TV schedule of Chase driver appearances this week

The TV schedule of appearances for the 12 drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup has been announced, per NASCAR.com.

There will be no pie throwing this year, as the drivers are not scheduled to appear on "Regis and Kelly" as in previous years, and no late-night talk show appearances ("The Late Show with David Letterman," a past stomping ground, is dark this week.)

Here's where you can catch the Chase drivers on TV this week (schedule is subject to change):


Wednesday, Sept. 15:

• Kevin Harvick - On ESPN throughout the day on "Mike and Mike," "SportsCenter," "First Take" and "NASCAR Now" 

• Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch  - FOX Business Channel, 7 p.m. ET, "America’s Scoreboard"

• Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle - Versus, 11 p.m. ET, "The Daily Line"

Thursday, Sept 16:

• Kevin Harvick - Weather Channel, 6 a.m. ET, "Wake Up with Al"  

• Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer - FOX News Channel, 7:30 a.m. ET, "FOX and Friends" 

• Denny Hamlin - CW, 8:50 a.m. ET, "CW Morning Show"

• Kyle Busch - On ESPN throughout the day for "First Take," "SportsCenter" and "NASCAR Now"

• Jeff Gordon - On ESPN throughout the day for "SportsCenter," "NASCAR Now," "Pardon the Interruption" and "SportsNation"

• Tony Stewart - On ESPN throughout the day for "First Take," "SportsCenter," "NASCAR Now" and SportsNation"

• Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer - FOX Business Channel, 7 p.m. ET, for "America’s Scoreboard"
  
   

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Dale Jr. goes one-on-one with Shaq, talks about title hopes

NASCAR'S most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes one-on-one with NBA great Shaquille O'Neal on the racetrack in tonight's season premiere of "Shaq Vs." The reality show takes O'Neal out of his comfort zone as he competes against athletes, entertainers and pop culture icons on their own turf.

The show was filmed at Concord Motorsports Park in June. Although the results have been kept secret, we've seen some teaser photos, including this one posted on Yahoo's "From the Marbles" blog, which shows Shaq visiting Earnhardt Jr.'s race shop, JR Motorsports.

One thing I'm curious about: How can the 7-foot-1, 325-pound Shaq fit into a racecar? Turns out they built a special car that opened from the roof simply to get the superstar in.

During a Tuesday morning interview on "The Dan Patrick Show," Dale Jr. said, "When I was on pit road and we were getting ready to pull off, I looked over to my right at his car into his window and I could see his knees over his doortop, so they were almost at the top of the steering wheel. So I don't know how comfortable he was, but he got in there with no problem."

The athletes compete against one another in a pair of races. Junior said he was impressed at the effort Shaq made to learn as a driver.

"He put in the work, and I figured he would," Earnhardt Jr. said. "... The racecar was a different thing and that might throw him off a bit, and it was a little bit of a surprise to him. But he still put the work in and tried his hardest."

What we don't get to see on "Shaq Vs." is the free-throw contest Dale Jr. challenged Shaq to when the championship-winning player arrived at his house. Junior said they were tied at 3-3 before Shaq stepped it up to win.

"Once he saw he was about to lose, I think he turned it on," Junior said.

To see who prevails on the racetrack, tune into "Shaq Vs." tonight at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.


Dale Jr. and his championship hopes
On Tuesday's show, Patrick compared LeBron James' announcement to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat with Earnhardt Jr.'s decision to vacate his family's race team DEI for Hendrick Motorsports in 2007.

Earnhardt Jr. said like James, he got negative feedback on how he was handling the press conferences, such as that he was making too big of a deal. And like James, Earnhardt Jr.'s decision came with a lot of pressure.

"That was the reason you do it, because you want to be in the best position ... That's what you do in life. You're supposed to put yourself in the best position you can," Dale Jr. said. "I felt like at the time that I was the guy saying 'I want the ball.' You know, that's the kind of player that I want to be and that's the kind of player you want to pull for."

Earnhardt Jr. said he didn't expect to win his first Sprint Cup title right after moving to Hendrick. "I've been racing a long time, I knew how tough it is to win those." But he also said, "I thought surely by now we'd be challenging and in more competitive form" than the team is now.

Patrick asked Earnhardt Jr. how close the team was to a title. Dale Jr. said matter-of-factly, "We're not close.

"We're having a better year than we did last year. Last year was a disaster. This year is better. ... We're missing some things. You can't see these things, they're not tangible, obvious adjustments you know you need to make. You keep working hard, and working hard, and showing up each weekend and hopefully you flip the switch and it starts working. We're still a couple pieces away from where we need to be."

Earnhardt Jr. admitted a bad finish keeps him up at night. "This past weekend we had a pretty tough deal. It'll be until Wednesday before I'm OK, before I'm over it. You just get so upset about it. ... It's too hard for me to just let go of it."

Earnhardt Jr. finished 27th in Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway after fighting an ill-handling racecar and engine troubles.

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Photo: Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs autographs at Pocono Raceway. (Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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Jimmie Johnson to join Oprah against distracted driving

We know Jimmie Johnson is on a mission to win his fifth straight Sprint Cup championship. But on Friday, the NASCAR driver will join one of the most influential women in the world in her mission to end distracted driving.

Johnson will appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on May 14 to join the talk show host's "No Phone Zone" campaign, the driver's Facebook page announced Wednesday. A pre-taped clip of Johnson will be shown on the "Oprah Fridays Live" episode with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

Winfrey started the "No Phone Zone" movement against distracted driving in January. Distracted driving occurs when drivers text, e-mail or talk on their phones while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. According to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" website, a recent survey shows 71 percent of people 18-49 years of age admit to engaging in these behaviors while on the road. Tragically, distracted driving results in injuring nearly 500,000 people - and killing 6,000 - every year.

"Until we as a nation decide we're going to change that, those numbers are only going to go up," Winfrey says on her show's site.

This is where the pledge comes in. Winfrey is encouraging viewers to sign a pledge on the website vowing to designate their vehicle as a "no phone zone." Participants can choose one of the following options:

• "I will not text while I am driving."
• "I will not text while driving and will use only handsfree calling if I need to speak on the phone while I am driving."
• "I will not text or use my phone while I am driving. If I need to use my phone, I will pull over to a secure location."
  

As of Wednesday night, more than 320,000 pledges had been submitted.

To learn more about Winfrey's "No Phone Zone campaign, visit http://www.oprah.com/packages/no-phone-zone.html.

To see Johnson on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," check your local listings.

PHOTO FROM NASCAR MEDIA

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