ESPN at NASCAR’s Daytona Speedweeks

ESPN will provide two weeks of comprehensive coverage of Speedweeks and the start of the NASCAR season at Daytona International Speedway across its multimedia platforms. Television coverage, highlighted by a Daytona 500 origination for ESPN’s flagship program SportsCenter, an expanded schedule for ESPN2’s daily news program NASCAR Now, coverage of NASCAR Media Day on ESPNEWS, and NASCAR Nationwide Series practice and qualifying, will culminate with the NASCAR Nationwide Series 300-mile race on ESPN2 on Saturday, Feb. 19.

Other TV highlights include NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series preview shows on ESPN2, the premiere of the original film Wendell Scott: A Race Story and the airing of multiple past Daytona 500 races on ESPN Classic.

SportsCenter at Daytona airs Saturday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, originating from the Fan Zone at Daytona International Speedway. In addition to the special program, ESPN’s reporters and analysts will appear on regular editions of SportsCenter throughout Daytona Speedweeks. Other ESPN platforms including ESPN.com, Jayski.com, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile Properties also will surround the NASCAR Nationwide Series race telecast and the Daytona 500 with NASCAR-related programming and coverage.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will televise 33 of the 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season. ESPN also will televise the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races of the season, with three airing on ABC.

Marty Reid will be the lead announcer for the Daytona race telecast, joined in the booth for analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

Prior to the 1:15 p.m. ET race telecast, Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown from the revamped ESPN pit studio at noon, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a team owner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

ESPN2 also airs live coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Friday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m., as well as NASCAR Nationwide Series practice coverage on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m.

NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily news and information show totally dedicated to NASCAR, originates from Daytona with one-hour episodes the week of the Daytona 500. The edition on the morning of the Feb. 20 Daytona 500 airs at 9 a.m. with Bestwick hosting and analysts Jarrett, Wallace and Ricky Craven. Another program airs that night at 8 p.m. to wrap up Daytona Speedweeks and will include an appearance by the Daytona 500 winner.

Mike Massaro and Nicole Briscoe will co-host ESPNEWS’ coverage of NASCAR Media Day on Thursday, Feb. 10, at noon, and conduct exclusive driver interviews from Daytona for the three-hour telecast. They’ll be joined for analysis by Craven.

ESPN2 airs season preview shows for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series on Tuesday, Feb. 15, starting at 2 p.m. ESPN Classic will have an airing of ESPN’s acclaimed original movie 3, based on the life and racing career of seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18.

ESPN’S MULTIMEDIA PLATFORMS SURROUND DAYTONA

SportsCenter at Daytona — SportsCenter will present a one-hour special from Daytona International Speedway on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, the eve of NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Hosted by Allen Bestwick, with analysts Rusty Wallace, Ricky Craven and Brad Daugherty, SportsCenter at Daytona will preview the Great American Race with analysis, opinion, and interviews. Also contributing will be reporters Marty Smith, Nicole Briscoe and Mike Massaro.

ESPN.com — Extensive coverage will originate from Daytona. Award-winning motorsports journalists Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton and ESPN.com motorsports editors K. Lee Davis and Joe Breeze will lead the reporting team, with additional contributions from NASCAR Insider Marty Smith as well as ESPN The Magazine’s Ryan McGee. Hinton, Blount, Newton and other ESPN reporters and personalities maintain and regularly update blogs with their insights, perspectives and more within the ESPN Insider premium content section. ESPN.com, along with Jayski.com, will feature extensive video, audio and editorial coverage of the 2011 NASCAR season, as well as providing multiple ESPN Fantasy games and content distributed to other emerging platforms such as Apple’s iTunes Store and Microsoft’s X Box Live.

