Viewer's Guide: Daytona

Former Apprentice contestant enters NASCAR Nation

The most interesting bit of television during the next seven days just might be the premiere of NASCAR Nation on Monday night on SPEED.

The show will air Monday through Thursday at 7 p.m. ET during the season. The network is calling it its "signature program" and says it will focus heavily on "features and all-access content."

On paper, one of the things that makes at least the premiere interesting is John Willenborg -- a contestants on the second season of The Apprentice -- as a field reporter.

At first glance, the addition of Willenborg seems like little more than a stunt. Turns out, Willenborg has a bit of a racing background. He started racing go-karts in college and most recently has been a competitor SCCA Pro Division.

"I am tremendously excited to be a part of NASCAR Nation," Willenborg said. "I have been a race fan my entire life and now to get a chance to work on this show is a dream come true.

John Willenborg Credit: Courtesy: johnwillenborg.com

"I know that there will be many challenges as a newcomer to the industry but I am confident that my drive and passion for the sport of racing will make it successful.

"NASCAR is one of the most complex and exciting sports today and I can't wait to bring a new and unique perspective to the fans."

Our own Marty Smith will also be a contributor on the program, focusing on the business of NASCAR. Ralph Sheehen and another NASCAR newbie, Courtney George will sit on the anchor desk while Krista Voda will serve as the show's senior correspondent.

Of course, there's a bit of on-track action this weekend to talk about. FX will air the Duel at Daytona at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, and FOX will broadcast the Daytona 500 starting at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

D.W. offers what to look for in 2005 on the NASCAR.COM Webcast Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Trackside is branching out a bit. The show will air each night this week starting at 7 p.m. ET from Daytona. Wednesday's show will feature Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Jamie McMurray and Sterling Marlin are scheduled for Thursday and Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Friday.

David Pearson, a three-time NASCAR champion with 105 premier-series victories, will be Dave Despain's first guest of the season on Wind Tunnel at 9 p.m. ET Sunday on SPEED.

Jeff Hammond is undefeated in his pro wrestling career. Hammond teamed with BG James to beat Frankie Kazarian & Michael Shane at NWA-TNA's Against All Odds pay-per-view event Sunday night in Orlando, Fla. Hammond actually scored the winning pinfall.

In this week's "Ask The Producer," V. Kem Isaacks of Stafford, Texas, wonders why so many races are on cable and not regular broadcast television.

NASCAR on FOX producer Neil Goldberg says there are a few reasons.

'NASCAR on FOX' producer Neil Goldberg

"Ken, FOX has all of our Nextel Cup races, but two, on FOX Sports. Many of our Busch Series races are on FX. The reason is two-fold. One has to do with programming schedules and the other has to do with the attractiveness of NASCAR series racing to all the networks.

"If you put NASCAR on, people are going to watch."

Each week, we'll choose one fan's question to ask a NASCAR on FOX producer. Does something on the broadcast leave you shaking your head? Have you always wondered how or why the TV crew does something? Use the link to the right to e-mail your question and you just might read the answer right here.

Dan Knowles of Walker, Minn., wants to Rant a bit about the lack of NASCAR coverage on other sports networks.

EMAIL Send Mark your take for "The Rant" or your question for "Ask The Producer"

"Why is it when football, basketball and baseball are in season, that is all you get on ESPN and other sports channels? NASCAR is lucky to even get a scroll at the bottom of the screen letting us know who won let alone the 3-5 minutes of coverage it deserves."

I see your point, Dan. Still, it's not hard to get your fix of NASCAR information these days. In addition to the Web site you're looking at now, there are entire networks devoted to the sport of racing. Plus, we don't have the time constraints that newspapers and other sports networks have, so we can dive into a story a whole lot deeper.

