Quotes from ESPN Analyst and 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Dale Jarrett on Michigan International Speedway

Dale Jarrett, NASCAR analyst for ESPN, was a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner at Michigan International Speedway during his career, including the first win of his career in the series in 1991. Jarrett was the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and one of the founding drivers of the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Q - What is the toughest part in setting up a car for Michigan International Speedway?

Dale Jarrett - I think the biggest thing in Michigan is that it almost takes two cars - you want a car that really goes fast down the straightaways, so you need it to work aerodynamically. The other thing is you have really long corners so it makes it a difficult transition going through those long corners because you have to get through them to make that straightaway speed work out.

Q – What can the driver do to contribute to that?

There are a lot of things and that’s what’s so fun about Michigan. You know as a driver you can really make a big difference. The track is so fast that you can really drive it down in the corners, but that isn’t always the best scenario. You have to know where to back off and what line to run. There’s four or five different lanes you can run in and being able to know when to change those throughout the 400 miles is going to be key for the driver.

Q- What is something unique about MIS that viewers should look for on the telecast?

Dale Jarrett – The most unique thing is those five different lanes that you could run through the corners. You might see guys that literally have left-side tires on or below the white line at the bottom of the track that separates the track from the apron. Then you will have some guys running in the middle of the racetrack and even some guys up against the wall.

NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series Live from Michigan on ESPN, ESPN2

The 2-mile Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., has long carried a reputation as one of NASCAR’s most competitive racetracks, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes its second and final appearance of the season at the track this weekend. ESPN will have live, flag-to-flag coverage of the 400-mile race on Sunday, August 17, at 1 p.m. ET. The race also airs in high definition on ESPN HD and is simulcast on ESPN Deportes. The race replays on Monday, Aug. 18, at 1 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be lead announcer for ESPN’s coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will be pit reporters with two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Tech Center.

The pre-race NASCAR Countdown show from the ESPN pit studio will be hosted by Allen Bestwick, with 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and analyst Brad Daugherty. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race.

As part of the week’s buildup to the event, ESPN Classic airs the 1990 Champion Spark Plug 400 race at Michigan on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 2 p.m. The race originally aired on ESPN and was won by Mark Martin.

ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series with a live telecast of the Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., on Saturday, Aug. 16, beginning at 3 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast also airs in high definition on ESPN2 HD and is simulcast on ESPN Deportes.

About NASCAR on ESPN:

ESPN and ABC have comprehensive, multi-platform coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” on ABC. Additionally, ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season. All programming is produced totally in high definition. ESPN’s comprehensive, multimedia NASCAR coverage extends to ESPN.com, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio, SportsCenter, ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPNRadio and ESPN International, among other ESPN platforms. ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981 and returned to NASCAR coverage in 2007. The network's award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage on ESPN has been honored with 18 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It 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.

-30-