Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Texas on ABC

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is down to three races to go and this weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for 500 miles on Sunday, Nov. 8. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Dickies 500 airs on ABC beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 3:30 p.m.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from Texas on ESPN2

ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Nov. 7, at noon ET, with the green flag at 1:01 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.

Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

Evernham, Craven, Said on NASCAR Now Roundtable

NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham, Ricky Craven and Boris Said will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.

Mike Massaro hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 5 p.m., and Saturday at 12:30 a.m. (late Friday night). Massaro will be joined by Said for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Nov. 8, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Nicole Manske and Marty Smith will report from the speedway for both programs.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.

Petty, Earnhardt Documentaries Air on ESPN Classic

Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be featured in episodes of the ESPN signature series SportsCentury airing this week on ESPN Classic.

The episode featuring Earnhardt airs Thursday, Nov. 5, at 11 a.m. ET, while the Petty program airs Sunday, Nov. 8, at 8 a.m.

ESPN2 To Air NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series Racing

The NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series will be in action from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as ESPN2 televises highlights on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. ET.

The Sportsman Series is the developmental series for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Also this week, ESPN Classic will air highlights from the 2004 Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 9, at noon.

Traxxas TORC Series Action on ABC Sunday

Action from the Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL returns to ABC on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1:30 p.m. ET with an event in Las Vegas. The premier short-course racing series with the top stars in off-road racing, this exciting form of door-to-door action is appearing on both ESPN2 and ABC this season.

Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League Action Airs Sunday on ESPN2

The Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, which features modified trucks, tractors and other vehicles, will be in action on Sunday, Nov. 8, in a half-hour program beginning at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

The programs will feature highlights from an event held in Hamburg, N.Y. The league is sanctioned by the American Tractor Pulling Association.