Motorsports This Week on ESPN

NASCAR Nationwide Series Airing on ESPN Saturday from Nashville

The NASCAR Nationwide Series makes its first appearance of the 2008 season on ESPN with a live, flag-to-flag airing of the 300-mile race from Nashville Superspeedway Saturday, March 22, beginning at 2 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The Nashville telecast is presented by Tractor Supply Company. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.

Carl Edwards won both NASCAR Nationwide Series races held last year on the 1.333-mile, concrete-surfaced Nashville track on his way to the series championship.

ESPN2 airs live coverage of Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at Nashville at 2:30 p.m., and taped coverage of final practice airs Saturday at 11 a.m.

Marty Reid will be the lead announcer for ESPN’s coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and two-time Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree. Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch will report from the pits, while two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer will be in the ESPN DISH Tech Center.

Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with analysis by Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

The race will be simulcast on ESPN360.com, ESPN’s signature broadband sports network, and on ESPN Deportes, the domestic Spanish-language network. The event also will be simulcast on ESPN MobileTV.

NASCAR Now Schedule Includes Monday Roundtable Discussion

NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information show, features news, highlights, opinion, debate and analysis from drivers, crew chiefs and insiders both on and off the track.

On Monday, March 24, host Allen Bestwick leads a discussion of the Nashville Superspeedway weekend and other NASCAR news in a one-hour episode airing at 5:30 p.m. ET. Half-hour episodes air Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at 6 p.m., at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and 7:30 p.m. Friday.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Ryan Burr, Nicole Manske 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 and Tim Cowlishaw, ESPN.com reporters Terry Blount and David Newton and D.J. Copp, a member of Bobby Labonte’s NASCAR team.

NASCAR Now viewers also benefit from frequent contributions by the NASCAR on ESPN team including Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake.

ESPN Classic Featuring Jeff Gordon SportsCentury, Las Vegas, North Wilkesboro NASCAR Cup Series Race

NASCAR fans will have the opportunity to watch three NASCAR-related programs on ESPN Classic this week, including two classic NASCAR races.

The 1988 First Union 400 from North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway airs Thursday, March 20, at 2 p.m. ET, and the 1999 Las Vegas 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway airs Friday, March 21, at 3 a.m.

Also featured this week is an episode of ESPN’s award-winning program SportsCentury, featuring Jeff Gordon. The program airs Wednesday, March 19, at 9 a.m.

NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series Action Saturday on ESPN2

Action from the NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series airs Saturday, March 22, at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The program features racing from the ACDelco Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Dave Rieff hosts the coverage for ESPN2.

Featuring race vehicles that range from 5-second Top Alcohol Dragsters and Top Alcohol Funny Cars to 15-second Stockers, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is the premier Sportsman series in drag racing. Eight categories are included in the series, which is showcased at select NHRA national events.

NHRA Fans Can Relive Events from 2004, 2005 on ESPN Classic

Fans of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will have opportunities all week to relive some of the great events of the 2004 and 2005 seasons as ESPN Classic opens the archives and brings the events back to life on TV. The programs air at 11 a.m. ET Monday through Friday.

On Tuesday, March 18, fans can watch the action of the 2004 ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, while Wednesday’s program features the 2004 Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. The 2005 NHRA Winternationals from Pomona, Calif., air Thursday with the 2005 Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals from Phoenix on the air Friday.

On Monday, March 24, ESPN Classic features the 2005 Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals from Gainesville, Fla.

ESPN2 is the home for the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

Three Episodes of Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex Airing This Week

A new season of the ESPN2 reality show Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex continues with three episodes this week.

The show features popular New York TV and radio personality Funkmaster Flex, who opens each episode with “music is my life but cars are my passion." Flex oversees a competition involving amateur car customizers and the real-life drama associated with the contest. The contestants put everything on the line to win.

An episode airs Friday, March 21, at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2, with back-to-back episodes airing Sunday, March 23, beginning at 10 a.m.