Racing this week on ESPN
NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from Chicagoland in Prime Time
The NASCAR Nationwide Series races in prime time at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., on Friday night, July 9, and ESPN will have a live telecast of the 300-mile race. NASCAR Countdown airs at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the race telecast starts at 8 p.m. with the green flag at 8:16 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the series all season, with selected races airing on ESPN and ABC.
Marty Reid will be the lap-by-lap announcer, joined in the booth for analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch while two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a team owner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Craven, Bodine, McGee on NASCAR Now Roundtable
ESPN analyst Ricky Craven, NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine and ESPN the Magazine senior writer Ryan McGee will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, July 12, at 5 p.m. ET. Nicole Briscoe will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Briscoe also hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday and Wednesday at 5 p.m. There will be no show on Thursday due to ESPN’s coverage of U.S. Women’s Open golf. The one-hour weekend edition of NASCAR Now airs Saturday, July 10, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicgaoland Speedway. Shannon Spake and Angelique Chengelis will report from the speedway, joined by analyst Rusty Wallace.
NASCAR Now is hosted by Mike Massaro, Nicole Briscoe, Allen Bestwick and Shannon Spake and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include reporters Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, and Ricky Craven, ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton and ESPN the Magazine senior writer Ryan McGee. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Marty Reid, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.
ESPN Classic Goes Back to 2007 Brickyard 400
With ESPN set to kick off its coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a live telecast of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25, ESPN Classic is helping NASCAR fans get ready for the big event by re-airing some previous editions of the Brickyard 400.
Highlights of the 2007 Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis will air on ESPN Classic on Monday, July 12, at 1 p.m. ET.
NASCAR fans can enjoy a Brickyard Marathon on ESPN Classic starting on Friday night, July 23, and running through the night. The 1995 edition opens the marathon at 8 p.m., followed at 10 p.m. by the 2008 race. Highlights from the 2009 and 2007 races follow, with the inaugural Brickyard 400 from 1994 airing at 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 24.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Seattle
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series begins its annual Western Swing this weekend with the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways near Seattle and ESPN2 will air highlights of qualifying and eliminations. Qualifying action airs Saturday, July 10, at 10 p.m. ET, and coverage of eliminations airs Sunday at 11:30 p.m.
The traditional Western Swing gets turned on its head in 2010 as Pacific Raceways hosts the kickoff to this year’s three-race, three-state, three-weekend trek. Previously, the event has been both the second and third stops on the Swing. One of the tour’s most breathtaking environments, the facility is parked in the shadow of majestic Mount Rainier and surrounded by towering trees that add more than beauty at the first stop on the Western Swing: They emit tons of power-enhancing oxygen to feed the appetites of the high-horsepower machines, resulting in prime performances.
Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay presented by Lucas Oil on Sunday at 11 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
Also this weekend, ESPN2 airs highlights of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Modified Series event at Norwalk, Ohio, on Sunday, July 11, at 11:30 a.m.