Joey Logano Ford 9 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 10 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 11 Ken Schrader Ford 12 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 13 Aric Almirola Ford 14 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 15 Mark Martin Toyota 16 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 17 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 18 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 19 Carl Edwards Ford HAMMOND PREVIEWS THIS WEEKEND’S SPRINT UNLIMITED – The 2013 NASCAR on FOX season gets underway on Saturday with The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway, and analyst Jeff Hammond says that not only is the race exciting for the fans and drivers involved, but it also presents a golden opportunity for the drivers that are not participating. “One of the most unique things about The Sprint Unlimited is that even though the teams that are involved in it are excited about it, the teams that are not involved in it are equally excited about it,” Hammond said. “They realize this is going to be a golden opportunity to see how these Gen-6 cars react in a big pack.” MCREYNOLDS: THIS YEAR’S UNLIMITED MAY BE MOST ANTICIPATED IN RECENT YEARS – NASCAR on FOX analyst Larry McReynolds weighs in on Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited and tells why he thinks this year’s race will be one of the most anticipated. “This race has a lot of anticipation because even though we spent all this time developing and testing the new Gen-6 body style and we had three days of testing in Daytona, you never really know what you have until you drop the green flag,” McReynolds said. “This is when the drivers are going to be out there and they’re truly going to be racing and making long runs and making pit stops. Even though we’ve tested the new body style, we really don’t know what we have.” FOX Sports’ coverage of The Sprint Unlimited begins Saturday, Feb. 16, at 8:00 PM ET. For a look at FOX Sports’ new Daytona 500 promos, click here: http://tinyurl.com/awot9ro -more- FOX SPORTS NQ&A – Page 3 SONNEN PREDICTS UPSET AT FUEL TV’S FIRST UFC CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT – UFC ® ON FUEL TV travels to Wembley Arena in London live on Saturday, Feb. 16 (3:00 PM ET) for the network’s first- ever Ultimate Fighting Championship ® (UFC ®) title fight. The bout features Renan Barao’s first interim title defense in the bantamweight division against top contender Michael McDonald . Barao is riding a 19-fight win streak (4-0 in the UFC, 31-1, 1 NC), while McDonald (eight-fight win streak, 4-0 in the UFC) could become the youngest fighter in the UFC to win a title at the age of 22. Current UFC light heavyweight No. 1 contender and FUEL TV UFC TONIGHT analyst Chael Sonnen predicts a McDonald victory . “McDonald is really a special talent, but he has his work cut out for him against Barao. We’re going to see an upset. McDonald is going to win this with his boxing. This is a razor-thin fight – don’t miss it.” The afternoon telecast features five other fights, including a featherweight clash between Cub Swanson (18-5, 3-1 UFC), who’s riding a three-fight win streak, and Dustin Poirier (13-2, 5-1 in the UFC), who was awarded Fight of the Night honors in his back-and-forth battle with the “Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung , at UFC ® ON FUEL TV 3 . Undefeated Jimi Manuwa (12-0) takes on Cyrille Diabate (20-8- 3) in a light heavyweight battle; Gunnar Nelson (10-0-1) goes against fellow welterweight Jorge Santiago (25-10); light heavyweight Ryan Jimmo (17-1) hopes to carry the momentum from his seven- second KO of Anthony Perosh at UFC ® 149 in his clash with James Te Huna (17-5), who’s coming off a victory over Joey Beltran at UFC ® ON FUEL TV 4 . Che Mills (15-5, 1 NC) plans on giving his home country fans something to cheer about against Matthew Riddle (7-3, 1 NC) in a welterweight war. UFC announcers Jon Anik and Kenny Florian call all bouts live from London on FUEL TV. UFC ® ON FUEL TV 7: BARAO VS. MCDONALD PRELIMS STREAMED LIVE ON FUEL.TV AND FOXSPORTS.COM – FUEL TV and FOXSports.com are webcasting the UFC PRELIMS beginning on Saturday, Feb. 16 (9:00 AM ET) - http://www.fuel.tv/ufc/events/barao-vs-mcdonald . UFC BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMP CRUZ OFFERS ANALYSIS ON FUEL TV UFC WEIGH-IN SHOW – Coverage of UFC ® ON FUEL TV 7: BARAO VS. MCDONALD begins Friday, Feb. 15 (11:00 AM ET) when FUEL TV telecasts the weigh-in LIVE from London. The program is hosted by Karyn Bryant with current UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Chael Sonnen adding analysis. Veteran British MMA Journalist Gareth A. Davies interviews fighters backstage. FUEL TV INTRODUCES “FAN CAMEO” IN UFC POSTFIGHT SHOW : Immediately following UFC ® ON FUEL TV 7: BARAO vs. MCDONALD on Saturday, Feb. 16 (6:00 PM ET), the UFC POSTFIGHT SHOW airs on FUEL TV featuring host Jay Glazer and analysts Sonnen and Cruz, breaking down the biggest and best moments of the evening. In the POSTFIGHT SHOW, FUEL TV premieres its “Fan CAMeo,” a groundbreaking feature on the FUEL TV website or app that allows viewers to record video reactions to the fights from their mobile phone, table or laptop, upload the clip, and have it used within minutes on the live show. http://www.fuel.tv/fancameo -- FOX SPORTS -- .