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September 13, 2010
Motorsports This Week on ESPN
The Chase Begins: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from New Hampshire
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship begins Sunday, Sept. 19, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for 300 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., and ESPN will have a live telecast. The NASCAR Countdown pre-race show airs at noon ET on ESPN2 with the race telecast on ESPN at 1 p.m. The race’s green flag is at 1:15 p.m.
Also from New Hampshire, ESPN2 will air NASCAR Sprint Cup practice on Friday, Sept. 17, at 11:30 a.m. and qualifying at 3 p.m. Sandwiched between the on-track action will be the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup preview, a half-hour program airing at 1 p.m. Friday on ESPN2.
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, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.
NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will be hosted by Allen Bestwick with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion driver Rusty Wallace, three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham and Brad Daugherty, a team owner in the series. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race.
NASCAR Star Kyle Busch Featured in New All-Access ESPN2 Series
A new and highly innovative five-part television series featuring NASCAR star Kyle Busch will air on ESPN2 the week of Sept. 13-17 to help kick off ESPN’s live coverage of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
Riding Shotgun: Kyle Busch, produced for ESPN by the Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Media Group, will take viewers on a week-long, all-access journey into the life of the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 M&Ms Toyota. Cameras will follow Busch starting with this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway and will continue throughout the week leading into the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 19.
The half-hour program, which will require a less than 24-hour turnaround time for production, will debut in prime time on Monday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2, following the Monday roundtable edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now. The rest of the week, Riding Shotgun: Kyle Busch will air following NASCAR Now at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Brian Vickers Guest Panelist on NASCAR Now Roundtable
NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Brian Vickers will be a special guest and join ESPN analysts Ray Evernham and Ricky Craven as panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, Sept. 20, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
NASCAR Now will expand to one hour on Thursday, Sept. 16, at 5 p.m. as NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch will join host Nicole Briscoe in the studio to preview the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Briscoe also will welcome Matt Kenseth on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 5 p.m. and Kevin Harvick the next day at 5 p.m. The program also airs Friday at 5 p.m. with a wrap-up of that day’s activities at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Now will surround Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire with two episodes that day. The one-hour weekend edition of NASCAR Now presented by 5 Hour Energy airs at 9 a.m. with a preview of that day’s race, while the weekend wrap-up edition airs that night at 10 p.m. Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis will report from NHMS while Craven will join Briscoe in the studio.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Carolina
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series races this weekend in the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway at Concord near Charlotte, N.C., and ESPN2 will air highlights of qualifying and eliminations. Qualifying action airs Sunday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m. ET, and coverage of eliminations airs at 7 p.m.
The newest facility in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series was an overwhelming success in its 2008 debut and again last year, when it hosted special four-wide exhibition passes in Top Fuel and Funny Car. The event holds a crucial spot on the schedule as the second event of the Countdown to 1 and the race at which teams continue to battle for traction in their title bids.
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 6:30 p.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
Also on Sunday, drag racing fans can see 30 minutes of action featuring the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Modifieds from O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. The program airs at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
ESPN.com Offers RacingLive! During New Hampshire Race
NASCAR fans looking for an online gathering during ESPN’s telecasts of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now have a place to go on ESPN.com.
RacingLive! on ESPN.com is a live blog where fans can engage in debate and discussion with ESPN.com writers and editors during the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. On Sunday, Sept. 19, RacingLive! New Hampshire will kick off at 1 p.m. ET to coincide with ESPN’s telecast of the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/.
ESPN Radio Raceday Airs Saturday, Sunday
Each weekend morning, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay starts its engines at 6 a.m. ET with host Pat Patterson anchored from Daytona Beach, Fla. Patterson also originates the broadcast from several racetracks with key races during the season. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay listeners get an hour of news, previews and analysis, as well as profiles and interviews with NASCAR’s biggest names and newsmakers and the involvement of listeners via calls and e-mails.
Additionally, many of ESPN’s NASCAR reporters and analysts contribute each week as ESPN networks televise the entire NASCAR Nationwide Series and the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” championship. A list of ESPN Radio affiliates can be found at www.espnradio.com.
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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Media Contact: Andy Hall, 407-566-2209 or [email protected] and George McNeilly, 407-566-2077 or [email protected]
