NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Pocono on ESPN
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for 500 miles on Sunday, August 1, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., and ESPN will have a live, flag-to-flag telecast of race on the 2.5-mile, triangular track. The telecast is presented by Aaron’s. The NASCAR Countdown pre-race show kicks off the day at noon ET on ESPN2 with the viewing switching to ESPN for the race telecast at 1 p.m. The race’s green flag is at 1:18 p.m.
Marty Reid will call the action with analysis by Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, and two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree. Two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Dr. Jerry Punch.
NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will be hosted by Allen Bestwick with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion driver Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a team owner in the series. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race.
Following the race, additional reports, analysis and interviews from Pocono will air on ESPN’s flagship program SportsCenter as will be the case for all 14 races airing on ESPN.
NASCAR Nationwide Series in Prime Time from Iowa
ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend with live, prime time racing on Saturday night, July 31, from Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The race airs on ESPN2 beginning at 7 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown, with the race telecast at 7:30 p.m. and the green flag at 7:44 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.
Vince Welch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham and former NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner Ricky Craven. Reporting from the pits will be Rick DeBruhl, Shannon Spake and Jim Noble.
The Iowa event is the third of four races in the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash. Created in 2009 and designed to increase the on-track excitement for the drivers and the fans, the bonus program was implemented to develop and support NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars, up-and-comers and those who compete part time in the Series. NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers must also compete full time in the Nationwide Series to be eligible. There is a $25,000 cash bonus awarded to the eligible race winner of the four Dash 4 Cash races but should the winner not be eligible, the prize money will roll over to next Dash 4 Cash race.
There also is a $75,000 year-end bonus awarded at the end of the season to the NASCAR Nationwide Series-only driver with the highest number of cumulative points from the four races. NASCAR drivers who compete in more than seven Sprint Cup races during the season are not eligible for the end of season bonus, even if they run all Nationwide Series races.
ESPN Pit Reporters on NASCAR Now Roundtable
NASCAR on ESPN pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Dr. Jerry Punch will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, Aug. 2, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Nicole Briscoe 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. Senior Open golf. Briscoe also hosts the one-hour weekend edition of NASCAR Now airing Sunday, Aug. 1, at 9 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway, as well as the weekend wrap-up edition airing Monday, Aug. 2, at midnight (late Sunday night). Marty Smith and Terry Blount will report from Pocono.
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.
Visit www.espnmediazone.com for ESPN’s latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video and audio clips and more.
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