Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC
IndyCar Series Season Finale Live on ABC from Las Vegas
The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season will come to a close at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 16, with Dario Franchitti and Will Power set to battle for the series crown. The IZOD IndyCar World Championship event will air live on ABC with the telecast presented by Sunoco. The pre-race show airs at 3 p.m. ET with the race’s green flag at 3:45 p.m. Marty Reid will call the action with former IndyCar stars Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever providing analysis. Pit reporters will be Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little and Vince Welch.
Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup Continues at Charlotte
The NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for a pair of prime time races. Both races, as well as selected practice and qualifying sessions, will appear on ESPN networks. Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race will be the fifth race in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and will air live on ABC.
Telecast schedule (all times Eastern):
|
Date |
Time | Event | Network |
| Oct. 13 | 2 p.m. | NASCAR Nationwide Series practice | ESPN2 |
| Thu., Oct. 13 | 3:30 p.m. | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice | ESPN2 |
| Thu., Oct. 13 | 7 p.m. | NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying | ESPN2 |
| Fri., Oct. 14 | 3 p.m. | NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying | ESPN2 |
| Fri., Oct. 14 | 4:30 p.m. | NASCAR Sprint Cup practice | ESPN2 |
| Fri., Oct. 14 | 6 p.m. | NASCAR Sprint Cup practice | ESPN2 |
| Fri., Oct. 14 | 7 p.m. | NASCAR Countdown | ESPN2 |
| Fri., Oct. 14 | 7:30 p.m. | NASCAR Nationwide Series race (GF 7:46 p.m.) | ESPN2 |
| Sat., Oct. 15 | 7 p.m. | NASCAR Countdown presented by NAPA | ABC |
| Sat., Oct. 15 | 7:30 p.m. | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500, (GF 7:46 p.m.) | ABC |
Announcers:
Booth: Lap-by-Lap announcer Allen Bestwick; analysts Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree.
Pit reporters: Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Dr. Jerry Punch, Shannon Spake.
ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage: Tim Brewer
NASCAR Countdown: Mike Massaro (host); Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty (analysts).
NASCAR Now Schedule
The one-hour weekend edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now will air on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Michael Yam will host with analyst Ricky Craven while reporting from the track in Charlotte will be David Newton and Ryan McGee. On Monday, Oct. 17, NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program will air at 2:30 p.m. with Craven joining ESPN NASCAR analyst Rusty Wallace and NASCAR Now lead reporter Marty Smith as panelists with host Allen Bestwick.
|
Date |
Time | Show | Host | Network |
| Tues., Oct. 11 | 3 p.m. | NASCAR Now | Michael Yam | ESPN2 |
| Wed., Oct. 12 | 3 p.m. | NASCAR Now | Michael Yam | ESPN2 |
| Thur., Oct. 13 | 8:30 p.m. | NASCAR Now | Michael Yam | ESPN2 |
| Fri., Oct. 14 | 5:30 p.m. | NASCAR Now | Michael Yam | ESPN2 |
| Sat., Oct. 15 | 10 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Michael Yam | ESPN2 |
| Mon., Oct. 17 | 2:30 p.m. | NASCAR Now | Allen Bestwick | ESPN2 |
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
With only three events remaining in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season, the series competes this weekend in the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix.
Coverage of qualifying airs Sunday, Oct. 16, at 12:30 a.m. ET (late Saturday night) on ESPN2, while eliminations action airs at 7 p.m. NHRA fans can watch the entire day of eliminations on ESPN3 starting at 2 p.m. and Friday night qualifying on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Paul Page anchors for ESPN with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff will report from the pits.
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 Saturday, Oct. 15, RacingLive! Charlotte will kick off to coincide with ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte 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.com motorsports writer David Newton will be on hand at Charlotte.
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 the race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. 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.