Live Blogging The Sprint Cup Series On TNT From Chicagoland

The final chapter in the six race story of NASCAR on TNT is about to play out. As you can see from the picture above, what TNT has brought to the past five races has simply been fun.

Marc Fein leads Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds on the air at 6:30PM with the NASCAR on TNT Live show. Guests on the TNT infield stage will include Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards. The outstanding Pride of NASCAR feature continues with a profile of Fred Lorenzen. TNT's commitment to spending the time and effort on producing these features has been welcome in the current NASCAR TV environment.

At long last, Ralph Sheheen will present his sneak peek inside the amazing car collection of veteran NASCAR owner Jack Roush. Many fans still do not know the extensive racing history of this man that includes NHRA and sports car racing championships.

The Countdown to Green show is up next, where Fein speaks with the TNT race analysts Wally Dallenbach and Petty. In this program, Marty Snider gets a tour of downtown Chicago from Kurt Busch, who knows the city very well. Also, the final edition of Wally's World airs featuring a review of this wide and fast racetrack.

Once 8PM rolls around, it will be Sheheen teaming up with Petty and Dallenbach to call the race. McReynolds stays in the infield to offer strategy advice. On pit road will be Lindsay Czarniak, Matt Yocum, Adam Alexander and Snider. This group has worked quite well together, including the versatile Czarniak who only appears on the NASCAR circuit for the six TNT events.

Green flag is at 8:15PM and look for NBC's Jimmy Fallon to be a part of the opening festivities. He has been touring the garages and talking on Twitter about the excitement of being at his first NASCAR race.

TNT has been welcomed by fans because of the relaxed style of coverage that has several features. Director Mike Wells keeps the cameras wide and always lets viewers keep a perspective of where a car is on the track. The caution flag pitstops are always followed with a clear view of the cars racing off pit road and a pop-up graphic that lets viewers know who came out where in the order.

Sheheen lets Petty and Dallenbach have the spotlight while the pit reporters offer information without hype or exaggeration. It is a combination of announcers that simply works on the air. This season will be remembered for Sheheen's willingness to step-in and take the play-by-play role when TNT and Bill Weber parted ways during the telecast schedule.

This post will serve to host your comments about the final Sprint Cup Series race on TNT for 2009. To add your TV-related opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting.

Thank you for taking time from your weekend to stop by The Daly Planet.

"This Week In NASCAR" Facing Cancellation?

Update: Friday afternoon we posted this item after being informed of a Tweet sent directly to fans by Michael Waltrip about This Week in NASCAR on SPEED.

We provided a location on this NASCAR TV blog where fans could express their opinions on this topic. The support for this show was overwhelming. Now, we are getting hateful email after another comment from Waltrip on Twitter:

i tweet cause i love my fans. i dont even know what the daily planet is nor do i care. dont yall let uninformed third parties make u mad

Let me get this straight. TDP offered fans a location to voice their support for this program after a heads-up on potential trouble from Waltrip himself and now we are the problem?

Here is the original column, judge for yourself:

The TV island that is This Week In NASCAR on Monday nights may soon be abandoned. After losing all the other NASCAR programming on Monday nights, SPEED is reportedly considering cancelling this TV series that has run for over a decade.

Here is the information Michael Waltrip offered on Twitter Friday afternoon:

TWIN is a question next year. Speed says the rating aren't good. I asked to dress up like the caveman for ratings week but I haven't heard.

This certainly will grab the attention of hardcore fans who have enjoyed this program for a very long time. Originally titled Inside Winston Cup Racing, this series is burned into the memories of TV viewers for a classic line-up of personalities.

Michael Waltrip, Johnny Benson and Kenny Shcrader were a trio that brought NASCAR into the homes of many SPEED viewers. Hosted by TV veteran Allen Bestwick, the show featured a quirky mix of personalities that worked on several levels. Kenny Wallace, pictures above, was a guest panelist on the series.

Many classic TV moments occurred on this program. Schrader would annually ask NASCAR President Mike Helton how much money he made...just for the record. Waltrip was once handed the replay controller and chaos ensued for months until the producers wisely hit it. Benson and Bestwick were the perfect straight men for the antics of Waltrip and Schrader.

TDP will have more on this issue as the information becomes available. To offer your opinions on this topic, just click the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for stopping by.

CNBC's NASCAR Snapshot (Updated)

Updated: Darren Rovell from CNBC has been nice enough to join us in the comments section. If you have reactions or questions about this program, this is a good time to offer them directly to the person who hosted the show.

"Given the economy, NASCAR is holding up pretty well," said veteran NASCAR reporter Monte Dutton. This one simple sentence essentially summed-up the Thursday night one hour CNBC special on NASCAR.

It was CNBC's Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell who led TV viewers through a rather elemental review of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. Rovell has the enthusiasm of a new fan and chose to offer this program from a very fundamental perspective on racing.

Punctuated by interviews with NASCAR personalities from Brian France to Tony Stewart, Rovell walked through the sport telling brief stories that were loosely connected by the current eoncomic issues.

Often naive and sometimes unintentionally humorous, Rovell intended this program for TV viewers who were not very familiar with the sport. He often took the time to re-state the most fundamental facts about NASCAR. That included asking Brian France some general questions about the state of the sport.

In this program, France came away as an aggressive and well-spoken executive who was clear in his message that NASCAR had worked hard to reach the level of national popularity it now enjoys. His answers made sense and ran the gamut from attendance to TV ratings. It was perhaps his best TV appearance in quite some time.

Rovell focused on the broader economic concepts of team sponsorship, including overall media exposure and brand loyalty. His interviews with marketing and team executives reinforced the messages that NASCAR fans know all too well. They are the most loyal in professional sports and support the brands that participate.

Tony Stewart was featured as a driver-turned-businessman who had to overcome the high cost of fielding a Sprint Cup team in his new venture. Stewart was interviewed and proved to be a good representative of racing in general. He presented a snapshot of an ordinary American chasing his personal dreams in the motorsports world.

In this program, there were the normal video clips of busty female NASCAR fans whooping and hollering at the track. There was a profile of a family who collects NASCAR merchandise perhaps beyond the boundaries of good taste. Kevin Costner was interviewed as someone who actually can speak about the sport with credibility.

Rovell used the All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway as his backdrop. This led him to speak with Marcus Smith, to ride along in the burn-out contest and to tape his on-camera segments on the start-finish line. The editing of those at-the-track segments with Rovell on-camera was rather unique.

This primetime special accurately reviewed some of the issues and stories associated with NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series in 2009, but as Rovell suggested to TDP before the program aired, it was not meant for hardcore fans.

Perhaps, a touch of irony was that Rovell's own polo shirt may have been the only one in this program without logos. Clicking here would have taken Rovell to a beautiful polo from his parent company NBC and their sports division. Perfect for the racetrack.

Amazingly, this $29 dollar shirt is on sale for only $15. It seems NASCAR is not the only company working hard to deal with a struggling economy.

TDP welcomes your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.