Totally NASCAR (Dale Earnhardt Survives)

Totally NASCAR was a newscast about NASCAR racing that aired on Fox Sports Net. The program returned in 2010 after a 6-year absence, but in a different format from the show that was originally shown from 2001 to 2004.
The original show aired nightly and replaced the recently cancelled weekly show Inside NASCAR that had aired on TNN until late 2000 when NASCAR began a new television contract.
The show debuted on February 12, 2001, six days before NASCAR on Fox was unveiled at the Daytona 500. The program's first host was Steve Byrnes and its first field reporter was Kirsten Gum, who also hosted each week when Byrnes was at the track for Fox. In 2002, Gum left for OLN (later Versus) and was replaced by Krista Voda, who became primary host of the show by 2004. John Roberts, host of FSN and Speed Channel's weekend programming, also served as host from time-to-time.
The program was a mix of news, highlights, features, and interviews. There were regular weekly appearances by NASCAR on Fox analysts Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond, and weekly weather reports provided by Fox News Channel.
The show's original producer was Ryan McGee. McGee greenlit the addition of NASCAR.com's Marty Smith as a "garage insider." Years later they became cohosts of Marty & McGee at ESPN.
Totally NASCAR aired at 6 p.m. local time Monday through Friday from 2001 to it's original cancellation in 2004 and would be re-aired at 6:30 pm ET on Speed Channel. By 2002 it was the highest rated studio show on both FSN and Speed.
== 2004 Dale Earnhardt Sr. Interview ==
The original show's last episode featured the best send off Totally Nascar fans could ask for; an unrestricted interview with eight time champion Dale Earnhardt. The interview started off with basic questioning, before progressing to the highlights of the interview. The first highlight was the 2001 Daytona 500 crash and how it effected Earnhardt personally.
Byrnes asked, "Dale, people still ask you about the 2001 Daytona wreck where your seat belt snapped. What was different about this wreck?" Dale replied, "You see, I had some dreams about the 2001 Daytona 500 after it happened. The worst of them was, it was the final lap, but Mikey was leading the race with Jr. in second. Coming into the last turn, Sterling bumped into my left rear, and I overcorrected, which sent me into the wall at full speed. The hood flew up and I couldn't see nothing, but my belts broke at that moment anyways and my chin smashed off the steering wheel. About half a second after I hit the wall Schrader hit my right side and my head hit the driver's side rollcage bar as we both started to slide down the banking onto the infield. Mikey went on to win the race, but my car had stopped in the Turn 4 grass. I couldn't move anything and was just stuck sitting there as I saw Kenny Schrader come over to the car and scream for help. The dream then faded with Mike Helton saying 'we lost Dale Earnhardt in turn 4 of the final lap", I woke up at that moment screaming."
The other highlight of the interview was Dale speaking out about the lap belt issues in 2001. Earnhardt stated that he believed some of the belts in 2001 were defective, as his had also broke in his Daytona wreck, but that Goodyear and belt manufactuer The Simpson Company had covered up the whole affair; "somebody coulda got killed" Earnhardt said. After this interview The Simpson Company would remain silent about the issue despite threats of a lawsuit, leading some to speculate the claims from Earnhardt to be true.
Category:Dale Earnhardt Survives