Motorsports This Week on ESPN
NASCAR Nationwide Series Season Opener on ESPN
Live, flag-to-flag coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season-opening 300-mile race from Daytona International Speedway will air on ESPN on Saturday, Feb. 23. NASCAR Countdown begins at noon ET with the green flag at 1:34 p.m. The race telecast is presented by Royal Purple. ESPN2 will air NASCAR Nationwide Series practice on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m. and qualifying on Friday, Feb. 22, at 3:30 p.m.
Also this week, ESPN2 will preview the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in a special program airing Friday, Feb. 22, at 2 a.m. A NASCAR Nationwide Series season preview program will air Thursday, Feb. 21, at 2:30 a.m. All NASCAR programming on ESPN and ESPN2 is also available on computers, smartphones, tablets and Xbox via WatchESPN, accessible to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
Daytona Race Telecast 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, Ray Evernham, Brad Daugherty (analysts).
NASCAR Now at Daytona
ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now will have four programs originating from Daytona International Speedway surrounding the Daytona 500, including a one-hour Daytona 500 preview show airing at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24. The Great American Race also will be reviewed at midnight on Monday, Feb. 25 (late Sunday night). Host Allen Bestwick will be joined for the Feb. 24-25 shows by analysts Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and Ray Evernham with reporters Mike Massaro and Marty Smith. The week’s schedule:
| Date | Time | Show | Host | Network |
| Tue., Feb. 19 | 12:30 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Marty Reid | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Wed., Feb. 20 | 12:30 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Marty Reid | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Thu., Feb. 21 | 2 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Marty Reid | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Fri., Feb. 22 | 1:30 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Nicole Briscoe | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Sat., Feb. 23 | 1:30 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Nicole Briscoe | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Sun., Feb. 24 | 9 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Allen Bestwick | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Mon., Feb. 25 | Midnight | NASCAR Now | Allen Bestwick | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
NHRA at Phoenix on ESPN2, ESPN3 from Pomona
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series moves to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix this weekend for the NHRA Arizona Nationals. Drag racing fans can watch qualifying and eliminations action on ESPN2 and ESPN3. All NHRA programming on ESPN is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app. The schedule:
|
Date |
Time | Event | Network |
| Friday, Feb. 22 | 6 p.m. | Qualifying (live) | ESPN3, WatchESPN |
| Sunday, Feb. 24 | 1 a.m. | Qualifying | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Sunday, Feb. 24 | 8 a.m. | Qualifying (re-air) | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Sunday, Feb. 24 | Noon | Eliminations (live) | ESPN3, WatchESPN |
| Sunday, Feb. 24 | 8 p.m. | Eliminations | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
Announcers:
Booth: Dave Rieff (anchor); Mike Dunn (analyst)
Pit reporters: Gary Gerould, Jamie Howe
ESPN Classic Daytona 500 Marathon Wednesday-Friday
ESPN Classic will air a marathon of NASCAR and Daytona 500-related programming Feb. 20-21-22 including highlights from multiple past runnings of the race, the ESPN “30 for 30" documentary Tim Richmond: To the Limit, and SportsCentury programs on Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr., Tim Flock and Mario Andretti. The schedule:
|
Date/Time |
Program |
| Wed., Feb. 20/ 8:30 a.m. | SportsCentury: Mario Andretti |
| 9:30 a.m. | SportsCentury: Tim Flock |
| 10:30 a.m. | SportsCentury: Jeff Gordon |
| 11 a.m. | 1993 Daytona 500 |
| 1 p.m. | 2007 Daytona 500 |
| 3 p.m. | 1997 Daytona 500 |
| 5 p.m. | 1999 Daytona 500 |
| Thurs., Feb. 21/8 a.m. | Tim Richmond: To the Limit |
| 9 a.m. | 3 Nation: The Life & Legacy of Dale Earnhardt |
| 10 a.m. | SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 11 a.m. | SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt |
| Noon | 1976 Daytona 500 |
| 1 p.m. | 1981 Daytona 500 |
| 3 p.m. | 1983 Daytona 500 |
| 5 p.m. | 1979 Daytona 500 |
| Fri., Feb. 22/7:30 a.m. | 1998 Daytona 500 |
| 9:30 a.m. | SportsCentury: Tony Stewart |
| 11 a.m. | SportsCentury: Richard Petty |
| Noon | 1973 Daytona 500 |
| 1 p.m. | 1978 Daytona 500 |
| 2 p.m. | 1988 Daytona 500 |
| 4 p.m. | 1993 Daytona 500 |
| 6 p.m. | 1998 Daytona 500 |
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 both Saturday, Feb. 23, and Sunday, Feb. 24, RacingLive! Daytona will coincide with the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona (Feb. 23) and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500. 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 — Each weekend morning, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay starts its engines at 6 a.m. ET with host Pat Patterson anchored from the site of that weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race. 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.
Click HERE for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series schedules on ESPN.
Click HERE for the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule on ESPN.
Click HERE for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule on ABC