Quotes from ESPN Analyst and Two-Time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Crew Chief Tim Brewer on Bristol Motor Speedway

Tim Brewer, NASCAR analyst for ESPN, had four wins as a crew chief at Bristol Motor Speedway and contributed to numerous others as a crew member. He won two NASCAR Sprint Cup championships, 53 races and 55 poles during his career as a crew chief.

Q- It used to be difficult for some drivers to do 500 laps at Bristol- relief drivers used to be very common. Why doesn’t that happen anymore?

“Because the guys are in better physical shape and the cars are better acclimated to downforce. The tires have more grip and the rear wing is at an angle where it contributes more downforce. Even though they’re faster at Bristol, the cars aren’t as physically demanding as they used to be. There’s a ton of things on these cars now, like power steering, that makes them easier to drive than the older cars back in the 70s. The seats are more supportive and the drivers don’t have to literally hang on to the steering wheel like they used to. A lot of safety improvements have also helped make the cockpit of the car a better environment for running 500 laps.”  

Q- What’s the toughest aspect of setting up a car for Bristol?

“Getting the car to not bottom out on the racetrack with the spring package that you have. It’s a really delicate balancing act to get the splitter as close to the ground as you can to make downforce and not have the springs bind out. Every time that thing bottoms out it literally lifts the corner of the car off the ground and the trick is to get four tires on the pavement at all times because there’s a lot of bouncing at Bristol. You have to make that car drive as good as you can for as long as you can.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series Live Under the Lights from Bristol on ESPN

One of the most exciting and popular races of the year on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the annual night race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The half-mile concrete oval, with 160,000 fans surrounding it, becomes a battleground as sparks fly and brakes glow red-hot, all under the glare of stadium lighting. ESPN and ESPN HD will have live, flag-to-flag coverage of the 500-lap race on Saturday, Aug. 23, beginning at 7 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast is presented by Pennzoil Platinum and is simulcast on ESPN Deportes. The race replays on Sunday, Aug. 24, at noon 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 1985 Valleydale 500 race at Bristol on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 2 p.m. The race originally aired on ESPN and was won by Dale Earnhardt.

ESPN also has a live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Bristol on Friday, Aug. 22, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast airs in high definition on ESPN 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, 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.

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