Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

NASCAR Busch Series Live From Monster Mile on ESPN2

ESPN2 will feature NASCAR Busch Series racing live Saturday, June 2, from the Monster Mile, Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. The telecast begins with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET, and the 200-mile race starts at 3 p.m.

Since 1969, the 1-mile Dover track has challenged NASCAR drivers with high-banked turns and straightaways that also feature banking. Dover is physically demanding for drivers and hard on racing equipment, and the concrete racing surface presents its own unique challenges.

ESPN’s Suzy Kolber will make her debut as host of NASCAR Countdown at Dover, joined in the ESPN Pit Studio by analyst Brad Daugherty. Tim Brewer will be at the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for the race telecast, with Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Cup champion and one of the founding drivers of the NASCAR Busch Series, and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree in the ESPN booth for analysis. Jarrett is filling in for ESPN’s lead auto racing analyst, Rusty Wallace, who will rejoin NASCAR coverage next week at Nashville. Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro will serve as pit reporters.

In addition to the telecast on ESPN2, ESPN’s signature broadband service, ESPN360.com, will deliver a live online simulcast of the event, and a Spanish-language version of the race will be televised on ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s domestic Spanish-language network.

ESPN2 To Have Live NASCAR Busch Series Practice, Qualifying Coverage from Dover

ESPN2, the home of the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007, will have live coverage of qualifying from Dover International Speedway as well as the series’ final practice session as it prepares for Saturday’s 200-mile race.

Practice coverage will air at 2 p.m. ET Friday, with the live qualifying show airing at 11 a.m. Saturday. Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for ESPN2’s coverage of practice and qualifying, joined in the booth by analyst Andy Petree. Pit reporters Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro will contribute to the telecasts. Analyst Dale Jarrett will be in the booth with Punch and Petree for the qualifying coverage.

Suzy Kolber will host the qualifying show, joined in the ESPN Pit Studio by analyst Brad Daugherty. Tim Brewer will be at the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.

Fast Cars & Superstars Reality Program to Debut June 7 on ABC

Twelve stars of entertainment, music and sports are dreaming of life in the fast lane as they race to the finish line in Fast Cars & Superstars, a new seven-episode reality series debuting on the ABC Television Network at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, June 7. In each episode, viewers will watch celebrities train with a Gillette Young Guns professional driver. The show will culminate in a one-hour finale -- a no holds barred, winner-take-all competition to be the first to lift the Fast Cars & Superstars trophy.

The celebrity drivers include pop singer Jewel, actor William Shatner, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, actress Krista Allen, seven-time World All-Around Rodeo Champion Ty Murray, former NBA champion John Salley, former NFL Super Bowl champion John Elway, World Wrestling Entertainment champion John Cena, tennis star Serena Williams, volleyball great and model Gabrielle Reece, legendary surfer Laird Hamilton and former NFL Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Cowher. The series is hosted by ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne and co-hosted by former Cleveland Cavaliers center and current ESPN NASCAR analyst Brad Daugherty. Fast Cars & Superstars – Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race was co-created by BBDO and Gillette and is produced by Radical Media in association with Embassy Row Sports.

NASCAR Now Schedule

NASCAR Now, ESPN’s daily news and information show dedicated to NASCAR will have its expanded Monday edition on the air from 6-7 p.m. ET tonight on ESPN2. The program will have extensive highlights and recaps of the weekend’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and NASCAR Busch series races from Lowe’s Motor Speedway in suburban Charlotte, N.C., and will look ahead to next weekend with updates on the latest news items.

NASCAR Now will air on ESPN2 for 30 minutes in its regular 6:30 p.m. ET time slot Tuesday through Friday of this week. The one-hour weekend edition will air at 10 a.m. Sunday, with highlights from Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Dover and a look ahead to Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. Sunday night’s edition of the program will air at midnight.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Erik Kuselias and Ryan Burr and originates from ESPN’s High Definition studios in Bristol, Conn., with reporters Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake. Contributors include analysts Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Stacy Compton and Boris Said, along with NASCAR insiders Terry Blount, Angelique Chengelis, Tim Cowlishaw, David Newton and Marty Smith, as well as D.J. Copp, a member of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR team.

ESPN on ABC to Feature IndyCar Series Live at Milwaukee Mile

A week after running the 91st Indianapolis 500, drivers and teams of the IndyCar Series will move north to another historic racing venue, The Milwaukee Mile, to run the A.J. Foyt IndyCar 225 on Sunday, June 3. ESPN on ABC’s live coverage starts at 4 p.m. ET.

For many years, Milwaukee was the next race on the IRL schedule after the Indianapolis 500, and the tradition is being revived this year. Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti will try to win his second straight IndyCar Series event.

Marty Reid will anchor the ESPN on ABC telecast, joined in the booth by former IndyCar Series driver Scott Goodyear for analysis. Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch will report from the pits.

ESPN’s IndyCar Series programming is seen in 208 countries this year. ESPN Networks and Syndication Sales reaches 176 countries, with the American Forces Network airing in 32 additional countries.

NHRA Coverage from Topeka To Air Saturday and Sunday on ESPN2

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series returns to action this weekend at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., with the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX and ESPN2 will have coverage of qualifying and finals on Saturday and Sunday. Qualifying coverage from Topeka will air at 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday with three hours of finals coverage at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Sprawling multipurpose Heartland Park Topeka has been a Midwest favorite since it opened in 1989, but its dragstrip has gained the majority of headlines. The event, originally in the fall, has featured numerous record performances, the most significant of which was the shattering of the four-second and 300-mph barriers in Funny Car in 1993. It moved to its current spot on the schedule in 2001, and it is the final chance for Pro Stock teams to earn points toward making the field for the NHRA King Demon Crown.

Paul Page will anchor ESPN2’s coverage from Topeka, with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff will report the action from the pits. Rieff will also host NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2. The half-hour program will set the stage for Sunday’s eliminations with driver interviews, features and up-to-date information. An episode of American Dragster will follow at 11:30 a.m.  

ESPN2 Garage Programs To Air Saturday and Sunday

Episodes of seven shows in the ESPN2 Garage block of automotive programming will air Saturday and Sunday. Designed to complement ESPN’s extensive coverage of NASCAR, IndyCar, Champ Car and NHRA racing in 2007, ESPN2 Garage is dedicated to the automotive, motorcycle and motorsports worlds. ESPN2 will air more than 1,100 hours of motorsports programming in 2007.

Episodes of the ESPN2 Garage programs Hot Rod Television, P.I.P.E.S, Stacey David’s GearZ, The Bidding Wars and RM Classic Car Auctions will air Saturday, June 2, while episodes of Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex and Metric Revolution will air the following day. The schedule:

Saturday, June 2

10 a.m.              Hot Rod Television

10:30 a.m.         P.I.P.E.S.

12:30 p.m.         Stacey David’s GearZ

1 p.m.               The Bidding Wars

1:30 p.m.           RM Classic Car Auctions

Sunday, June 3

Noon                 Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex

12:30 p.m.         Metric Revolution

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