TNT signs Dallenbach to multi-year extension

Wally's World got a little bit brighter on Wednesday.

TNT announced that Wally Dallenbach, who has served as a color analyst for NBC and TNT's NASCAR broadcast since 2001, will continue in that role for TNT during the network's new NASCAR television deal that begins next season.

Weber remains lead race voice for TNT

Bill Weber will continue his duties as pre-race host and play-by-play announcer for TNT when the new television contract for NASCAR goes into effect next year. Weber currently is in his second year in the booth for NASCAR on NBC and TNT. He spent the previous four years as pre-race host and lead pit reporter for the two networks. Weber called the decision a "no-brainer. This was not a one-year decision; it was a career decision," Weber said. "[TNT] made me feel like this was my home."

Dallenbach will join play-by-play man Bill Weber, who was signed to an extension in late July.

"I'm very happy," Dallenbach said. "It'll be business as usual. Turner does a great job. They've been committed to NASCAR for the past 25 years and it's great to be a part of it.

"As the sport of NASCAR continues to grow, it is wonderful to be a part of a team that is committed to bringing viewers the best coverage in the business," he said.

TNT's new Nextel Cup Series rights package includes six consecutive races per year, including races in Daytona, California and Chicago as well as Pocono, Michigan and New Hampshire.

Dallenbach, who owns a ranch outside of San Antonio and is the star of Track and Trail Adventures with Wally Dallenbach on the Outdoor Channel, says the length of TNT's season put them head and shoulders above the rest.

"I've talked to other people with other networks, but the TNT deal is perfect for me with all the other things I have going on," said Dallenbach, whose three children are heavily into racing, . "This way I can keep doing all the things that I love to do."

Including getting back behind the wheel. It sometimes gets forgotten that Dallenbach is an accomplished racer. He's has competed in more than 220 Cup races, most recently in 2001 when he drove the No. 33 car for the injured Joe Nemecheck at the Pocono 500.

Dallenbach's first NASCAR event was in 1991 when he drove for Junie Donlavey followed by stints for Jack Roush, Richard Petty, Bud Moore, Felix Sabates and Rick Hendrick.

In addition to Cup racing, Dallenbach has won the 24 Hours of Daytona four times, the 12 Hours of Sebring three times and the Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am Series championships twice.

He said one other thing the TNT deal does is allow him to build on his racing resume.

"I want to do a little more road racing, maybe a little bit of Busch racing and race a Cup car every once in a while," Dallenbach said. "If I was going to do a deal that was going to put me on the road 25 or 30 weeks a year, then I would have had to hang up my helmet and I don't want to do that.

"I'm still young enough that I feel I can be competitive."

Despite all his racing accolades, Dallenbach is perhaps best known for his Wally's World segments, where most weeks Dallenbach takes celebrity guests for a lap around the track du jour.

What many fans may not remember is that the first few segments were played very straight. Then, as Dallenbach explained, things naturally had to go into another direction.

"We started doing it as just kind of informational things about the racetrack, but you can only do that so many times," he said.

"You can only show a line, or this, or that so many times during the year. "I think what we decided is that we'd put celebrities in there and have some fun with their reactions."

The reaction of Turner Sports executive producer Jeff Behnke has been, in a word, positive.

"His knowledge of the sport coupled with his popularity amongst viewers and drivers alike make Wally one of the best in the business," Behnke said. "We are fortunate to have Wally continue as an integral part of the TNT announcing booth as we gear up for an exciting slate of races in 2007."