Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

NASCAR Now Returns Monday for Second Season

NASCAR Now, ESPN’s daily NASCAR news and information program, returns to the air for its second season Monday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The program includes highlights, opinion, debate, analysis and the latest news from drivers, crew chiefs and insiders both on and off the track.

The program airs for 30 minutes at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday of the opening week, and the Monday edition will expand to one hour beginning Monday, Feb. 11. The show also has a one-hour edition at 10 a.m. on the morning of each NASCAR Sprint Cup race and a Sunday night weekend wrap-up edition.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Nicole Manske, Ryan Burr and Allen Bestwick and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include analysts Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said and Tim Cowlishaw, along with NASCAR insiders Terry Blount, Angelique Chengelis, David Newton and Marty Smith, as well as 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, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake, Dale Jarrett and ESPN Deportes’ NASCAR commentators Andrés Agulla and Alex Pombo.

ESPN Classic Airing Classic Daytona 500 Races

In advance of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17, ESPN Classic will be televising six of the best Daytona 500 races of all time every Monday at 2 p.m. ET through Feb. 11. On Monday, Feb. 4, ESPN Classic will air the 1999 Daytona 500.

Jeff Gordon pulls a risky pass by Rusty Wallace with 11 laps to go, almost driving through the grass and getting into the back of the lapped and crash-damaged car of Ricky Rudd. Wallace gives him room, possibly preventing a wreck and Gordon holds off defending-champion Dale Earnhardt for the win.

ESPN.com's NASCAR page features a poll where viewers can log on to choose their favorite Daytona 500 from the six. Then, on Saturday night, Feb. 16, the night before the 2008 version of NASCAR’s biggest race, ESPN Classic will show the top five races as chosen by the fans in their order of preference, starting at 10 p.m.

NHRA Fans Can Relive Events from 2003 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 2003 season as ESPN Classic opens the archives and brings the events back to life on TV. The programs air at 11 a.m. ET each day.

On Tuesday, Jan. 29, fans can watch the action of the 2003 NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals from Las Vegas, while Wednesday’s program features the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals from Houston. The Mac Tools NHRA Nationals from Bristol, Tenn., air Thursday with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals from Atlanta on the air Friday.

The nostalgia continues Monday, Feb. 4, with the 2003 NHRA K&N Filters Supernationals from Englishtown, N.J., airing at 11 a.m. on ESPN Classic.

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