Motorsports This Week on ESPN, ABC

NASCAR Nationwide Series Hits the Monster Mile Live on ESPN2

May 26, 2008 -- ESPN2’s season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series continues with a live telecast of the event at Dover (Del.) International Speedway Saturday, May 31, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast at the track known as The Monster Mile is presented by DAP. The race also airs in high definition on ESPN2 HD and will be simulcast on ESPN360.com, ESPN MobileTV and ESPN Deportes.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for ESPN2’s coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and two-time Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Shannon Spake will report from the pits, while two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer will be in the ESPN DISH Tech Center.

Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with analysis by Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

Former NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Greg Biffle joins ESPN’s coverage team as In-Race Reporter. Biffle will talk to Wallace on the race’s pace laps as well as under caution periods.

ESPN2 also airs live coverage of the final practice for the event Friday, May 30, at 2 p.m., as well as qualifying on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

NASCAR Now Expands Monday for Roundtable Discussion of Dover Weekend

The Monday, June 2, edition of NASCAR Now will expand to an hour and will include host Allen Bestwick leading a roundtable discussion with ESPN analysts and reporters of the weekend’s NASCAR action Dover (Del.) International Speedway as well as other NASCAR news. The program airs at a special time of 6:30 p.m. ET, following ESPN2’s live coverage of the French Open.

Half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now air Tuesday through Friday of this week at 6:30 p.m., while the one-hour weekend edition airs Sunday at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Dover.

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 Two Classic NASCAR Races, Dale Jr. SportsCentury

Race fans will have the opportunity to watch two classic NASCAR Sprint Cup races this week on ESPN Classic.

The 1989 Peak Performance 500 from Dover (Del.) International Speedway airs Thursday, May 29, at 2 p.m. ET, while the 1995 Goody’s 500 airs Friday, May 30, at 3 a.m. Both races originally aired live on ESPN.

Also airing on ESPN Classic this week is an episode of the award-winning ESPN program SportsCentury featuring NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. The show airs Friday, May 30, at 9 a.m.

An episode of 60 Minutes on Classic featuring NASCAR legend Richard Petty airs twice this week on ESPN Classic. The first airing is Friday, May 29, at 9 p.m., with a replay Sunday, June 1, at 8 a.m.

IndyCar Series Live at Milwaukee Sunday on ABC

Following this past weekend’s 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500, the IndyCar Series heads north to the Milwaukee Mile to contest Sunday’s 225-lap event on the historic oval inside the Wisconsin state fairgrounds. ABC has live coverage of the event Sunday, June 1, at 4 p.m. ET, with a replay Monday, June 2, at 9 a.m. on ESPN Classic.

Scott Dixon, winner of the Indianapolis 500 for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, will try to carry that momentum to Milwaukee.

Marty Reid will call the action for ESPN’s production of the telecast, joined for analysis by former IndyCar Series star Scott Goodyear. Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch report from the pits.

NHRA POWERade Series Moves to Heartland Park Topeka on ESPN2

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series moves to Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kansas, this weekend, and ESPN2 will have coverage of qualifying and final eliminations. Qualifying coverage airs Saturday, May 31, at 5:30 p.m. ET, with eliminations airing Sunday, June 1, at 4 p.m. The finals re-air Monday, June 2, at 11 a.m. on ESPN Classic.

Sprawling multipurpose Heartland Park Topeka has been a Midwest favorite since it opened in 1989, but its dragstrip has gained the majority of headlines. The event, originally in the fall, has featured numerous record performances, the most significant of which was the shattering of the four-second and 300-mph barriers in Funny Car in 1993. It moved to its current spot on the schedule in 2001.

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

NHRA Fans Can Relive Events 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 2004 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 of this week.

On Tuesday, May 27, fans can watch the action of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals from Atlanta, while Wednesday’s program features the NHRA Route 66 Nationals from Joliet, Ill. The O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals from Topeka, Kansas, air Thursday with the Pontiac Excitement NHRA Nationals from Columbus, Ohio, airing Friday.

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

ESPN's Moto X World Championships Re-Air on ESPN2

ESPN2 is giving fans the chance to see an encore performance of the inaugural Moto X World Championships that were held in April at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. X Games host Sal Masekela led an unprecedented line up of athlete analysts, including Travis Pastrana, Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Doug Henry and Brian Deegan. ESPN and ESPN2 aired eight hours of live coverage of the new annual event which featured the best Moto X riders in the world competing for the title of Moto X World Champion in a variety of disciplines, including Freestyle, SuperMoto, Speed & Style, Best Trick, Step Up and Moto X Racing.

ESPN2 re-airs portions of the event Tuesday, May 27, at 10 p.m. ET.

ESPN2 Re-Airs Lifelock’s Identity of a Racing Champion Saturday

ESPN2 will re-air the hour-long program Lifelock’s Identity of a Racing Champion: Motorsports Explained on Saturday, May 31, at noon ET. The program originally aired on ABC following the Indianapolis 500 this past weekend.

Hosted by 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion and ESPN analyst Rusty Wallace, the program profiles several drivers who have won racing championships. Viewers can get involved with a voting element, and a 30-minute companion show airs Sept. 28 on ABC.

ESPN Classic Airing Two RM Classic Car Auction Marathons This Weekend

ESPN Classic and ESPN2 are the home for fans of classic car auction programs, and ESPN Classic will air 13 hours of RM Classic Car Auctions in two marathons this weekend. The first seven hours air from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET Saturday, May 31, while the final six hours air Sunday, June 1, from 2-8 p.m.

ESPN airs another episode of RM Classic Car Auctions on Tuesday, May 27, at 9 p.m. ET, with another airing the next morning at 11 a.m. ESPN2 airs RM on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m. and Sunday, June 1, at 12:30 p.m.

Episodes of Russo and Steele Classic Car Auction air Saturday, May 31, at 2 p.m. and Sunday, June 1, at noon, both on ESPN2. An episode of The Bidding Wars airs Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2.

Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex Airing This Week

A new season of the ESPN2 reality show Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex continues with an episode airing Saturday, May 31, at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

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.

Source: ESPN

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