NBC has announced that they have enhanced their partnership with recently retired driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., going beyond the usual commentator roles of Olympic and Super Bowl coverage to put Nascar’s Most Popular Driver in a brand-new sitcom with fellow former driver Carl Edwards.
“We’re calling it ‘Start Your Engines’, and we think that’s just what this premise will do for Nascar fans and fans of comedy alike”, said NBC executive Scott Wilson. “After these two legends ride off into the sunset, they discover that retirement wasn’t its all REVVED up to be, so they go into business together with their own auto restoration shop—they’re the original odd couple!”
Both Earnhardt and Edwards were present at the press conference to announce the show’s creation.
“I really just fell in love with the script”, Earnhardt Jr. said. “Acting is something I never dreamed of doing, but then again I never dreamed of being a mayonnaise spokesman, either. Life is all about taking on what’s in front of you—wether its driving, broadcasting, or trying to finish a carburetor for a very important customer the same night you’re having dinner with your in-laws!”
“There wasn’t going to be much that would take me off my farm in Missouri—it would’ve had to have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, said Edwards. “And once that opportunity got taken by Ryan Blaney, I decided to jump at this opportunity—I mean, they haven’t cast it yet, but whoever gets the role of Debbie, the tart-tongued receptionist with a heart of gold has the fast-track to an Emmy Award.”
The show is just the latest in NBC’s attempts to cross-promote their Nascar properties with the rest of its programs, although “Start Your Engines” has yet to find a timeslot or debut date.
“We’ve thought about premiering this show after the Super Bowl, but then we though, ‘Why don’t we premiere it after Nascar’s Super Bowl, the Daytona 500!’”, Wilson said. “Unfortunately it turns out that we don’t have the rights to the Daytona 500, but I’m sure we’ll find a place to debut it somewhere.
In a related story, producers of the 90’s ABC sitcom “Thunder Alley” have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the producers of “Start Your Engines”.