NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Live in Prime Time Saturday from Charlotte on ABC

Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

October 8, 2007 -- The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup continues Saturday, Oct. 13, with a prime-time night race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. ESPN on ABC will have live coverage of the Bank of America 500 and all 10 races in the Chase. The Charlotte telecast begins at 7 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.

Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play for the race telecast, joined in the booth for analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Wallace is the only national TV analyst who has competed in the Chase as a driver.

Pit reporters will be Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro. Two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN DISH Tech Center.

Suzy Kolber will host NASCAR Countdown along with analyst Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Busch Series and Truck Series, in the ESPN Pit Studio.

ESPN2 will have live, prime-time coverage of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup qualifying from Charlotte on Thursday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. NASCAR Happy Hour practice airs Friday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m.

NASCAR Busch Series Action Live on ESPN2 Friday from Charlotte

On Friday night, ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series with a live, prime-time race from Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The telecast of the 300-mile race begins at 7:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.

Dr. Jerry Punch will anchor ESPN2’s coverage from Charlotte, with analysis by two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree and 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake, while two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN DISH Tech Center. Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown.

In addition to coverage of the race, ESPN2 will have a live telecast of NASCAR Busch Series qualifying Friday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m. Coverage of the final practice airs Thursday at 6 p.m.

NASCAR: Chasing Glory Continues Wednesday on ESPN2

The third episode of ESPN2’s weekly series NASCAR: Chasing Glory airs Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

NASCAR: Chasing Glory is a behind-the-scenes look at the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. The 11-part series follows drivers during the final 11 races of the season and documents their preparation for the races.

NASCAR Now Schedule

NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily news and information show dedicated to NASCAR, will have its expanded one-hour edition on the air tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET with extensive highlights from Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. The program airs at 6 p.m. in its normal 30-minute format Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. The one-hour weekend edition airs Saturday, Oct.13, at 10 a.m. with highlights of the previous night’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway as well as a preview of Saturday night’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at the same track. The weekend wrap-up edition airs Sunday, Oct. 14, at 12:30 a.m.

NASCAR Now is hosted by Erik Kuselias or 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.

NHRA Xplōd Sport Compact Racing Series Airs Tuesday on ESPN2

While the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series has the weekend off, the NHRA Xplōd Sport Compact Racing Series is on ESPN2 every week in October for the final five races of the season. The Las Vegas NHRA Sport Compact Nationals airs Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 5 p.m. ET, followed by NHRA Stylefest at 5:30 p.m.

The NHRA Xplōd Stylefest includes the NHRA Tuner Car Show, which offers the best sport compact show cars, the Modified Magazine NHRA Bikini Xhibition and other extreme sports exhibitions.

In the announcing booth is Kenny Sargent, co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show SpeedFreaks, along with veteran drag racing announcer Bruno Massel. Joining Sargent and Massel is Amanda Amann, a producer and writer on various shows for BET, CNN and MTV.

Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League Action Airs Sunday on ESPN2

Fans of truck and tractor pulling can check out 30 minutes of action Sunday, Oct. 14, with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

The program features events from the league’s recently completed 2007 Champions Tour. The series visited racetracks in North Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Missouri and New York.

Race Wizard with Ray Evernham Featured This Week in ESPN2 Garage

Three episodes of the ESPN2 Garage program Race Wizard with Ray Evernham will air this week, while viewers also will have the chance to catch two episodes of Hot Rod Television.

Race Wizard brings NASCAR fans into the action as race team owner Ray Evernham answers questions submitted by viewers. Back-to-back episodes of the program air Sunday, Oct. 14, beginning at 10 a.m. ET, while another episode airs Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 5 p.m.

The long-running Hot Rod Television made its debut on ESPN2 this year with a new production team and a new attitude as it expanded on the excitement, passion and lifestyle of Hot Rod magazine. With action-packed episodes mixing in the thrill of live events, candid conversations with automotive legends and celebrities plus showing the passion of car enthusiasts worldwide, the show expanded its appeal with entertainment-based features. The program airs Thursday, Oct. 11, at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

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.

Source: ESPN

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