Checker Auto Parts 500

So just how do you fill nearly five hours of dead time during a Winston Cup rain delay?

The NBC production team was forced to answer that question after on-again/off-again rain forced NASCAR to wait that length of time before making the call to re-start the race the following day.

Sam Flood, producer of the NBC and TNT racing broadcasts, says filling that time isn't nearly as difficult as one might think.

"You always have a plan of who you want to talk to and where you want to go," said Flood. "What makes it really easy is that these drivers are so cooperative. They know everyone wins when they talk with us, plus these drivers are such good people that it's amazing."

Among the gems fans that stuck around through the coverage got: Tony Stewart saying he went to sleep twice and both times when he woke up, Michael Waltrip was on the TV, Kurt Busch asking pit reporter Marty Snider if he and the crew were "detectives or something" and Jeff Burton telling Benny Parsons that in his bright green shirt and tie he looked like, "a big avacado."

Fans also got to see pieces on Ryan Newman's pit crew enjoying a night at the local bowling lanes and Jimmie Johnson's day as a New York City cab driver. Both pieces were bumped from Sunday's pre-race show after the race was put "in the hurry up" to try to beat the rain.

Flood said the light-hearted nature of the drivers speaks volumes for his on-air crew.

"That the drivers felt comfortable joking around them, I think, says something for our guys."

VIDEO CLIPS Tony Stewart jokes around with the NBC crew Play video

The decisions about what races to show during the delay and how much of each to show are all made well in advance. The one varible is when the decision will be made whether to run the race on Sunday, or delay it to Monday. However, even in that case, scenarios are planned out.

All the while, Flood says he's in contact with NASCAR president Mike Helton and NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol to keep everyone abreast of what's going on.

"We're always in contact, so that as soon as NASCAR decides what they're going to do, we're ready."

Ask The Producer: After Sunday's rainout, several fans e-mailed us wondering why Monday's re-start was moved to TNT.

	Benny Parsons: It's not easy being green.

"It's in our agreement that Monday races will be shown on TNT and that they'll start at 11 a.m. That is already decided."

Let your voice be heard: Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the NBC/TNT telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.

Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.

Looking ahead: Thanks to a later start time for Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix, the pre-race show will feature just driver interviews and pre-race ceremonies. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET, with green-flag racing set for 3:30.

Quote of the week: "NASCAR racing is quite insane. I got NASCAR on the brain. You take the turn like a demon from hell and then I seen you ring the bell." -- Actor/comedian Jack Black singing to Johnson during his day as a New York City cab driver.

That boy ain't right. Since when is there a bell in NASCAR, other than when Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch get together?

On to this weekend's schedule...

Winston Cup Series: Checker Auto Parts 500

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval, 11-degree banking in turns, 3-degree banking in straightaways, Frontstretch: 1,179 feet, Backstretch: 1,551 feet)

Race distance: 312 laps, 312 miles

Last year Matt Kenseth uses a two-tire stop to win at PIR. Play video Junior rules the early stages until he runs out of gas. Play video Rusty falls one lap short of his first win of the year. Play video

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 4 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: TNT, 2 ET Saturday (tape). Race: NBC, 3 p.m. ET Sunday.

Last year: Matt Kenseth took on just two tires on the final pit stop and held on to win the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix for his series-leading fifth victory.

Last race: Jeff Gordon is partying like it's 1998. The four-time champ won his second straight race with an impressive performance at Atlanta -- he beat a dominant Tony Stewart head-to-head in the closing laps.

Potential storyline: Two former Winston Cup champions, Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte, are in ninth and 10th place in the Winston Cup standings, respectively, heading to Phoenix. They're separated by only six points but share a lengthy stretch where each has missed being in New York in December. Elliott hasn't finished in the NASCAR Top 10 since 1997, while Labonte has been absent from the festivities since 1998

Point to ponder: Ryan Newman started his first NASCAR Winston Cup race at Phoenix in 2000.

Next race: Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400, North Carolina Speedway, Nov. 9.

Busch Series: Bashas' Supermarkets 200

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval, 11-degree banking in turns, 3-degree banking in straightaways, Frontstretch: 1,179 feet, Backstretch: 1,551 feet)

Last year Wimmer battles Biffle for the win at Phoenix Play video Biffle captures the 2002 Busch Series championship Play video Jamie McMurray's good fortune comes to an end Play video

Race distance: 200 laps, 200 miles

TV: Happy Hour: SPEED, 3 p.m. ET Friday (tape). Race: TNT, 3 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last year: Scott Wimmer pushed past Greg Biffle on Lap 186 and went on to win his third race of the year. Meanwhile, Biffle, who had dominated the race, finished third and secured the 2002 Busch Series title.

Last race: Biffle overcame a flat tire, an empty gas tank and a pit road speeding violation to blow by Michael Waltrip for the lead just after the final restart, then pulled away for victory in Saturday's Aaron's 312.

Potential storyline: It has never happened in NASCAR's modern era, but this year's Busch Series championship car owner and championship driver likely will come from different teams. Richard Childress Racing's No. 21 PayDay-sponsored operation has a solid 216-point lead over Brewco Motorsports' No. 37 Timber Wolf-backed outfit, and could realistically clinch the championship Nov. 8 at North Carolina Speedway.

Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter have split this year's schedule in Childress' entry, while David Green is the current leader in the driver standings.

Such a feat, though rare, is not unprecedented. In 1954, in what's now the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Herb Thomas was the champion car owner and Lee Petty the champion driver. In 1963, Wood Brothers Racing took the owners title, while Joe Weatherly was crowned the championship driver.

Point to ponder: An avid race fan, Gemini and Apollo astronaut Dick Gordon will attend this weekend's NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Winston Cup events at Phoenix.

Gordon was the command module pilot for Apollo XII on Nov. 14, 1969, when the six-million pound Saturn V rocket was struck by lightning seconds after launch. Gordon was also the fourth American to make a space walk on his first space flight, Gemini XI, in Sept. 1966.

Next race: Target House 200, North Carolina Speedway, Nov. 8.

Craftsman Truck Series: Chevy Silverado 150

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval, 11-degree banking in turns, 3-degree banking in straightaways, Frontstretch: 1,179 feet, Backstretch: 1,551 feet)

Race distance: 150 laps, 150 miles

TV: Race: SPEED, 5:30 p.m. ET Friday.

Last year Harvick finally gets his first career NCTS victory Play video Harvick holds off Musgrave in a two-lap shootout Play video Jason Leffler involved in a late-race caution Play video

Last year: Kevin Harvick finally broke through in the Craftsman Truck Series, winning the Chevy Silverado 150. Harvick beat Ted Musgrave after scoring five career runner-up finishes in the Truck Series.

Last race: Jon Wood held off Roush Racing teammate Carl Edwards to score an emotional victory in the Advance Auto Parts 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 18.

Potential storyline: A top-10 finish by Dennis Setzer -- he has four at Phoenix -- will be the driver's 19th in succession, a figure that would match Hornaday's 1996 series record.

Point to ponder: Harvick, the defending Chevy Silverado 150 champion, is the only one of seven Phoenix winners expected to go to the post in Friday's race. The track has seen more multiple winners -- four -- than any other series venue. Two drivers -- Mike Skinner and Jack Sprague -- captured the series' first five stops at Phoenix but there have been five different winners in the most recent five races.

Next race: Target House 200, North Carolina Speedway, Nov. 8.

Mark Spoor is an associate producer of NASCAR.com. The Domino's Viewer's Guide appears each Thursday.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.