Motorsports This Week on ESPN

NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from Texas on ESPN2

The NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth this weekend and ESPN2 will have a live, flag-to-flag telecast of the 300-mile event on Saturday, April 17. NASCAR Countdown presented by Hellman’s airs at 3 p.m. ET, while the race telecast starts at 3:30 p.m. with the green flag at 3:46 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the series all season, with selected races airing on ESPN and ABC.

Also from Texas, ESPN2 airs NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Friday, April 16, at 2:30 p.m. and same-day coverage of final practice earlier Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Marty Reid will be the lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN2’s race coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace 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.

Nicole Briscoe will host NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio, with analysis by Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a team owner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Evernham, Craven, McGee on NASCAR Now Roundtable

NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham and Ricky Craven and ESPN the Magazine senior writer Ryan McGee will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, April 19, at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Nicole Briscoe will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.

Mike Massaro hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at 6 p.m., Thursday at 5 p.m. and Friday at 6:30 p.m. Massaro also hosts the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, April 18, at 9 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Marty Smith and Shannon Spake will report from Texas, joined by analyst Rusty Wallace.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Briscoe and Allen Bestwick and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include reporters Marty Smith, Shannon Spake and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Marty Reid, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Las Vegas

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series races this weekend in the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas, and ESPN2 will air highlights of qualifying and eliminations. Qualifying action airs Saturday, April 17, at 6 p.m. ET, and coverage of eliminations airs Sunday at 7 p.m.

As if Las Vegas weren’t loud and ostentatious enough in its own right, the city hosts the fire and fury of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series twice each year, this event in the spring and the crucial penultimate stop on the schedule in the fall. Contested at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a crown jewel befitting this glitzy city, the event has become a pivotal stop on the tour. Race teams often light up the scoreboard with performances one wouldn’t normally see at 2,100 feet.

Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay presented by Lucas Oil on Sunday at 10 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.

NHRA Modified, Sportsman Action on ESPN2

Drag racing fans can watch 90 minutes of action featuring the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the new Get Screened America Pro Mod Series on Sunday, April 18, beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The programs will include highlights of the Sportsman and Modified cars and drivers from the recent event in Houston.