NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goes Short Track Racing Live on ABC
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins its final five races this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races on NASCAR’s smallest track, the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway , for 500 laps on Sunday, Oct. 25. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the race is presented by Goodyear and will air on ABC. The telecast begins with NASCAR Countdown at 1 p.m. ET and the race’s green flag is at 1:43 p.m.
ESPN’s coverage of the final 11 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule airs on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. ESPN’s coverage from Martinsville also includes NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m., practice on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. and same-day coverage of final practice on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., all on ESPN2.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree . Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns , Jamie Little , Shannon Spake and Vince Welch , with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty , co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
Also this week, ESPN Classic airs an episode of the signature series SportsCentury featuring NASCAR star Tony Stewart on Monday, Oct. 26, at 8 a.m.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Live From Memphis on ESPN2
ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races at Memphis Motorsports Park . The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Oct. 24, beginning with NASCAR Countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with the green flag at 3:45 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.
Also airing on ESPN2 will be coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice on Friday, Oct. 23, at 4:30 p.m. and qualifying on Saturday at 10:45 a.m.
Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie . Reporting from the pits will be Jack Arute , Rick DeBruhl and Mike Massaro .
Evernham, LaJoie, Said on NASCAR Now Roundtable
NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham , Randy LaJoie and Boris Said will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Mike Massaro hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at 5 p.m., and then Nicole Manske hosts the program the rest of the week. Episodes air Thursday at 5 p.m. and then Friday at 6 p.m. following NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at Memphis.
Manske will be joined by Said for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Oct. 25, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Marty Smith will report from the speedway for both programs.
NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.
NHRA Programming Airs on ESPN Classic
Drag racing fans will have several hours of programming airing Monday, Oct. 26, on ESPN Classic. Highlights include the 2004 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals from Denver at noon ET, featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Two half-hour episodes of The American Dragster air back-to-back beginning at 5 p.m., and then at 6 p.m. the NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series will be in action from Texas.
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