Two-Time NASCAR Busch Series Champion Randy LaJoie Joins ESPN for Two Races

Randy LaJoie, a two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion, has joined ESPN’s NASCAR coverage team and will serve as analyst on two upcoming race telecasts.

LaJoie, who won the series title in 1996 and 1997, will work in the booth for ESPN2’s live coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series event at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 28, at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. He also will be part of ESPN2’s coverage of the Aug. 4 inaugural NASCAR Busch Series event at Circuit Gilles Villenueve in Montreal.

The Norwalk, Conn., native last raced in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2006. He will bring his experience of two championships, 15 wins and 347 starts in the series to ESPN’s coverage team. His resume includes stints in the NASCAR Cup Series as well as the 1985 championship of the former NASCAR North Series.

“I think I know enough about the series and the drivers to hopefully give the race fans at home a different view, and maybe even a laugh or two,” said LaJoie, who previously has worked as analyst on a handful of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series telecasts for other networks. He currently co-hosts a motorsports radio program.

LaJoie will team with play-by-play announcer Marty Reid for the Indianapolis race, which will include a one-hour telecast of NASCAR Busch Series practice at 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday and coverage of qualifying at 4:30 p.m. Joining Reid and LaJoie will be pit reporters Jack Arute, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch.

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 is the home of the NASCAR Busch Series all season. For the first time in the history of televised motorsports, all programming is produced totally in High Definition. ESPN’s comprehensive, multimedia NASCAR coverage extends 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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