Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Action from Pocono Live on ESPN
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series moves this weekend to Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania for Sunday’s 500-mile race and ESPN will have live coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET with the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program. The race telecast will be presented by Rush Hour 3.

ESPN, which has televised more NASCAR Cup races than any other network, returned to coverage of the Cup Series last week at Indianapolis, its first Cup event since 2000. ESPN and ABC will have live coverage of the final 17 races of the 2007 season, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup on ABC.

Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play for the Pocono race, joined in the booth for expert analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake. Two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN DISH Tech Center.

ESPN’s Suzy Kolber will host NASCAR Countdown at Pocono, joined by analyst Brad Daugherty in the ESPN Pit Studio.

ESPN’s coverage from Pocono will include live NASCAR NEXTEL Cup qualifying at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, and Happy Hour final practice at 11 a.m. Saturday.

NASCAR Busch Series To Make Historic First Visit to Montreal Live on ESPN2
The NASCAR Busch Series will make history this weekend as it becomes the first of NASCAR’s national series to race in Canada. ESPN2 will have live coverage of the race at world-famous Circuit Gilles Villenueve in Montreal beginning at 3 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.

The road racing circuit, named for one of Canada’s most famous racers of all time and the home of an annual Formula One race, will present a level playing field for NASCAR Busch Series drivers and teams, as all will be racing on the track for the first time. Road racing star Scott Pruett will be ESPN’s In-Car Race Reporter for the telecast. Pruett will be driving for the Ganassi team.

Allen Bestwick will anchor ESPN2’s coverage from Montreal, with analysis by two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie. Pit reporters will be Gary Gerould, Marty Smith and Vince Welch. Bestwick also will host NASCAR Countdown.

In addition to coverage of the race, ESPN2 will televise NASCAR Busch Series practice from Montreal at 2 p.m. Friday, and qualifying at noon Saturday.

IndyCar Series Live on ESPN2 Sunday from Michigan
The IndyCar Series will return to action this weekend with Sunday’s Firestone IndyCar 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The race telecast starts at noon ET.

Scott Dixon will go for his fourth straight IndyCar win and Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti will look to maintain his series point lead as the IndyCars race on the high-speed, 2-mile oval. Danica Patrick, who has scored two third-place finishes in recent races, will continue her quest for her first IndyCar Series win. Sam Hornish Jr., Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti are among other top contenders.

Marty Reid will anchor ESPN2’s coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by former IndyCar Series star Scott Goodyear. Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch will report from the pits.

NASCAR Now Schedule
NASCAR Now, ESPN’s daily news and information show dedicated to NASCAR, will have its expanded one-hour program tonight beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. The program will contain highlights of Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, as well as the latest NASCAR news and information.

Tuesday through Friday, NASCAR Now will air at its new time of 6 p.m. in its normal 30-minute format. The one-hour weekend edition will air at 10 a.m. Sunday, with extensive highlights of Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race in Montreal and previewing Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Pocono.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Erik Kuselias, Ryan Burr or Allen Bestwick and originates from ESPN’s High Definition studios in Bristol, Conn., with reporters Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake. Contributors include analysts Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Stacy Compton and Boris Said, along with NASCAR insiders Terry Blount, Angelique Chengelis, Tim Cowlishaw, David Newton and Marty Smith, as well as D.J. Copp, a member of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR team.

NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Action Airs Saturday
Coverage of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will air at 11 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 5, on ESPN2 with action from the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals event in Sonoma, Calif.

Featuring race vehicles that range from 5-second Top Alcohol Dragsters and Top Alcohol Funny Cars to 15-second Stockers, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is the premier Sportsman series in drag racing. Eight categories are included in the series, which is showcased at select NHRA national events. ESPN’s Dave Rieff will anchor the coverage.

Champ Car Atlantic Series San Jose Race Featured Friday
The Champ Car Atlantic Series, the feeder series for the Champ Car World Series, will be on the air Friday, Aug. 3, with a 30-minute replay of last weekend’s event from San Jose, Calif. The telecast on ESPN2 will start at 6 p.m.

The series raced on a temporary street circuit in the San Jose downtown area.

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Racing on ESPN2 Sunday
World of Outlaws sprint car racing will be featured at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 5, on ESPN2. The one-hour program will recap a previous WoO event.

The telecast continues the World of Outlaws’ “SuperClean Summer of Money," with eight consecutive weekends of racing on ESPN2 at eight different tracks. The World of Outlaws is the world’s premier sanctioning body for winged sprint car racing.

Rally America Action Airs on ESPN2 Tuesday
Rally America, which will be featured as part of ESPN’s X Games 13, will be in action on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday. The 30-minute program will feature action from two of Rally America’s events of 2007.

There are no ovals, pace cars or rain delays, as Rally racing features real cars racing against the clock on closed-off sections of real roads that are usually unpaved and unforgiving. Events can last several days and cover hundreds of miles through rain, snow, day or night.

New Episodes of ESPN2 Garage Programs To Air This Week
New episodes of the ESPN2 Garage programs SpeedFreaks, Race Wizard with Ray Evernham and King of the Strip will premiere this week. SpeedFreaks will air at 5 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 2, while Race Wizard is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4. King of the Strip will air at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 31.

Also scheduled to air at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, is an episode of the ESPN2 Garage program Hot Rod Television.

Designed to complement ESPN’s extensive coverage of NASCAR, IndyCar, Champ Car and NHRA racing in 2007, ESPN2 Garage is dedicated to the automotive, motorcycle and motorsports worlds. ESPN2 will air more than 1,100 hours of motorsports programming in 2007.

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