Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from Dover on ABC

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup continues this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for 400 miles on Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Monster Mile, Dover (Del.) International Speedway. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the race will air on ABC and is presented by Burger King. The telecast begins with NASCAR Countdown at 1 p.m. ET and the race’s green flag is at 2:15 p.m.

ESPN’s coverage of the final 11 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will air on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. ESPN’s coverage from Dover includes NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, Sept. 25, at 3 p.m. on ESPN2, and a same-day telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup final practice on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from Dover on ESPN2

ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Sept. 25, at 3 p.m. ET, with the green flag at 3:45 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.

Also on Saturday, coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying airs at 10:30 a.m., while coverage of final practice airs Friday, Sept. 25, at 1:30 p.m., both on ESPN2.

Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

Evernham, LaJoie, Craven on NASCAR Now Roundtable

NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham, Randy LaJoie and Ricky Craven will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.

Mike Massaro hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday through Thursday of this week at 5 p.m. and Friday at 4:30 p.m. following ESPN2’s coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Dover International Speedway.

Massaro will be joined by LaJoie for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Sept. 27, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Nicole Manske and Angelique Chengelis will report from Dover for both programs. .

NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.

Countdown to 1 Continues in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues its Countdown to 1 playoffs as the series visits Texas Motorplex near Dallas for the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals this weekend. ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action, with qualifying airing Sunday, Sept. 27, at 12:15 a.m. ET, and again at 11:30 a.m. Eliminations action airs at 7 p.m., with a re-air Monday, Sept. 28, at 5 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Texas Motorplex is one of three all-concrete dragstrips on the schedule, which provide optimum traction and allow crew chiefs the opportunity to achieve national record performances. The event, which is the second chance for Countdown teams to earn points, takes place on the second of four consecutive race weekends in this crucial segment of the home stretch.

Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould, Dave Rieff and John Kernan report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay on Sunday at 11 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.

Other NHRA programming airing on ESPN Networks this week includes highlights from the 2004 O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kansas, airing Monday, Sept. 28, at 3 p.m. on ESPN Classic. In addition, action from the recent Lucas Oil Sportsman Series event at Concord, N.C., airs Sunday, Sept. 27, at 11 p.m. on ESPN2.