October 18, 2010
Motorsports This Week on ESPNThe Chase Is On: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goes Short Track Racing
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes short track racing for the only time in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship with a 500-lap race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 24, and ESPN will have a live telecast. NASCAR Countdown airs on ESPN2 at noon ET with the race telecast on ESPN at 1 p.m. The race’s green flag is at 1:13 p.m. ESPN2 will air NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Oct. 22, at 3 p.m. as well as same-day coverage of Happy Hour final practice on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 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.
Tim Richmond Featured in Tuesday Night ESPN ’30 for 30’ Film
Former NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, a star of the sport before his death from AIDS in 1989, will be the subject of a documentary airing on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN as part of ESPN Films’ critically acclaimed film series 30 for 30 Presented by Cadillac.
Tim Richmond: To the Limit, produced for ESPN by the Emmy-winning NASCAR Media Group, tells the story of Richmond with the words of many who knew him well and some who competed against him on the track. Former NASCAR drivers Darrell Waltrip and Richard and Kyle Petty, champion team owner Rick Hendrick, movie director Hal Needham, famed racing promoter H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, ESPN reporters Dr. Jerry Punch and Ed Hinton, Richmond’s sister Sandy Welsh and friends from his hometown of Ashland, Ohio, are among those appearing in the film.
Click HERE to view a trailer of the film.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from St. Louis on ESPN2
ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend with a live telecast of the 250-mile race at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis on Saturday, Oct. 23. NASCAR Countdown airs at 3 p.m. ET with the race telecast at 3:30 p.m. and 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.
Vince Welch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and former NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner Ricky Craven. Reporting from the pits will be Rick DeBruhl, Shannon Spake and Jim Noble.
Also from Gateway, ESPN2 airs NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on race morning at 10:30 a.m., and final practice on Friday, Oct. 22, at 4:30 p.m.
Craven, Evernham, Smith on NASCAR Now Roundtable
NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham and Ricky Craven will join reporter Marty Smith as panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program airing Monday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now air at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday of this week and Friday at 6 p.m. SportsCenter and ESPNEWS anchor Michelle Bonner guest-hosts the program Tuesday and Wednesday, while ESPNEWS anchor Jonathan Coachman is guest host on Thursday. Regular NASCAR Now host Nicole Briscoe returns Friday and also hosts as NASCAR Now surrounds Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway with two episodes. The one-hour weekend edition 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. Angelique Chengelis and Smith will report from Martinsville while Craven will join Briscoe in the studio.
ESPN.com Offers RacingLive! During Martinsville 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, Oct. 24, RacingLive! Martinsville will kick off at 1 p.m. ET to coincide with ESPN’s telecast of the race at Charlotte 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, 386-492-2246 or [email protected]
