| By Mark Spoor, NASCAR.COM
February 24, 2006
10:46 AM EST (15:46 GMT)
Well, one thing is certain. FOX has no shortage of storylines to deal with heading into its season premiere this weekend. And NASCAR on FOX producer Neil Goldberg says if you haven't been watching NASCAR lately, his goal Sunday is to bring you up to speed. "The key to these early telecasts as well as our entire half of the season is not to assume that our growning viewership has and can keep up with all the changes," Goldberg said. "We will be weaving these stories and changes throughout the broadcasts." Of course, Goldberg said the crew will follow up on both the Chad Knaus and Tony Stewart stories from Daytona, but he says they'll also set the table for the rookie of the year battle. "We are going to be follow up on all the stories out of Daytona and orienting the viewers to all the team driver changes and how they impact the series." The network will also introduce a new feature on Sunday called "DW Drive and Ride." Essentially, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond will take a lap around the track each week and tell viewer's what to watch for. Coverage of Sunday's Auto Club 500 begins at 3:30 p.m. ET. Green-flag time is scheduled for 4:05. In this week's "Ask the Producer" question, several fans want to know when FX will begin to broadcast its races in high definition. Goldberg says he doesn't have an answer yet. "I do not know when FX is going to HD," Goldberg said. NBC got some great news earlier this week. Sunday's coverage of the Daytona 500 attracted 37 million total viewers and drew an 11.3 household rating and 23 share, the highest NASCAR rating in history and the most viewed Daytona 500 ever, according to fast national data from Nielsen Media Research. The broadcast was the final Daytona 500 for NBC under the current television deal. FOX will have rights to the race by themselves for the next eight seasons. Kyle Busch and Mike Skinner are among the guests scheduled for Trackside this week from Fontana. If you're going out there, the SPEED stage will be located outside the Turn 4 grandstand near the infield tunnel. The show will be taped at 2 p.m. local time. SPEED will also debut Tradin' Paint on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET. It pits Michael Waltrip against a member of the media in a lively discussion of hot topics. Audience questions accepted as the show is done from the SPEED Stage Truck. Now on to this weekend's schedule. Nextel Cup Series: Auto Club 500 Track: California Speedway • 2-mile oval
• 14-degree banking in corners
• 11-degree banking on frontstretch
• 3-degree banking on backstretch
• Frontstretch: 3,100 feet
• Backstretch: 2,500 feet Race length: 250 laps/500 miles TV schedule (All times ET) • NASCAR Live: Noon, 3:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Bud Pole Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Trackside: 8:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED (tape)
• Final Practice: 5 p.m. Sat., FX (tape)
• NASCAR Raceday: 11 a.m., 2 p.m. Sun., SPEED
• Pre-race: 3:30 p.m. Sun., FOX
• Race: 4:05 p.m. Sun., FOX One year ago, Greg Biffle ran strong throughout the 250-lap race on California's two-mile oval, taking the lead for good on Lap 228 and building a big enough advantage to hold off a last-ditch efforts by runner-up Jimmie Johnson in the second race of the season. The most recent checkered flag went to Jimmie Johnson. who won the Daytona 500 on Sunday without the presence of his suspended crew chief, Chad Knaus. Keep an eye on Casey Mears, who heads to his home track with a lot of momentum after his runner-up finish last weekend at Daytona. "I can't wait to get there," Mears said. "California is usually a good race for us and I have a lot friends and family who show up, so I'm looking forward to getting to the track." Busch Series: Stater Bros. 300 Track: California Speedway • 2-mile oval
• 14-degree banking in corners
• 11-degree banking on frontstretch
• 3-degree banking on backstretch
• Frontstretch: 3,100 feet
• Backstretch: 2,500 feet Race length: 150 laps/300 miles TV schedule (All times ET) • Busch Pole Qualifying: 4 p.m. Sat., SPEED (tape)
• Race: 6 p.m. Sat., FX One year ago, Mark Martin added to his record Busch Series win total, pulling away from Kevin Harvick for No. 46. The most recent checkered flag went to Tony Stewart, who passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 13 laps to go, held off a three-wide pack and came out ahead of a final-lap melee to win the Hershey's Kissables 300 at Daytona on Saturday. Keep an eye on the family tree. Three sets of brothers -- Scott and Chris Wimmer, David and Mark Green and the three Sauters -- Johnny, Jay and Tim -- are entered in the event. If the seven drivers would make the race, it would mark the greatest number of brothers in a NASCAR Busch Series race since March 2, 1996 at Richmond when four sets of siblinigs -- Chuck and Jim Bown, David and Jeff Green, Terry and Bobby Labonte and Elliott and Hermie Sadler -- competed against one another. Craftsman Truck Series: racetickets.com 200 Track: California Speedway • 2-mile oval
• 14-degree banking in corners
• 11-degree banking on frontstretch
• 3-degree banking on backstretch
• Frontstretch: 3,100 feet
• Backstretch: 2,500 feet Race length: 100 laps/200 miles TV schedule (All times ET) • Pole Qualifying: 1 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Race: 9 p.m. Fri., SPEED One year ago, Steve Park completed his comeback from a serious head injury sustained in 2001, capitalizing when leader Mike Bliss ran out of gas with less than six laps remaining. The most recent checkered flag went to Martin, who survived to win Friday night's GM Flex Fuel 250 when a caution spoiled a two-lap showdown. Keep an eye on Martin. He won last week's season opener at Daytona. He is the 15th different race winner over the past 26 races dating to the beginning of the 2005 season. The Domino's Viewer's Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks. | 
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