Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

NASCAR Busch Series Live on ABC from Chicagoland Speedway

ESPN on ABC will feature NASCAR Busch Series racing live Saturday, July 14, from Chicagoland Speedway as the series makes its only appearance of 2007 at the 1.5-mile superspeedway. The telecast of NASCAR Busch Series at Chicago presented by Old Spice begins with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET; the race starts at 3 p.m.

Chicagoland Speedway, located in Joliet, Ill., has hosted a race for the NASCAR Busch Series each year since it opened in 2001. There have been six different winners in the six events there, and last year’s race was won by Casey Mears. Kyle Busch, winner of the most recent series event at Daytona, will compete at Chicagoland, and Jeff Burton, a two-time series winner earlier this year, will run his first NASCAR Busch Series race in seven weeks. Tony Stewart is also entered.

Rusty Wallace, ESPN’s lead auto racing analyst and the 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will work in the ESPN booth as analyst for the telecast, joined by two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play. Pit reporters will be Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro.

Suzy Kolber will host NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN Pit Studio, joined by Wallace and analyst Brad Daugherty, while two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.

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

ESPN2, the home of the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007, will have live coverage of qualifying from Chicagoland Speedway as well as the series’ final practice session as drivers and teams prepare for Saturday’s 300-mile race.

Practice coverage will air at 5:45 p.m. ET Friday, with the live qualifying show 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 analysts Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree. Pit reporters Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro will contribute to the telecasts.

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.

ESPN Ultimate NASCAR Programming Continues July 12

ESPN Ultimate NASCAR, which is building up to the July 29 launch of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing on ESPN with 11 hours of programming on NASCAR history, continues at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, July 12, on ESPN with Hottest Rivalries, a one-hour program counting down the 20 greatest rivalries in NASCAR history, chosen by an exclusive panel of NASCAR experts and historians.

The program is the second of three countdown programs, following Greatest Drivers, which premiered last week. The third program in the series, Biggest Races, will air Thursday, July 19. Starting Monday, July 23, the week leading into the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will include seven hours of NASCAR documentaries – The Explosion, The Dirt, The Cars, Speed and Danger and The Families. All shows will debut on ESPN.

Since April, ESPN viewers have been watching “100 Defining Moments,” a series of 30-second vignettes that kicked off ESPN’s Ultimate NASCAR initiative and are featured on SportsCenter, NASCAR Now and other ESPN programming. ESPN is counting down the 100 most defining moments in NASCAR history as selected by the panel.

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 today on ESPN2. The program will have extensive highlights and recaps of Saturday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race from Daytona International Speedway and a 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 Thursday of this week. On Friday, the program will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will lead up to and follow NASCAR Busch Series qualifying from Chicagoland Speedway.

The one-hour weekend edition will air at 10 a.m. ET Sunday, July 15, with highlights from Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Chicago and a look ahead to that day’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at the same track. The weekend wrap-up edition of the program will air at midnight Sunday.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Erik Kuselias, Ryan Burr or Allen Bestwick 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 to Feature IndyCar Series Saturday Night at Nashville

The IndyCar Series will make its annual visit to Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday night, and ESPN will have live coverage of the Firestone IndyCar 200 at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 14.

Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick and defending IndyCar champion Sam Hornish Jr. will be among the drivers competing in the event.

Marty Reid will anchor the ESPN 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.

24 Hours at Indy Special To Repeat Friday Morning

Race fans who missed the ESPN original program 24 Hours at Indy will have another chance to see the show when it airs at 5 a.m. ET Friday, July 13. The recent 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 produced its share of dramatic moments, and 24 Hours at Indy looks at some of the behind-the-scenes people who make Indy the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

24 Hours at Indy offers a never-before-seen look at what it takes to prepare and stage the largest one-day sporting event in the world. By following several people involved in the race through a 24-hour period, starting the day before the race, viewers capture the entire event, discovering the intense logistics required to pull off this feat in the vastness of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2.5-mile oval has more than 10 million square feet of racing real estate, and people in facilities, retail, food and beverage face the daunting task of getting the venue ready for race day. Viewers will feel the constant pressure on the Speedway workers, teams and drivers as the green flag nears.

