former championship crew chief and part-time driver, Kirk Shelmerdine, has joined forces with Executive Producer Diane Barnes from Canada in the making of an oval track comedy series called, Thrills & Spills. Kirk confides, ‘In my opinion, there hasn’t yet been a decent TV series centered around cars, racing and the people involved, so that makes participation in this project extra fun for me. I think Thrills & Spills will be a blast for its creators and viewers alike.’Â As Dale Earnhardt Srs former championship-winning Crew Chief in addition to being an independent driver/owner in the Sprint Cup series. Shelmerdine will not only contribute his knowledge and expertise as an industry insider, he will be seen on-screen in a recurring role as himself along with his Crew Chief Phil Harris as himself. ‘Having the opportunity to work with Kirk and Phil is a real honor; their history in the sport, ingenuity and sense of humor is a winning combination for the making of this show,’Â says Barnes.
Thrills & Spills centers around the story of Tom ‘Slick’Â Donnelly, a driver who loses his major sponsor, is forced to return to his home track for an ego tune-up and is now struggling to be competitive at the local level. Diane Barnes created the story which was inspired by her early days on her brothers pit crew at oval tracks in Ontario, Canada. Barnes and her writing partner, Dave Francis, shot some footage for a demo a couple years back and decided to keep the project brewing until they found the perfect element to help bring the show to life. That element was Kirk Shelmerdine. The production team is currently in development and was recently shooting during race weeks at Charlotte, NC (PR), the show is not yet found a home on cable or natwork TV and there is no schedule for airing of the show.(6-17-2010)
