Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

The Chase Concludes: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Live from Miami on ABC

The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup concludes this weekend with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and ESPN on ABC will have live coverage of the event Sunday, Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. ET beginning with NASCAR Countdown. Jimmie Johnson will be going for his fifth consecutive race win as he tries to hold off Jeff Gordon for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup title.

Brent Musburger will host ESPN’s coverage, while Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play for the race telecast. Analysts will be 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree.

Pit reporters will be Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro. Two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN DISH Tech Center.

Suzy Kolber will host NASCAR Countdown along with analyst Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Busch Series and Truck Series, in the ESPN Pit Studio.

ESPN2 will have live coverage of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup qualifying from Homestead on Friday, Nov. 16, at 3 p.m. Coverage of practice airs Saturday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m.

NASCAR Busch Series Action Live on ESPN2 Saturday from Miami

On Saturday afternoon, ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series with the season finale from Homestead-Miami Speedway. The telecast of the Ford 300 begins at 4 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.

Dr. Jerry Punch will anchor ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will report from the pits.

Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown.

NASCAR Now Expands Schedule for NASCAR Final Week

NASCAR Now, ESPN’s daily NASCAR news and information program, will have an expanded schedule for the final week of the NASCAR season including seven one-hour shows the week of Nov. 12-18.

NASCAR Now airs on ESPN2 from 6-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, expanded from its normal 30-minute length, and a special edition airs Saturday, Nov. 17, at 9 a.m. On the day of the Ford 400, NASCAR Now has its usual one-hour Sunday morning edition at 10 a.m. on ESPN2, and ESPN airs another hour-long episode that has been added for 10 p.m. that evening.

In addition, a 30-minute edition of NASCAR Now has been added for Friday, Nov. 16, at 2:30 p.m., just prior to ESPN2’s coverage of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup qualifying.

Erik Kuselias will host the programs (exception of Ryan Burr hosting Thursday’s edition). Many members of ESPN’s NASCAR event telecast team will contribute to the expanded programs, including analysts Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree, Tim Brewer and Brad Daugherty, host Suzy Kolber and reporters Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake.

The regular NASCAR Now team of analysts Stacy Compton and Boris Said and NASCAR insiders Terry Blount, Angelique Chengelis, Tim Cowlishaw, David Newton and Marty Smith will bring viewers the latest NASCAR news.

NASCAR: Chasing Glory Continues Wednesday on ESPN2

The seventh episode of ESPN2’s weekly series NASCAR: Chasing Glory airs Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

NASCAR: Chasing Glory is a behind-the-scenes look at the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. The 11-part series follows drivers during the final 11 races of the season and documents their preparation for the races.

ESPN Ultimate NASCAR Marathon on ESPN Classic Sunday

NASCAR fans will have another chance to watch episodes of the acclaimed summer series ESPN Ultimate NASCAR as ESPN Classic airs a marathon of the programs Sunday, Nov. 18, prior to the final race of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season.

The marathon begins at midnight with the airing of Biggest Races, a countdown of the 20 most important races in NASCAR history as selected by a special panel of journalists and officials. The Explosion, a two-hour documentary, follows at 1 a.m. and examines NASCAR’s explosive growth.

The Dirt airs at 3 a.m. as ESPN explores the days of stock car racing on dirt tracks across America. Two-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart chimes in about his love for dirt-track racing and its ever-changing conditions. The Cars airs at 4 a.m. and looks at some of the most race cars in NASCAR’s storied history.

Speed and Danger airs at 5 a.m. The documentary reveals the elemental thrill and risk of racing, the parts of racing that lend themselves to some tracks having nicknames like “The Track Too Tough to Tame" and the “Monster Mile."

Closing the ESPN Ultimate NASCAR marathon at 7 a.m. is The Families, a moving examination of four of NASCAR racing’s most famous families: the Allisons, Earnhardts, Frances and Pettys.

The shows include commentary from panelists and many others, such as former NASCAR champion and ESPN broadcaster Ned Jarrett, two-time NASCAR Cup champion Darrell Waltrip and Lowe’s Motor Speedway President and General Manager H.A. “Humpy" Wheeler. Actor J.K. Simmons, who played Ralph Earnhardt in the ESPN movie 3, narrates the programs.

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Awards Banquet Airs Sunday

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series fans will be able to watch the crowning of the four class champions for 2007 as ESPN2 televises highlights from the recent series awards banquet. The telecast airs Sunday, Nov. 18, at 11 a.m. ET.

Tony Schumacher won his fifth Top Fuel category championship in 2007, while the Funny Car title went to Tony Pedregon. Jeg Couglin won the Pro Stock championship and Matt Smith captured top honors in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Formula Drift Makes ESPN2 Debut Thursday

Drifting, one of the world’s fastest-growing forms of motorsports, will make its debut on ESPN2 this week with the first in a series of seven hour-long programs. Formula Drift airs Thursday, Nov. 15, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Entering its fourth season, Formula Drift Championship is recognized as the North American professional drifting championship series. As the first official series in North America, Formula Drift has taken competitive motorsports to the extreme attracting fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life. This high-skilled, high-powered motor sport where drivers intentionally maneuver their cars into well executed, controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course, has more than 60 professional drivers competing in all seven competitions this year.

Judged on execution and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time, Drifting is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and is often compared to the freestyle nature of skateboarding and motocross.