Now to this weekend's very busy schedule:

Nextel Cup Series: Gatorade Duels, Daytona 500

Track: Daytona International Speedway
• 2.5-mile oval
• 31-degree banking in turns
• 18-degree banking in tri-oval 3-degree banking on straights
• Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
• Length of backstretch: 3,400 feet

TV schedule (All times ET)
• NASCAR Live: 11:30 a.m. Wed., SPEED
• Nextel Cup practice: Noon Wed., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 1 p.m. Wed., SPEED
• Nextel Cup Practice: 2 p.m. Wed., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 5:30 p.m. Wed., SPEED
• Trackside: 7 p.m. Wed., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 10:45 a.m. Thu., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: noon Thu., SPEED
• Gatorade Duel at Daytona: 1 p.m. Thu., FX
• NASCAR Live: 3:30 p.m. Thu., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 5 p.m. Thu., SPEED
• Trackside: 8 p.m. Thu., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 1 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Nextel Cup Practice: 1:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 2:45 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 5 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Trackside: 7 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Nextel Cup Final Practice: 10:30 a.m. Sat., FX
• NASCAR Live: noon Sat.., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 5 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• Inside Nextel Cup: 7:30 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR This Morning: 11:30 a.m. Sun., SPEED
• Daytona 500: 1 p.m. Sun., FOX
• NASCAR Victory Lane: 6 p.m. Sun., SPEED

Check out the commercials for the 2005 Daytona 500 Junior holds off Tony Stewart in the final laps of the '04 Daytona 500. Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

One year ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott Sadler won the two qualifying races. Then, Junior rumbled past Tony Stewart with 20 laps to go and went on to capture his first Daytona 500 victory.

The most recent checkered flag went to Jimmie Johnson in the Bud Shootout last Saturday. Johnson passed Ryan Newman with 15 laps to go and cruised to the victory.

Keep an eye on Kevin Harvick. He's had little to smile about lately, but he posted the fourth-fastest qualifying speed last Sunday. He's a lot happier about his cars these days -- and he finished fourth in last year's race.

Busch Series: Hershey's Take 5 300

Track: Daytona International Speedway
• 2.5-mile oval
• 31-degree banking in turns
• 18-degree banking in tri-oval 3-degree banking on straights
• Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
• Length of backstretch: 3,400 feet

TV schedule (All times ET)
• NBS Practice: 4:30 p.m. Wed., SPEED
• NBS Practice: 10 a.m. Thu., SPEED
• NBS Final Practice: 4 p.m. Thu., SPEED
• Qualifying: 3 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Race: 1 p.m. Sat., FOX

Junior completes the weekend sweep at Daytona Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

One year ago, Earnhardt Jr. completed a weekend sweep when he won the rain-delayed Busch Series opener on the day after he captured the Daytona 500.

The most recent checkered flag went to Harvick, who ended a disappointing 2004 Busch Series season by winning the season finale at Homestead.

Keep an eye on Clint Bowyer. Bowyer has a full-time ride with RCR this season in the No. 2 Chevrolet. Last season, he earned seven top-10 finishes in 17 starts.

Craftsman Truck Series: Florida Dodge Dealers 250

Track: Daytona International Speedway
• 2.5-mile oval
• 31-degree banking in turns
• 18-degree banking in tri-oval 3-degree banking on straights
• Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
• Length of backstretch: 3,400 feet

TV schedule (All times ET)
• NCTS Practice: 3 p.m. Wed., SPEED
• NCTS Practice: 9 a.m. Thu., SPEED
• Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. Thu., SPEED
• Race: 8 p.m. Fri., SPEED

One year ago, Carl Edwards held off defending series champion Travis Kvapil by 0.141 seconds to win a crash-filled season opener at Daytona.

Edwards holds off Kvapil for the victory at Daytona Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

The most recent checkered flag went to Kasey Kahne, who won his second Craftsman Truck Series race in just his second attempt. Though Bobby Hamilton finished a lackluster 16th at Homestead, he still easily won the series title over Dennis Setzer.

Keep an eye on Shige Hattori. He's bidding to become the first Japanese-born driver to compete in a NASCAR national touring series race at Daytona.

Hattori, a veteran open-wheel competitor, just missed qualifying for the 2004 finale at Homestead.

Only one Japanese driver has competed in a NASCAR-sanctioned race at Daytona. Seiichi Suzuki participated in a February 1970 Grand American race at the wheel of a Mercury Cougar fielded by "Tiger Tom" Pistone.

Mark Spoor is an interactive producer for NASCAR.COM.
The Domino's Viewer's Guide runs each Thursday during race weeks.