Motorsports this week on ESPN and ABC
Since joining the Busch Series schedule in 2001, Kentucky Speedway has held six NASCAR Busch Series races Six different drivers have gone to victory lane, including last year’s surprising win by David Gilliland. NASCAR Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards won the 2005 race and will be one of several drivers pulling double duty on the weekend, also competing in Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Michigan International Speedway.
Rusty Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion and ESPN’s lead auto racing analyst, and anchor announcer Marty Reid will call the race from the booth. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch. Mike Massaro will host NASCAR Countdown at Kentucky, joined in the ESPN Pit Studio by analyst Brad Daugherty. Tim Brewer will be at the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.
In addition to the Busch Series race telecast on ESPN2, ESPN’s signature broadband service, ESPN360.com, will deliver a live online simulcast of Busch Series events in June, ESPN360.com’s most explosive month of coverage yet, with up to 102 live events. A Spanish-language version of the race will be televised on ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s domestic Spanish-language network.
ESPN2 to have live NASCAR Busch Series Practice, Qualifying coverage from Kentucky
ESPN2, the home of the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007, will have live coverage of qualifying from Kentucky Speedway as well as the series’ final practice session as drivers and teams prepare for Saturday night’s 300-mile race.
Practice coverage will air at 5 p.m. ET Friday, with the live qualifying show airing at 5 p.m. Saturday. Marty Reid will be the lead announcer for ESPN2’s coverage of practice and qualifying, joined in the booth by analyst Rusty Wallace. Pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch will contribute to the telecasts.
Mike Massaro will host the qualifying show, joined in the ESPN Pit Studio by analyst Brad Daugherty. Tim Brewer will be at the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.
NASCAR Now schedule
NASCAR Now, ESPN’s daily news and information show dedicated to NASCAR, will have its expanded Monday edition on the air from 6-7 p.m. ET tonight on ESPN2. The program will have extensive highlights and recaps of Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race from Pocono Raceway and Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race from Nashville Superspeedway and will look ahead to next weekend with updates on the latest news items.
NASCAR Now will air on ESPN2 for 30 minutes in its regular 6:30 p.m. ET time slot Tuesday through Thursday of this week and at 6 p.m. Friday, immediately following NASCAR Busch Series practice at Kentucky Speedway. The one-hour weekend edition will air at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 17, with highlights from Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Kentucky and a look ahead to Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Michigan. The weekend wrap-up edition of the program will air at midnight.
NASCAR Now is hosted by Erik Kuselias, Ryan Burr or Allen Bestwick and originates from ESPN’s High Definition studios in Bristol, Conn., with reporters Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake. Contributors include analysts Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Stacy Compton and Boris Said, along with NASCAR insiders Terry Blount, Angelique Chengelis, Tim Cowlishaw, David Newton and Marty Smith, as well as D.J. Copp, a member of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR team.
Fast Cars & Superstars Reality Program continues June 14 on ABC
Celebrities including singer Jewel, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, tennis star Serena Williams and actor William Shatner are dreaming of life in the fast lane as they race to the finish in the new reality show Fast Cars & Superstars — Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race. The seven-episode series continues at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, June 14, on ABC. The series is hosted by ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne and co-hosted by ESPN NASCAR analyst and former Cleveland Cavaliers center Brad Daugherty.
Other celebrity drivers are actress Krista Allen, seven-time World All-Around Rodeo Champion Ty Murray, former NBA champion John Salley, former NFL Super Bowl champion John Elway, World Wrestling Entertainment champion John Cena, volleyball great and model Gabrielle Reece, legendary surfer Laird Hamilton and former NFL Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Cowher. Gillette Young Guns are Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray.
24 Hours at Indy Indianapolis 500 Special to air Saturday
The recent 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 produced its share of dramatic moments, as well as an ESPN Original Entertainment production — 24 Hours at Indy will take a look at some of the behind-the-scenes people who make Indy the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing." The program will air at 7 p.m. ET Saturday, June 16, on ESPN2.
24 Hours at Indy offers a never-before-seen look at what it takes to prepare and stage the largest one-day sporting event in the world. By following several people involved in the race through a 24-hour period, starting the day before the race, viewers capture the entire event, discovering the intense logistics required to pull off this feat in the vastness of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2.5-mile oval has more than 10 million square feet of racing real estate, and people in facilities, retail, food and beverage face the daunting task of getting the venue ready for race day. Viewers will feel the constant pressure on the Speedway workers, teams and drivers as the green flag nears.
NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Action airs Sunday
The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will air at noon ET Saturday, June 16, on ESPN2 with coverage of series action from the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Dragway near Chicago.
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. ESPN’s Dave Rieff will anchor the coverage from Route 66 Dragway.
Champ Car Atlantic Portland races on ESPN2 Monday
The Champ Car Atlantic Series, the feeder series for the Champ Car World Series, will be on the air at 5 p.m. ET Monday, June 18, on ESPN2 with recaps of last weekend’s races from the Portland International Raceway road course. The historic Atlantic Championship ran two races at the Oregon track.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Rick Benjamin, color analyst and former Atlantic racer Jon Beekhuis and pit reporter Cameron Steele will call the action from Portland. ESPN2 will have tape-delayed coverage of all Champ Car Atlantic events this season.
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Racing on ESPN2 Sunday
World of Outlaws sprint car racing from famed Knoxville ( Iowa) Raceway will be featured at 11 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2. The one-hour program will recap racing from the previous night at Knoxville.
The Knoxville event kicks off the World of Outlaws’ “SuperClean Summer of Money," with eight consecutive weekends of racing on ESPN2 at eight different tracks. The World of Outlaws is the premier sanctioning body in the world for winged sprint car racing.
PowerSports ATV Tour Competition returns Saturday
Action from the PowerSports ATV Tour will make its 2007 debut on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. ET Saturday, June 16. The one-hour program will contain highlights from Round One of the series as the ATV Tour appears on ESPN2 for the second year.
The PowerSports ATV Championship Tour is North America’s premier professional ATV racing circuit, featuring QuadMX, QuadTerrain and SuperSport Pro series action as well as 20-plus amateur classes for adults, women and children. The Tour is sanctioned by the World PowerSports Association, North America’s most respected snowmobile and ATV sanctioning body, and a promoter of ATV and snowmobile racing on both the regional and national level.
New ESPN2 Garage Programs to air Saturday
New episodes of shows in the ESPN2 Garage block of automotive programming will air Saturday, June 16. Designed to complement ESPN’s extensive coverage of NASCAR, IndyCar, Champ Car and NHRA racing in 2007, ESPN2 Garage is dedicated to the automotive, motorcycle and motorsports worlds. ESPN2 will air more than 1,100 hours of motorsports programming in 2007.
Episodes of the ESPN2 Garage programs Hot Rod Television, P.I.P.E.S, Stacey David’s GearZ, The Bidding Wars and Metric Revolution will air Saturday. Previously aired episodes of other ESPN2 Garage programs will air on weekdays, including Mothers Car Show and Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex. The schedule:
Visit www.espnmediazone.com for ESPN's latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video and audio clips and more.