Motorsports This Week on ESPN

NASCAR Nationwide Series Racing Under the Lights at Darlington

The NASCAR Nationwide Series makes its only appearance of the 2009 season at historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway this weekend, and ESPN2 will have a live, high definition telecast from the 1.366-mile track on Friday night, May 8, at 7 p.m. ET, as the series races in prime time. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC. The race re-airs Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage from Darlington, joined in the booth for analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will report from the pits, while two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer will be in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by Wallace and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

Craven, Wallace, Hinton on NASCAR Now Monday Roundtable

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Mike Wallace, ESPN NASCAR analyst Ricky Craven and ESPN.com senior writer Ed Hinton will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on ESPN2 on Monday, May 11, at 5 p.m. ET. They will join host Allen Bestwick on ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.

Half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now air Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 5 p.m., and Friday at 4:30 p.m. The one-hour weekend edition, hosted by Nicole Manske, airs Saturday, May 9, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Darlington Raceway. Craven will join Manske on the set, while Mike Massaro and Marty Smith will report from Darlington.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Manske, Massaro and Bestwick and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, 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, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.

ESPN Classic Airs NASCAR, NHRA Events on May 11

NASCAR and NHRA fans will have a chance to go back in time and see some classic events of the past on Monday, May 11, as ESPN Classic presents a pair of events from both motorsports sanctioning bodies.

The 1983 Northwestern Bank 400, a NASCAR Winston Cup event at the now-defunct North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, airs at 5 p.m. ET. Darrell Waltrip won the race, beating arch-rival Bobby Allison to the line. Harry Gant, Neil Bonnett and Geoff Bodine completed the top five.

Also on Monday, drag racing fans can watch highlights of the 2003 Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals from Gainesville, Fla. The one-hour program airs at 3 p.m.

Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League Action Airs Sunday on ESPN2

The Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, which features modified trucks, tractors and other vehicles, will be in action on Sunday, May 10, in four half-hour programs beginning at noon ET on ESPN2.

The programs will feature highlights from an event held in Indianapolis and Wheatland, Mo. The league is sanctioned by the American Tractor Pulling Association.

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