HBO Sports’ groundbreaking “24/7” reality franchise, which has captured seven Sports Emmy Awards, will debut its first non-boxing series with 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona, an all-new, four-episode, all-access series chronicling the driver and his team as they prepare for the Daytona 500. Debuting Tuesday, Jan. 26th (10:00-10:30pm/et/pt), the four-week series spotlights Jimmie Johnson, and gives viewers an inside look at the driver and his #48 Hendrick Motorsports team as they prepare for the biggest race of the year. Ensuing episodes will debut on subsequent Tuesdays – Feb. 2, 9 and 16 – in prime time. The Feb. 16 series finale will debut two days after the race, with cameras tracking all the drama and excitement surrounding Johnson and his team on race day. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand. 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona will provide exclusive behind-the-scenes access, along with in-depth interviews with Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, team owner Rick Hendrick and the #48 Hendrick Motorsports team as they prepare for the 2010 Daytona 500. Johnson says that getting his wife Chandra on board with the idea of cameras following them around was not difficult, since they had seen earlier “24/7” shows. “Chandra and I were big fans of the ’24/7′ series with Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather, and that’s kind of how this all came about,” says Johnson, who along with his wife founded the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, which has raised more than $2 million for various charities since its inception in 2006. The executive producers of 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona are Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein; coordinating producer, Dave Harmon; Liev Schreiber narrates. NASCAR Media Group, the leading producer of NASCAR on television, will provide production support for HBO Sports.(HBO)(10-15-2009)
