ESPN2 to televise 2008 Indy Pro Series slate

Indy Pro Series races will be telecast on ESPN2 for the seventh consecutive season in 2008, including live coverage of the season finale Sept. 7 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The live telecast highlights the 2008 Indy Pro Series television schedule on ESPN2 that features 12 telecasts, including same-day coverage of the Freedom 100 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 23. In addition to Indianapolis and Chicago, the six remaining races on ovals are packaged into 30-minute shows filled with side-by-side racing and vignettes on the series' top drivers. Races from the four doubleheader weekends on road/street courses are combined into one-hour shows.

"We're excited about the enhancements in the coverage, especially the fact that our championship could be determined on live television," said Indy Pro Series executive director Roger Bailey. "ESPN2 does a great job of showcasing the quality of our racing to a worldwide audience. We're very happy to continue this partnership."

Bob Jenkins, Robbie Buhl and Mike King will return as the broadcast team. Jenkins, who anchored the Indianapolis 500 radio broadcast from 1990-98, and King, who has called the 500 since 1999, will be back for their second seasons on the Indy Pro Series telecasts. Jenkins will call the play-by-play while King will report from the pits. Buhl, who retired from IndyCar Series racing in 2004 after 78 starts, will be back for his fifth season as analyst.

ESPN2 telecasts more than 4,800 hours of live and/or original programming to more than 91 million homes each year. The race telecasts will also air around the globe on various ESPN affiliates. All Indy Pro Series races are streamed live at www.indycar.com.

The complete 2008 television schedule is below:

Race Date(s) Telecast Date & Time (ET) Race Venue
March 29 April 3 at 4 p.m. Homestead-Miami Speedway
April 5/6 April 10 at 2 p.m. Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
April 27 May 1 at 2 p.m. Kansas Speedway
May 23 May 23 at 4 p.m. Indianapolis Motor Speedway
June 1 June 5 at 1 p.m. The Milwaukee Mile
June 21 June 26 at 5 p.m. Iowa Speedway
July 5/5 July 10 at 2 p.m. Watkins Glen International
July 12 July 17 at 2 p.m. Nashville Superspeedway
July 19/20 July 24 at 2 p.m. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Aug. 9 Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. Kentucky Speedway
Aug. 23/24 Aug. 27 at 5 p.m. Infineon Raceway
Sept. 7 Sept. 7 at 12:30 p.m. Chicagoland Speedway