Motorsports This Week on ESPN

Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup Begins at Chicago
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s 10-race version of the playoffs, begins with a new four-round elimination format with the Myafibstory.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., on Sunday, Sept. 14. ESPN will have a live telecast of the 400-mile race on the 1.5-mile track, with NASCAR Countdown presented by 5-Hour Energy at 1 p.m. ET and the race’s green flag at 2:16 p.m. All Chase races will feature NASCAR Nonstop, a split-screen commercial format, during the second half of the race telecast. Also from Chicagoland, ESPN2 will televise NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Sept. 12, at 6:30 p.m. The race airs live in Canada on TSN2 and will air in Spanish on ESPN Deportes on Sept. 15 at 5 a.m.

ESPN SportsCenter will air interviews with some of the 16 drivers qualified for the Chase at Chase Media Day in downtown Chicago on the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 11, as well as on Wednesday, Sept. 10, with Nicole Briscoe on hand in Chicago. In addition, driver Kevin Harvick will visit ESPN on Sept. 10 and will appear on SportsCenter and other ESPN programs and platforms. ESPN analyst Ricky Craven will be in the SportsCenter studio for analysis both pre and post-race for all Chase races and Marty Smith will report for SportsCenter from Chicago and all Chase races.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 13, with the race airing on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. and a 3:46 p.m. green flag. The race airs live in Canada on TSN2 and will air in Spanish on ESPN Deportes at 4 a.m. on Sept. 14.

All NASCAR programming on ESPN and ESPN2 is available on computers, smartphones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One via WatchESPN, accessible to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from an affiliate provider.

Announcers:
Booth: Lap-by-Lap announcer Allen Bestwick; analysts Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree.
Pit reporters: Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch.
NASCAR Countdown: Nicole Briscoe (host); Rusty Wallace; Brad Daugherty (analysts).

Friday Night Qualifying Show Added for NHRA in Charlotte
The first event of the Countdown to the Championship for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, the NHRA Carolina Nationals, runs Sept. 12-14 at zMax Dragway near Charlotte, N.C., and qualifying and eliminations action will air on ESPN2 and ESPN3. ESPN2 has added a special one hour program of Friday qualifying that will air Friday, Sept. 12, at 11 p.m. ET. All NHRA programming on ESPN networks is available on computers, smartphones, tablets, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV via WatchESPN, accessible to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from an affiliate provider. The schedule:

Announcers:
Booth: Dave Rieff (anchor); Mike Dunn (analyst)
Pit reporters: Gary Gerould, Jamie Howe, John Kernan.

Motorsports on Other ESPN Platforms
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 night, Sept. 14, RacingLive! Chicago will coincide with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Chicagoland Speedway. Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live here.