ESPN’s NASCAR Countdown: ESPN2 Phoenix International Raceway Highlights

ESPN’s NASCAR Countdown will preview the NASCAR Busch Series at Phoenix International Raceway action in prime time Friday night at 9 p.m. ET, with the race to start at 9:30 p.m. Erik Kuselias will host the telecast with studio analyst Brad Daugherty. Analyst Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Cutaway Car.

The race telecast team including veteran NASCAR reporter Jerry Punch, #44 UPS NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Toyota driver Dale Jarrett, filling in for ESPN’s lead motorsports analyst Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree will also contribute. NASCAR Countdown will also include reports from pit reporters Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Vince Welch as drivers and teams prepare to race under the lights on the super speedway.   

NASCAR Countdown will originate from Phoenix International Raceway and will be telecast from ESPN’s state-of-the-art mobile pit studio as it sets the stage for primetime coverage of the 200-mile NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday night, April 20.  Highlights will include:  

Bad Luck Busch?

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch will talk about his “bad luck” NASCAR Busch Series season - he has led more laps than any other driver in 2007, but has not yet sealed a win. What does he need to do to get to victory lane? Busch will also talk about his Texas Motor Speedway mishap during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race where driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. took over the remaining nine laps of the No. 5 Chevrolet after Busch had left the race track.

Reports from the Pits

• NASCAR NEXTEL Cup rookie Juan Pablo Montoya refuses to back down even after a run-in with Tony Stewart at Texas Motor Speedway. Montoya will talk about his season and successes so far.
• NASCAR Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards will talk about his domination of the NASCAR Busch Series and his expectations for Phoenix night racing.
• NASCAR driver David Ragan had his best career NASCAR Busch Series start – on the pole – and best career finish of fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series Texas Motor Speedway race. What kind of boost was that for the rookie driver who is competing in both Series this year? 

JR Motorsports Driver Shane Huffman Feature

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, started his own NASCAR Busch team, JR Motorsports in North Carolina. NASCAR Countdown will feature Earnhardt’s, #88 team and driver Shane Huffman, providing Huffman the best possible shot at success in the NASCAR Busch Series.

NASCAR Now: J. Burton Previews Busch Race; Montoya Interviewed;

SportsCenter: NASCAR’s 100 Defining Moments Debuts Saturday

NASCAR driver Jeff Burton will preview Saturday’s Busch Series Race in Phoenix on tonight’s NASCAR Now at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Saturday’s 10 a.m. show will feature an interview with NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

SportsCenter will debut its “NASCAR’s 100 Defining Moments” series on Saturday’s 10 a.m. program. The series, airing for 100 straight days, will conclude with the number one moment revealed on the Sunday, July 29 SportsCenter, prior to ESPN’s coverage of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series at Allstate 400 at The Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Each of the 30-second vignettes features a defining moment in NASCAR's history and evolution as chosen by a panel of 20 NASCAR experts, journalists and historians, including: Dick Berggren, executive editor of Speedway Illustrated with more than 30 years of motorsports experience as a driver, journalist and broadcaster; Chris Economaki, commentator for ABC Sports and CBS Sports who has received NASCAR’s Award of Excellence, NASCAR’s Lifetime Media Award, and the International Automotive Media Council Lifetime Achievement Award; Peter Golenbock, one of the nation's best-known sports authors; Jim Hunter, NASCAR Vice President of Corporate Communications; Mike Hembree, NASCAR Scene magazine writer; David Poole, Charlotte Observer writer; Ken Squier, one of the founders of the Motor Racing Network, and spent more than 25 years at CBS where he was play-by-play commentator on the first live flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500 in 1979; and Humpy Wheeler, one of the foremost promoters of NASCAR, and President and General Manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

About NASCAR on ESPN:

ESPN and ESPN on ABC will have comprehensive, multi-platform coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races including the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” championship on ESPN on ABC. Additionally, ESPN2 will be the home of the NASCAR Busch Series all season. For the first time in the history of televised motorsports, all programming will be produced totally in High Definition. ESPN’s comprehensive, multimedia NASCAR coverage will extend to ESPN.com, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio, SportsCenter, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPNRadio, ESPN360.com and ESPN International, among other ESPN platforms. ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981. The network's award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage on ESPN was honored with 17 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It is widely credited for helping to popularize the sport nationwide. NASCAR races have appeared on ABC for decades, beginning with broadcasts on the award-winning Wide World of Sports program in the 1960s.

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