Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Live in Prime Time on ESPN from Bristol Motor Speedway
One of the most popular events on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule looms this Saturday night as the series makes its annual visit to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for 500 laps of night racing. ESPN will have live coverage from the half-mile concrete oval beginning at 7 p.m. ET with the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program. The race telecast will be presented by Pennzoil.

Bristol Motor Speedway recently went through a massive improvement program that included tearing out and replacing the high-banked track’s concrete racing surface. The high speed and close quarters of Bristol action is accentuated by racing at night, when fans can see sparks flying from the cars and brake rotors glowing red-hot.

ESPN, which has televised more NASCAR Cup races than any other network, and ABC will have live coverage of the final 17 races of the 2007 season, including ESPN on ABC’s presentation of all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play for the Bristol race, joined in the booth for expert analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. 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.

ESPN’s Suzy Kolber will host NASCAR Countdown, joined by analyst Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in NASCAR’s Busch and Truck series, in the ESPN Pit Studio.

NASCAR Busch Series Action Live in Prime Time on ESPN2 Friday Night from Bristol

On Friday night, ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series with live, prime-time coverage from Bristol Motor Speedway. The telecast begins at 7:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.

The half-mile, concrete-surfaced Bristol track has been a fixture on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule since the formation of the series in 1982 and events on the unique bowl-shaped track are always unpredictable.

Dr. Jerry Punch will anchor ESPN2’s coverage from Bristol, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro, while two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN DISH Tech Center. Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown, joined by analyst Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in NASCAR’s Busch and Truck series, in the ESPN Pit Studio.

NASCAR in Primetime Five-Part Series Continues Wednesday on ABC

The ABC News five-part series NASCAR in Primetime continues at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 22. The series takes a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation, logistics, drama and competition of NASCAR.

For the first time, NASCAR has given uncensored access to the lives of some of its top drivers, including Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Martin. Millions see the NASCAR world every weekend, but with cameras rolling for five months ABC News documented what really goes on and what the drivers are really made of.

The unscripted ABC News documentary series chronicles NASCAR and a range of its competitors on and off the track to explain the sport's growth, multi-dimensional appeal and cultural phenomenon.

NASCAR Now Schedule

NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily news and information show dedicated to NASCAR, will have its expanded one-hour program today at 5:30 p.m. ET. The program will contain highlights of Monday’s rain-delayed NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Michigan as well as the latest NASCAR news and information.

The program will be off Tuesday and Friday of this week, but will air at 6 p.m. in its normal 30-minute format Wednesday and Thursday. The one-hour weekend edition will air at 10 a.m. ET Saturday, with extensive highlights of Friday night’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway and a preview of Saturday night’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at the same track. The weekend wrap-up edition will air at midnight Saturday.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Erik Kuselias, Ryan Burr or Allen Bestwick and originates from ESPN’s High Definition studios in Bristol, Conn., with reporters Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake. Contributors include analysts Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Stacy Compton and Boris Said, along with NASCAR insiders Terry Blount, Angelique Chengelis, Tim Cowlishaw, David Newton and Marty Smith, as well as D.J. Copp, a member of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR team.

IndyCar Series Live on ESPN Sunday from California

The IndyCar Series will swing to California this weekend and ESPN will have live coverage of Sunday’s Optima Batteries IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. The race telecast starts at 3:30 p.m. ET.

With a late-season surge, former IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon has closed on Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti in the race for the series driving championship. After the Sonoma event, only two races will remain in the 17-event season.

Marty Reid will anchor ESPN’s coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by former IndyCar Series star Scott Goodyear. Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch will report from the pits.

Champ Car World Series Begins European Swing in Belgium

The Champ Car World Series begins its two-race European swing this weekend with an event at the 2.622-mile Circuit Zolder in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. The race will be televised at 8 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN Classic.

Three-time Champ Car Series champion Sebastien Bourdais, who will be moving to Formula One next season, will be among the top contenders along with series star Paul Tracy and rookie phenomenon Will Power. At least 13 events in the international open-wheel racing series are being televised on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic and ABC in 2007, with the networks exclusively airing the series in 2008.

Veteran play-by-play announcer Rick Benjamin and color analyst and former Atlantic racer Jon Beekhuis will call the action for the race.

Champ Car Atlantic Series Action Airs on ESPN2 Wednesday

The Champ Car Atlantic Series, the feeder series for the Champ Car World Series, airs exclusively on ESPN2 this season. Action from the series’ recent event at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., will be shown at 5:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 22.

The historic Atlantic Series has been a training and proving ground for many of the stars of open-wheel racing.

NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Action Airs Thursday
Coverage of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will air at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 25, on ESPN2 with action from the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals event in Reading, Pa.

Featuring race vehicles that range from 5-second Top Alcohol Dragsters and Top Alcohol Funny Cars to 15-second Stockers, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is the premier Sportsman series in drag racing. Eight categories are included in the series, which is showcased at select NHRA national events. ESPN’s Dave Rieff will anchor the coverage.

New Episodes of ESPN2 Garage Programs To Air This Week

Three new episodes of the ESPN2 Garage program SpeedFreaks will premiere this week, along with new episodes of Race Wizard with Ray Evernham and King of the Strip. Race Wizard will be seen at 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 26, and King of the Strip will air at 11 a.m. Sunday.

The new episodes of SpeedFreaks will air at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, and at both 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursday. A repeat episode will air at 5:30 a.m. Friday.

Other ESPN2 Garage programs scheduled to air this week include Stacey David’s GearZ at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, a repeat of Race Wizard at noon Saturday and a repeat of King of the Strip at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

The ESPN2 Garage program Hot Rod Television will air at 10 a.m. Sunday, and another episode of GearZ will air at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Designed to complement ESPN’s extensive coverage of NASCAR, IndyCar, Champ Car and NHRA racing in 2007, ESPN2 Garage is dedicated to the automotive, motorcycle and motorsports worlds. ESPN2 will air more than 1,100 hours of motorsports programming in 2007.