ESPN Analyst, NASCAR Champion Rusty Wallace on Racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway

The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup is on ABC

October 9, 2007:
Q - What has been the biggest surprise of the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup so far?

“The biggest surprise is that no one has gathered a strong rhythm. I am really perplexed why so many of the chase contenders have had problems. The only three that seem to be keeping out of trouble are Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Everyone else is struggling big time and that’s a surprise with the caliber of teams and drivers that made the top 12. The lack of consistency out of the top 12 players has been a real surprise.”

Q - What are the characteristics of the Charlotte track that drivers like the most?

“Charlotte is a love/hate relationship for drivers. The teams love going there because it’s home. They can sleep in their own beds and a lot of the people who work back in the race shop who don’t have the opportunity to go to the races each weekend, get to bring their families and friends and watch the car that they’re associated with.

“The hate part comes in trying to maneuver around the track. Drivers can race all over the track, and since they repaved it, it has a smooth, great surface. But the downfall is that Goodyear has brought a really hard tire to run there and it causes a lot of crashes off the exit of Turn 4. I don’t expect it to be much different this time.”

Q - Jimmie Johnson has been so good at Charlotte the last few years, do you see him as the man to beat again Saturday night?

“You have to choose Jimmie because he has been so consistent, although there are many drivers just as good as him. Tony Stewart should do well and Jeff Gordon looks really good. On the older surface, Jimmie was very good. On the new surface he’s good but not as good as before. With the new surface it has opened up the playing field for more guys to compete with him.”

At the Halfway Point, the Fifth Race in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup is Saturday on ABC

The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup continues Saturday, Oct. 13, with a prime-time night race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. ESPN on ABC will have live coverage of the Bank of America 500 beginning at 7 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. On Friday night, ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series with a live, prime-time race from Lowe’s beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.

Brent Musburger will host the telecast. Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play for the race, joined in the booth for analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Wallace is the only national TV analyst who has competed in the Chase as a driver. Pit reporters will be Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro. Two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN DISH Tech Center. Suzy Kolber will host NASCAR Countdown along with analyst Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in NASCAR’s Busch and Truck series, in the ESPN Pit Studio.

About NASCAR on ESPN:

ESPN and ESPN on ABC has comprehensive, multi-platform coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races, including the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” championship on ESPN on ABC. Additionally, ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Busch Series all season. For the first time in the history of televised motorsports, all programming is produced totally in High Definition. ESPN’s comprehensive, multimedia NASCAR coverage extends to ESPN.com, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio, SportsCenter, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPNRadio, ESPN360.com and ESPN International, among other ESPN platforms. ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981. The network's award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage on ESPN was honored with 17 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It is widely credited for helping to popularize the sport nationwide. NASCAR races have appeared on ABC for decades, beginning with broadcasts on the award-winning Wide World of Sports program in the 1960s.

Source: ESPN

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