Tony Stewart to be featured on CNBC NASCAR Special

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. – Every weekend from February to November fans show up to see their favorite driver go bumper to bumper at 180 mph toward the checkered flag. The sport fills some of the largest venues in the world…its a Super Bowl every week.

On Thursday, July 9th at 9PM, 10PM & 1AM ET, CNBC presents “Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR,” reported by Darren Rovell. CNBC takes viewers inside the world of NASCAR, once the fastest growing sport in America, NASCAR is now threatened by an imploding car business and loss of the corporate dollars that are its very lifeblood.

Unlike any other sport, everything in NASCAR is controlled by one family…the France family. They have maintained an iron grip on a sport where television ratings, corporate sponsorship and the number of fans have seemingly defied gravity. But, after a race to the top, attendance and television ratings are starting to decline and the car manufacturing business, for decades the foundation of the sport, is crumbling. Rovell goes one-on-one with NASCAR chairman & CEO Brian France to discuss how he plans to weather the storm.

Win on Sunday, buy on Monday…once rang true of NASCAR fans, but the Wall Street crisis has changed everything and the companies that pay top dollar to have their logo emblazoned on the hood of cars are carefully watching their investment. Is NASCAR sponsorship paying off? Is the sport still a good fit for corporate America? Rovell speaks with the key people behind the iconic American brands that have stuck with this sport that was born more than five decades ago.

The program also takes viewers inside the garage of driver-turned-owner, Tony Stewart. When Stewart, the fiery, two-time Sprint Cup champion, isn’t racing, he’s Tony Stewart-the businessman-and he is just as competitive off the track. For years, Stewart has owned racetracks, open wheel teams and a remote control car outfit-owning 13 businesses in total. Rovell interviews Stewart about his successful rookie season as a driver-owner and the Stewart-Haas team, which according to Forbes magazine, is worth $80 million dollars.

This hour also features a look at the future of NASCAR and the ways in which the sport is trying to broaden its fan base, add foreign automakers and going green.

Rovell also speaks with NASCAR super stars Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards , movie star Kevin Costner; Marcus Smith who runs Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Julie Geary, the ultimate NASCAR fan.

Jeff Pohlman is the Executive Producer of “Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR.” Tom Rotunno is the Producer, Nick Stantzos is the Editor and Tyler Mathisen is CNBC’s Managing Editor. Ray Borelli is the Vice President of Strategic Research, Scheduling and Long Form Programming.

For more information including web extras, slideshows and extended video clips, log on to nascar.cnbc.com.

“Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR” will re-air on Sunday, July 12th at 10PM ET and Monday, July 13th at 10PM ET on CNBC.