Motorsports This Week on ESPN

NASCAR Now Schedule Includes Monday Roundtable Discussion

March 24, 2008 -- NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information show, features news, highlights, opinion, debate and analysis from drivers, crew chiefs and insiders both on and off the track.

On Monday, March 31, host Allen Bestwick leads a discussion of the Martinsville Speedway weekend and other NASCAR news in a one-hour episode airing at 6 p.m. ET. Joining Bestwick will be a panel of ESPN’s NASCAR analysts and reporters. Half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now air Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 6 p.m. and Friday at the special time of 8 p.m. The one-hour weekend edition airs Sunday at 10 a.m. with a preview of the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Martinsville.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Ryan Burr, Nicole Manske and Bestwick and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said and Tim Cowlishaw, ESPN.com reporters Terry Blount and David Newton and D.J. Copp, a member of Bobby Labonte’s NASCAR team.

NASCAR Now viewers also benefit from frequent contributions by the NASCAR on ESPN team including Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake.

ESPN Classic Featuring Tony Stewart SportsCentury, Las Vegas, North Wilkesboro NASCAR Cup Series Race

NASCAR fans will have the opportunity to watch three NASCAR-related programs on ESPN Classic this week, including two classic NASCAR races.

The 1991 Goody’s 500 from Martinsville (Va.) Speedway airs Thursday, March 27, at 2 p.m. ET, and the 1999 Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway airs Friday, March 28, at 3 a.m.

Also featured this week is an episode of ESPN’s award-winning program SportsCentury, featuring Tony Stewart. The program airs Friday, March 28, at 9 a.m.

IndyCar Series Season Opens at Homestead in High Definition on ESPN2

The 2008 season for the IndyCar Series opens this weekend and ESPN2 will have live coverage of the XM Indy 300 from Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway Saturday, March 29, at 8 p.m. ET. The race is the first since the unification of open wheel racing and the merger of the IndyCar Series and the Champ Car World Series.

All IndyCar Series race telecasts this season will be in high definition, and the Homestead event will mark the introduction of a new, 360-degree onboard camera that will be carried by several cars in the race.

Marty Reid will be the lead announcer for ESPN2’s coverage, with former winning IndyCar Series driver Scott Goodyear providing expert analysis. Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch will report from the pits.

Reid and Goodyear will host a one-hour special previewing the 2008 IndyCar Series season. The program airs Friday, March 28, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

NHRA Houston Event on ESPN2 Saturday, Sunday

ESPN2 airs coverage of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series stop in Houston this weekend with action from the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals. Qualifying coverage airs Saturday, March 29, at 4:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., with a re-air Sunday at 1:30 a.m. Eliminations and finals coverage airs Sunday starting at 4:30 p.m., with a replay airing Monday, March 31, at 10 a.m. on ESPN Classic.

Houston Raceway Park benefits from incredible atmospheric conditions because of its proximity to Trinity Bay, which feeds the facility cool air. The track’s first NHRA national event, in fall 1988, established HRP as one of the sport’s quickest with NHRA’s first four-second Top Fuel pass and a new national record. Since then, the track has been host to a dizzying array of record runs, including the first sub-4.5-second Top Fuel pass, by Larry Dixon in 1999.

Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage, with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn also co-host NHRA RaceDay to set the stage for Sunday’s finals action. The 30-minute program airs Sunday at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.

NHRA Fans Can Relive Events from 2005 on ESPN Classic

Fans of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will have opportunities all week to relive some of the great events of the 2005 season as ESPN Classic opens the archives and brings the events back to life on TV. The programs air at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday through Friday.

On Tuesday, March 25, fans can watch the action of the 2005 O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals, while Wednesday’s program features the 2005 NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals. The 2005 O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals air Thursday with the 2005 NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals on the air Friday.

ESPN2 is the home for the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

Two Episodes of Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex Airing Saturday

A new season of the ESPN2 reality show Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex continues with two episodes this week.

The show features popular New York TV and radio personality Funkmaster Flex, who opens each episode with “music is my life but cars are my passion.” Flex oversees a competition involving amateur car customizers and the real-life drama associated with the contest. The contestants put everything on the line to win.

Back-to-back episodes air Saturday, March 29, beginning at 10 a.m. on ESPN2.

ESPN2, ESPN Classic Airing Classic Car Auction Programs

ESPN2 and ESPN Classic are the homes for lovers of classic car auction programs, and viewers will have the opportunity this week to see multiple hours of programming.

ESPN Classic will air an episode of RM Classic Car Auctions Tuesday, March 25, at 9 p.m. ET.

An episode of The Bidding Wars airs Saturday, March 29, at 11 a.m. on ESPN2, followed at 11:30 a.m. by an episode of Russo and Steele Classic Car Auction.

Source: ESPN

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