Motorsports This Week on ESPN
NHRA Action from Houston on ESPN2, ESPN3.com
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series races this weekend in the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston. ESPN2 will air action from qualifying on Saturday, April 30, at 6 p.m. ET and coverage of eliminations airs Sunday, May 1, at 7 p.m. NHRA fans also can watch the full day of eliminations live on ESPN3.com starting Sunday at noon.
Royal Purple Raceway benefits from incredible atmospheric conditions because of its proximity to Trinity Bay, which feeds the facility cool air. The track’s first NHRA national event, in fall 1988, established RPR as one of the sport’s quickest with NHRA’s first four-second Top Fuel quarter-mile pass and a new national record. Since then, the track has hosted a dizzying array of record runs, including the first sub-4.5-second Top Fuel quarter-mile pass by Larry Dixon in 1999. Pro Stock Motorcycles and Pro Mods will also compete at the event.
Paul Page anchors for ESPN with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould, and Dave Rieff report from the pits. Also, ESPN.com national motorsports writer Terry Blount will be onsite at Houston to report from the event.
Craven, Hinton, Smith on NASCAR Now Roundtable
ESPN NASCAR analyst Ricky Craven, ESPN.com senior writer Ed Hinton and NASCAR Now lead reporter Marty Smith will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, May 2, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Nicole Briscoe hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing at 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and at 1 a.m. Friday (late Thursday night). There is no show on Friday due to live NASCAR programming. Briscoe also hosts NASCAR Now’s weekend edition airing Saturday, April 30, at noon with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. Smith and Shannon Spake will report from Richmond.
ESPN.com Offers RacingLive! During Richmond Race
NASCAR fans looking for an online gathering during ESPN’s telecasts of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now have a place to go on ESPN.com.
RacingLive! on ESPN.com is a live blog where fans can engage in debate and discussion with ESPN.com writers and editors during the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. On Saturday, April 30, RacingLive! Richmond will kick off to coincide with the race at Richmond International Raceway. Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/.
ESPN.com motorsports editor K. Lee Davis will be onsite at Richmond to report on the weekend’s action and news.
ESPN Radio Raceday Airs Saturday, Sunday
Each weekend morning, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay starts its engines at 6 a.m. ET with host Pat Patterson anchored from Daytona Beach, Fla. Patterson also originates the broadcast from several racetracks with key races during the season. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay listeners get an hour of news, previews and analysis, as well as profiles and interviews with NASCAR’s biggest names and newsmakers and the involvement of listeners via calls and e-mails.
Additionally, many of ESPN’s NASCAR reporters and analysts contribute each week as ESPN networks televise the entire NASCAR Nationwide Series and the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup" championship. A list of ESPN Radio affiliates can be found at www.espnradio.com.