CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Expect the NASCAR on NBC pre-race shows to be both engaging and unfiltered when they start later in the summer thanks to the additions of Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty.

Much has been written about the new NBC play-by-play squad of Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte but the tone of the broadcasts will be set prior the drop of the green flag due to the analysis and opinions that emanate from Krista Voda, Jarrett and Petty.

While it has some degree of mass market appeal, the NASCAR on FOX pre-race show featuring Chris Myers and the Waltrip brothers has been oft-criticized as fluffy and overly engaged in comedy rather than the dissection of major league stock car racing.

While there is a place for that, both Jarrett and Petty promise to present something a little more serious when their broadcasts start in July at Daytona International Speedway.

“I really think there is an opportunity to do some different things this season,” Jarrett told Popular Speed last week at the NASCAR Media Tour. “One of the reasons I say that is that I’m working with someone I’ve know since we were kids in Kyle Petty.

“And even though we’ve known each other since we were kids, and competed against each other, we’ve remained good friends who somehow have two totally different views on how things should be or how we see the sport.”

Jarrett said that he and Petty are not going to be afraid to challenge each other in the pre-race booth and that the fans are going to benefit from these likely exchanges.

“He may think I’m off my rocker sometimes and he’s going to say that to my face,” Jarrett said. “But I’m going to take that knowing exactly how he means it and not be afraid to challenge the way he looks at it too. We’re not going to look for those opportunities every time we’re on TV together but we’re going to be willing to express it when they come up and the fans are going to be the winners.”

Petty says to expect a lot of hard-hitting content on NASCAR America — the NBCSN’s daily show — and especially on the pre-race show where he gets to banter with Jarrett and Voda.

“It’s not going to be fluff and puff,” Petty said. “That’s not what our pre-race show is. We’re going to get into some stories and do some things that are hopefully different than what we see on the other networks with the laughing, joking and stuff.

“Look, there will be levity and light moments but when you tune into a pre-race show you want to know what is fixing to go down or what happened last week and how that is transferring over to what you’re about to watch. It’s going to be an informative 30 minutes to an hour to get the casual and hardcore fan up to date before the broadcast.”

Petty has always been one of the most outspoken and critical members of the media since retiring as a full-time Sprint Cup Series driver back in 2007.

Many fans believe that Petty would be a perfect fit for a revival of the ‘Pit Bull’ show that once aired on SPEED back in 2004 and was unafraird to take NASCAR or its ‘stakeholders’ to task on any given debate.

Primarily featuring journalists David Poole, Mike Mulhern and Marty Smith, the program has since drifted into cult status among NASCAR diehards after its cancellation before the 2005 season.

When asked about a similar show possibly premiering on NBC, Petty said it was unlikely.

“There is a market for it, but it would be on something like PBS,” Petty said. “Lets be honest, no one wants to watch an hour of Charlie Rose in primetime. No one wants to watch Frontline in prime time. But if you do, you can go to that network and that is where that’s at. Race fans? Most race fans just want to see what someone has to say about Brad Keselowski or what Kyle Busch said on a given topic or what Jeff Gordon said. They want the soft stuff.

“There is a group of fans that care about the drivers or the hard hitting stuff and stuff that could change the sport, but it’s like anything. That group is a select group and it’s tough to reach that group in any consistent way.”

With that being said, don’t expect the fluff and stuff to take over NBC based on the talent or those involved in the production room.

EMAIL MATT AT matt.weaver@popularspeed.com

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