Racing and Motorsports this Week on ABC, ESPN

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Returns to ESPN with Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

July 21, 2008 -- The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to ESPN with live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 27, at 1 p.m. ET. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is the first of 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup events on the ESPN networks to close out the 2008 NASCAR season. The first six air on ESPN, with the final 11 on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

ESPN’s coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway includes a live telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Saturday, July 26, at 10 a.m., and live coverage of two practice sessions for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars on the famed 2.5-mile track, all on ESPN2. The first practice session airs Friday, July 25, at 3:30 p.m., while final practice airs Saturday at 2 p.m. All programming also airs in high definition.

Five former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions will be an integral part of ESPN’s coverage team at the Brickyard, including analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 driving champion, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lead announcer Dr. Jerry Punch in the booth. Two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Tech Center, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake.

The pre-race NASCAR Countdown show from the ESPN pit studio will feature analysis by 1989 champion driver Rusty Wallace and three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham, with host Allen Bestwick and analyst Brad Daugherty. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race.

ESPN360.com, the signature broadband TV network, and ESPN MobileTV, the company’s 24/7 mobile video network, also will simulcast the race, qualifying and the two practice sessions. ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s domestic Spanish-language channel, will simulcast the race.

To view ESPN’s promotional spot for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, click HERE .

NASCAR Nationwide Series Live in Prime Time from Indy on ESPN

ESPN continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series with a live, prime-time telecast of the event from O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis on Saturday, July 26, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast from the 0.686-mile track also airs in high definition on ESPN HD, and is simulcast on ESPN360.com, ESPNMobileTV and ESPN Deportes.

Marty Reid will be ESPN’s lead announcer, joined in the booth for analysis by two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie. Jack Arute, Dave Burns and Vince Welch will report from the pits. Reid also hosts NASCAR Countdown.

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Jason Leffler, winner of last year’s event at ORP, joins the ESPN team as In-Race Reporter and will talk to LaJoie on the race’s pace laps and during caution periods.

ESPN2 also airs coverage of qualifying for the event at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, and coverage of final practice on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

NASCAR Now Sunday Night Edition Returns Following Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily news and information show, will bring back its Sunday evening weekend wrap-up program with a one-hour edition airing at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 27. The program will report on the weekend’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

The Monday, July 28, edition of NASCAR Now at 5 p.m. will include host Allen Bestwick leading a roundtable discussion of the latest NASCAR news and races. ESPN analyst and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham, ESPN analyst Brad Daugherty and ESPN pit reporter Mike Massaro will be the panel members. Half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now air Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 5 p.m. and Friday at 6 p.m.

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 Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton and D.J. Copp, a member of the Petty Enterprises 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.

Final Two Episodes of Dale Jr. – Shifting Gears Air Tuesday, Friday on ESPN

Dale Jr. – Shifting Gears, the sports documentary chronicling NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his unprecedented move from the team founded by his father to Hendrick Motorsports, returns to ESPN for the final two episodes on Tuesday, July 22, and Friday, July 25, at 7 p.m. ET. The new episodes, each one hour in length, are the fourth and fifth installments of the five-part series.

The original airings will be simulcast on ESPN MobileTV. The first of the two new episodes re-airs Thursday, July 24, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, and again Sunday, July 27, at 2 a.m. on ESPN2. The final episode re-airs Sunday, July 27, at 3 a.m. on ESPN2.

A trailer of the new episodes of Dale Jr. – Shifting Gears can be seen HERE .

ESPN Classic Features Classic Brickyard 400 Races

ESPN kicks off its 2008 coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a live telecast of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 27. In the week leading up to that event, ESPN Classic will show five classic versions of the race from the famed track, each race airing at noon ET.

The 1995 event airs Tuesday, July 22, with the 1998 race airing Wednesday, July 23. The race from 2000 airs Thursday, July 24, while last year’s event closes out the week on Friday, July 25.

Kevin Harvick Featured on ESPN2’s Driven to Hunt Sunday

NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series star Kevin Harvick will be featured on an episode of the ESPN2 series Driven to Hunt on Sunday, July 27, at 7 a.m. ET. The program repeats at 9:30 a.m.

Harvick gets his first taste of big game hunting when he joins Bill Jordan on a Utah Elk hunt. He gets initiated when he comes face to face with a big bull.

Each week, Driven to Hunt will invite a prominent NASCAR personality on a once-in-a-lifetime hunt. From drivers to team owners to the over-the-wall gang, hunting is what they dream about. Guests this season include drivers Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Terry and Bobby Labonte and Kerry Earnhardt, and NASCAR team owner Richard Childress.

IndyCar Series Live on ESPN Saturday from Edmonton

When American open wheel racing was unified this year, one of the premier events from the former Champ Car World Series became part of the IndyCar Series schedule. The Rexall Edmonton Indy from JagFlo Speedway in Edmonto, Alberta, Canada, will be run this weekend, and ESPN will have coverage Saturday, July 26, at 5 p.m. ET. The race also airs in high definition on ESPN HD. A replay airs Monday, July 28, at 8 a.m. on ESPN Classic.

ESPN360.com, ESPN’s signature broadband TV network, airs live coverage of IndyCar Series qualifying from Edmonton at 5:15 p.m. on Friday, July 25.

Bob Jenkins will call the action for qualifying and the race with analysis by former IndyCar Series star Scott Goodyear. Brienne Pedigo and Jon Beekhuis report from the pits.

Also on the air this week is action from the Firestone Indy Lights Series, the developmental series for the IndyCar Series. Highlights from the recent event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course air Thursday, July 24, at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Concludes Western Swing on ESPN2

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series concludes its western swing this weekend, and ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will have coverage of qualifying and final eliminations for the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals from Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Qualifying coverage airs Saturday, July 26, at 6 p.m. ET, with eliminations coverage airing Sunday, July 27, at 7 p.m. Eliminations re-air Monday, July 28, at 10 a.m. on ESPN Classic.

In the heart of Northern California’s high-tech region, the facility annually plays host to some of the tour’s most dramatic moments. A $70 million ­modernization project was completed in 2002 that included a new 660-foot concrete launchpad and led to scores of new track records. The event is usually blessed with pleasant weather that, combined with a quality racetrack, has yielded impressive performances, such as the sport’s second six-second Pro Stock Motorcycle pass in 2005.

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.

Also on the air this weekend is the NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series, with action from the most recent event at Seattle. The one-hour program airs Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

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 2003 and 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 of this week.

On Tuesday, July 22, fans can watch the action of the 2005 O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals from Dallas, while Wednesday’s program features the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals from Indianapolis. The Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals from Pomona, Calif., air Thursday with the 2003 K&N Filters NHRA Winternationals from Pomona airing Friday.

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

Source: ESPN

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