Motorsports This Week on ESPN2

MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING: A NEW ERA SUNDAY, JAN. 7, ON ESPN2

ESPN2 will air back-to-back new episodes of Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era, Sunday, Jan. 7, starting at 10 p.m. ET. In episode five of the documentary series, Waltrip races a Toyota for the first time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the driver and his future teammates end the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season with a difficult weekend at the Florida track. The sixth episode airs at 11 p.m. ET and features Waltrip attending the NASCAR awards banquet in New York City. Teammate Dale Jarrett gets hand surgery and David Reutimann tests the new intermediate track Toyota at Kentucky Speedway.

A repeat episode will air earlier in the day at 10 a.m. as part of ESPN2 Garage.

Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era is an 11-episode series that chronicles Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota’s new partnership in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

ESPN2 GARAGE PROGRAMS SET FOR JAN. 6 DEBUT

Truck Stop, Chopper Nation and Autotrader.com DRIVE in HD, all part of the new ESPN2 Garage block of programming, will debut this weekend.

The first episode of Truck Stop will air on ESPN2 at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 6, followed at 10:30 a.m. by the premiere of Chopper Nation. The next day, a one-hour episode of Autotrader.com DRIVE in HD airs at 11 a.m. ET.

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 world. ESPN2 will air more than 500 hours of motorsports programming in 2007.

LUCAS OIL PRO PULLING LEAGUE AIRS SUNDAY

Fans of truck and tractor pulling can check out an hour of action with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League on Sunday, Jan. 7, starting at noon ET on ESPN2.

The two half-hour programs will feature events from the league’s inaugural Champions Tour in 2006. The series visited race tracks in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and New York.