NHRA Coverage from Denver To Air Saturday and Sunday on ESPN2

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series begins its Western Swing with the Mopar Mile High Nationals this weekend at Bandimere Speedway near Denver, and ESPN2 will have coverage of qualifying and finals Saturday and Sunday. Qualifying coverage from the Colorado drag racing facility will air at 10 p.m. ET Saturday, with three hours of finals coverage at 9 p.m. Sunday.

The second half of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season kicks off with the first of three consecutive weekends of racing and one of its greatest challenges. Teams travel high and deep into the Rocky Mountains to more than 5,800 feet, where the altitude plays havoc with everything from engine tune-ups to aerodynamics. Crews must make wholesale changes to established power-making combinations and battle lack of downforce to tackle the unfamiliar environs. The event is testament to the skill and adaptability of the racers.

Paul Page will anchor ESPN2’s coverage from Denver, with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould and Dave Rieff will report the action from the pits. Rieff also will 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.

Additional NHRA programming this week on ESPN2 includes an episode of NHRA Stylefest, which will air at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, immediately following NHRA Sport Compact drag racing at 5 p.m. Also, NHRA Thrills and Spills airs at 5 p.m. Friday, July 13.

Indy Pro Series Watkins Glen Action Will Air Thursday

The Indy Pro Series, the feeder series for the IndyCar Series, will be on the air at 5 p.m. ET Thursday, July 12, on ESPN2 with a half-hour recap of last weekend’s action from Watkins Glen International in New York. The Indy Pro Series drivers and teams ran in conjunction with the IndyCar Series at the historic road racing circuit.

Bob Jenkins will call the action in the telecast, joined for analysis by Robbie Buhl and Mike King. ESPN2 will have tape-delayed coverage of all Indy Pro Series events this season.

Champ Car Atlantic Toronto Race on ESPN2 This Week

ESPN2 will have coverage of the Champ Car Atlantic Series, the feeder series for the Champ Car World Series, on Wednesday, July 11, with half-hour recaps from last weekend’s event at Toronto. The race will air at 5 p.m. ET.

Veteran play-by-play announcer Rick Benjamin, color analyst and former Atlantic racer Jon Beekhuis and pit reporter Cameron Steele will call the action for both races. ESPN2 will have tape-delayed coverage of all Champ Car Atlantic events this season.

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Racing on ESPN2 Sunday

World of Outlaws sprint car racing will be featured at noon ET Sunday, July 15, on ESPN2. The one-hour program will recap the previous night’s WoO event at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

The telecast continues the World of Outlaws’ “SuperClean Summer of Money,” with eight consecutive weekends of racing on ESPN2 at eight different tracks. The World of Outlaws is the world’s premier sanctioning body for winged sprint car racing.

PowerSports ATV Tour Competition Returns Saturday

Action from the PowerSports ATV Tour will air on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, July 14. The one-hour program will contain highlights from Round Four of the series as the ATV Tour appears on ESPN2 for the second year.

The PowerSports ATV Championship Tour is North America’s premier professional ATV racing circuit, featuring QuadMX, QuadTerrain and SuperSport Pro series action as well as 20-plus amateur classes for adults, women and children. The Tour is sanctioned by the World PowerSports Association, North America’s most respected snowmobile and ATV sanctioning body, and a promoter of ATV and snowmobile racing on both the regional and national level.

New Episodes of ESPN2 Garage Programs To Air This Week

New episodes of the ESPN2 Garage programs SpeedFreaks, Race Wizard with Ray Evernham and King of the Strip will premiere this week. SpeedFreaks will air at 5 p.m. ET Thursday, July 12, while Race Wizard is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 14. King of the Strip will air at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, July 15.

Also scheduled to air this week are episodes of the ESPN2 Garage programs Hot Rod Television and The Bidding Wars.

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.

The schedule:                         
                                                                    

- MotorSports07 -