ESPN on ABC’s Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coverage Begins at New Hampshire

The September 14 event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., again marks the beginning of ESPN’s coverage of the Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup. ESPN and ESPN on ABC have live coverage of the final 17 races of the 2008 season, including all 10 races in the Chase on ABC.

The Richmond International Raceway event, run the week before the start of the Chase, is the first ABC event after six races on ESPN. The Richmond event determines the final seeding of the 12 drivers in the Chase.

ESPN’s coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series includes telecasts of practice and qualifying from select races, the season-ending banquet and season preview and review specials. NASCAR Countdown provides a dedicated pre-race program for each race telecast, and ESPN2’s NASCAR news and information program, NASCAR Now, delivers comprehensive coverage of the series. All programs are produced totally in high definition.

In addition, ESPN2 is home to the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2008. Select NASCAR Nationwide Series races are being televised by ESPN and ABC.

ESPN’s NASCAR coverage touches numerous ESPN platforms, including ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ABC HD, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN the Magazine, ESPN International, Jayski.com, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic and ESPN Content Development.

Starting in 1981, ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup races over a 20-year period. 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. ESPN 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. Live NASCAR Cup racing returned to the ESPN networks in 2007.

Visit www.espnmediazone.com for ESPN's latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video and audio clips and more.

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