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Goody's Cool Orange 500 NASCAR HOTPASS Lineup on DIRECTV

Wednesday March 26, 2008

 

Goody's Cool Orange 500
NASCAR HotPass Lineup
Ride Along with Busch, Earnhardt, Hamlin and Burton at Martinsville on DIRECTV

Event: Goody's Cool Orange 500
Previous Winner: Jimmie Johnson (beat Jeff Gordon by .065 of a second on April 1, 2007)
Date / Time: Sunday, March 30 at 2 p.m. EDT
Track: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
Configuration: .526-mile oval (500 laps = 263 miles)
Banking in Corners: 12 degrees
Banking on Frontstretch: None
Banking on Backstretch: None
Frontstretch: 800 feet
Backstretch: 800 feet
First Sprint Cup Series Race: Sept. 25, 1949 - 105 Miles at Martinsville (Winner - Red Byron)
Grandstand Seating Capacity: 65,000

In 2007, DIRECTV and NASCAR took the race-day television experience to new heights with the cutting-edge interactive television service, NASCAR HOTPASSâ„¢ only on DIRECTV. The new service featured dedicated driver channels offering viewers multiple camera angles, real-time statistics and announcer teams in addition to live communications between the drivers and their pit crews.

In addition to the four dedicated driver channels, DIRECTV is raising the bar even further in 2008, offering NASCAR HOTPASS in high-definition and upgrading it to include additional live audio feeds of driver/pit crew communications for 13 different teams.

DIRECTV Channel 795 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 790 (Standard-Definition):
Kyle Busch & the No. 18 M&M's Toyota team of Joe Gibbs Racing

Kyle Busch will make his 120th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his seventh at Martinsville Speedway…the 22-year-old Las Vegas native has scored five wins and 54 top-10 finishes in 119 Sprint Cup Series starts…Became the youngest winner in NASCAR's top division when he won the 2005 Fontana fall race at 20 years 126 days old…Also holds record for youngest driver to have ever won a Sprint Cup Series pole when he won the 2005 Fontana spring race pole at the age of 19 years, 319 days…Qualified for the Chase for the Championship in 2006 at the age of 21, becoming the youngest Chase competitor in history…Finished a career-best fifth in points in 2007…Moved from Hendrick Motorsports to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008 and scored a Sprint Cup Series victory in March at Atlanta…Also has two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins in 2008 at Fontana and Atlanta…Has three top-five finishes in Sprint Cup competition at Martinsville.

Play-by-Play: Pat Patterson
Pit Road Reporter: Wendy Venturini
Producer: Keith D'Alessandro

DIRECTV Channel 796 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 791 (Standard-Definition):
Dale Earnhardt Jr., & the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports

The Goody's Cool Orange 500 will mark Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 297th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 17th at Martinsville Speedway… During that time, the 33-year-old from Kannapolis, N.C., has won 17 races and seven poles and scored 79 top-fives and 125 top-10s… 2008 marks Earnhardt's ninth full-year in Sprint Cup, with a career-best point finish of third in 2003… Finished a season-best second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and followed it up with a third-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway and a fifth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway…Has four top-10 finishes in 2008 and ranks fifth in Sprint Cup points…Earnhardt has never won at Martinsville, but has seven top-five finishes…Won NASCAR Nationwide Series championships in 1998 and 1999.

Play-by-Play: Rick Allen
Pit Road Reporter: Phil Parsons
Producer: Chuck McDonald

DIRECTV Channel 797 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 792 (Standard-Definition):
Denny Hamlin & the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota team of Joe Gibbs Racing

Denny Hamlin is in his third full season in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition and has already built an impressive resume… In 2006, his first full-season of Sprint Cup Series racing, he finished third in points and scored two wins…He backed it up in 2007, by scoring one win and making the Chase for the Championship for the second consecutive year…The 27-year-old from Chesterfield, Va., has 84 career starts and has finished in the top-10 51 percent of the time (43 races)…Will make his sixth Sprint Cup Series start at Martinsville and has finished lower than eighth only once…Finished second in 2006 fall race and won the pole for the 2007 spring race… Has five career Nationwide Series victories in 94 starts.

Play-by-Play: Randy Pemberton
Pit Road Reporter: Hermie Sadler
Producer: Fran Morison

DIRECTV Channel 798 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 793 (Standard-Definition):
Jeff Burton & the No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet team of Richard Childress Racing

Jeff Burton is in his 15th full season of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition and his fourth full season with Richard Childress Racing… The Goody's Cool Orange 500 will mark his 481st career Sprint Cup Series start and his 28th at Martinsville…Has 20 Sprint Cup Series victories including fall 1997 race at Martinsville…Also has nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes at the half-mile track…Won 1990 fall Nationwide Series race at Martinsville…Won Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway and is fourth in points…The 40-year-old from South Boston, Va., has seven top-10 Sprint Cup Series point finishes with a career-best third in 2000…Drove first full two seasons in Sprint Cup Series with Stavola Brothers Racing (1994-1995), before moving to Roush Fenway Racing in 1996…Won 17 races with Roush before moving to Childress midway through the 2004 season…Has won three races with Childress (Fall Dover 2006, Spring Texas 2007 and Spring Bristol 2008)…Finished second in 1998 IROC championship.

Play-by-Play: Doug Rice
Pit Road Reporter: Tony Rizzuti
Producer: Rich Dewey

NASCAR HOTPASS lineup for the Samsung 500 April 6 at Texas Motor Speedway

No. 1 Martin Truex Jr.: DIRECTV Channel 795 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 790 (Standard-Definition)
No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.: DIRECTV Channel 796 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 791 (Standard-Definition)
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: DIRECTV Channel 797 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 792 (Standard-Definition)
No. 20 Tony Stewart: DIRECTV Channel 798 (High-Definition) and DIRECTV Channel 793 (Standard-Definition)

Teams and drivers are subject to change at anytime.

About NASCAR HOTPASS on DIRECTV:

NASCAR HOTPASS is now available at the full-season price of $109. Customers new to DIRECTV can also get a special introductory price. The exclusive service is also available on a pay-per-week basis for $19.99. More information is available on www.directv.com/hotpass. DIRECTV customers can order online, or by calling 1-800-GET SPORTS.

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This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.

 

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