Motorsports this week on ESPN


The Chase Continues: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Texas

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship continues Sunday, Nov. 7, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for 500 miles at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. NASCAR Countdown kicks off ESPN’s telecast at 2 p.m. ET with the race telecast presented by GoDaddy.com at 3 p.m. The green flag is at 3:16 p.m.

ESPN2’s season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series continues at Texas with a telecast of Saturday’s 300-mile race. NASCAR Countdown airs at noon with the green flag at 1:11 p.m.

Marty Reid will call the action with analysis by Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, and two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree. Two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.

NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will be hosted by Allen Bestwick with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion driver Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a team owner in the series. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race.

The Texas NASCAR Nationwide Series event is the final of four races in the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash. Created in 2009 and designed to increase the on-track excitement for the drivers and the fans, the bonus program was implemented to develop and support NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars, up-and-comers and those who compete part time in the Series. NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers must also compete full time in the Nationwide Series to be eligible. There is a $25,000 cash bonus awarded to the eligible race winner of the four Dash 4 Cash races but should the winner not be eligible, the prize money will roll over to next Dash 4 Cash race.

There also is a $75,000 year-end bonus awarded at the end of the season to the NASCAR Nationwide Series-only driver with the highest number of cumulative points from the four races. NASCAR drivers who compete in more than seven Sprint Cup races during the season are not eligible for the end of season bonus, even if they run all Nationwide Series races.

Jarrett, Craven, Evernham on NASCAR Now Roundtable

NASCAR on ESPN analysts Rusty Wallace and Ricky Craven will join NASCAR Now lead reporter Marty Smith as panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, Nov. 8, 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 through Thursday of this week and Saturday at midnight (late Friday night). Briscoe also hosts as NASCAR Now surrounds Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway with two episodes. The one-hour weekend edition airs at 9 a.m. with a preview of that day’s race, while the weekend wrap-up edition airs that night at 10 p.m. Shannon Spake and Smith will report from Texas while Craven will join Briscoe in the studio.

ESPN.com Offers RacingLive! During Texas 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 Sunday, Nov. 7, RacingLive! Texas will kick off at 3 p.m. ET to coincide with ESPN’s telecast of the race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/.

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.

NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Action Airs Sunday

Highlights from the recent NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will air in a one-hour program on Sunday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2.