ESPN.com RaceCast, ESPN.com’s enhanced, live race-day applications features a live animated graphic display, track information, lap leaders, race leaders, driver information and live in-race chat with ESPN announcers and reporters. NASCAR fans looking for an online gathering during telecasts of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well as the Nationwide Series opener at Daytona now have a place to go on ESPN.com. Racing Live! on ESPN.com is a live blog where fans can engage in debate and discussion with ESPN.com writers and editors during the races. Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/. As part of ESPN.com’s integration with Jayski.com, veteran racing voice Mark Garrow returns as a frequent contributor this year, producing podcasts and hosting regular chats on ESPN.com.

Jayski.com — ESPN-owned Jayski.com is considered one of the most influential Web sites in the motorsports world. Jayski has gained a reputation for consistently breaking industry stories and serving as the ultimate resource and trackside companion for NASCAR fans. Jayski’s editorial content during Daytona Speedweeks will help NASCAR fans keep up with late-breaking news, including updating any on-track incidents and garage news. Jayski also helps NASCAR fans understand the qualifying procedure for the Daytona 500, and NASCAR’s Top 35 rule, with updates and scenarios. And Jayski’s popular paint scheme section helps fans stay abreast of the new looks for NASCAR race teams.

ESPNEWS – Coverage of NASCAR Media Day from noon – 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10. Extensive reports and interviews during regular programming throughout Daytona Speed Weeks, including highlights from news conferences.

ESPN Radio – The Raceday program airs from 6 – 7 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19, and Sunday, Feb. 20. Both programs will originate from Daytona with host Pat Patterson and include news, interviews and reports. In addition, ESPN Radio will have daily reports and interviews during other programming in the week leading up to the race.

ESPN International – ESPN International is one of the world’s leading syndicators of sports programming and its relationship with NASCAR is helping maximize coverage of NASCAR and providing a solid base of distribution. Through a combination of sales and network programming, the 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup races and 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series races are available to 112 countries and territories around the world. In addition, U.S. troops and their families serving around the world and Navy vessels at sea can watch the season through American Forces Network.

ESPN Classic – To help get NASCAR fans fired up for the opening of the season, ESPN Classic is running a marathon of NASCAR-related programming on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-19. Included are episodes of the ESPN Classic signature series SportsCentury featuring some of history’s greatest drivers such as Richard Petty, Tim Flock, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and 1967 Daytona 500 winner Mario Andretti. In addition, the lineup will include highlights of six past Daytona 500 races and the ESPN Original Movie 3.

ESPN Deportes — ESPN’s 24-hour, Spanish-language sports network in the U.S. will carry the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on a tape-delayed basis beginning at 4 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15. ESPN Deportes’ NASCAR commentator team will feature Andrés Agulla (play-by-play) and Alex Pombo (analysis). In addition to the telecast of the race, ESPN Deportes will have segments for its edition of SportsCenter.

ESPN Mobile Platforms — ESPN’s multiple mobile platforms will give fans on-the-go access to all the racing action, news and developments. ESPN Mobile TV (available on MediaFLO and MobiTV and via Sprint) will deliver news, analysis and feature video programs. ESPN MVP on Verizon Wireless will feature race highlights from NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races throughout the season, as well as all the latest news and information, ESPN.com columnists and in-progress race leader boards. In addition, fans can find coverage on the ESPN mobile Web site — the leading sports site on the wireless Web (and among the most-trafficked wireless Web sites in the world), with 12.4 million unique visitors a month – in a dedicated NASCAR section that includes special coverage around the biggest races, driver cards and more. Additionally, fans can access real-time results on the ESPN ScoreCenter mobile app and sign up to receive customizable alerts to follow their favorite drivers during the race.

ESPN Films — In conjunction with Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Media Group and Max Siegel Inc., ESPN Films will document the story of Wendell Scott, the only black driver to win a NASCAR race, with the first airing of Wendell Scott: A Race Story on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 9 p.m. on ESPN. The 60-minute documentary will chronicle Scott’s only NASCAR victory, at Jacksonville Speedway in 1963, and his positive impact on the sport.

ESPN’S 2011 DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS SCHEDULE
(all times Eastern)