ESPN at NASCAR’s Daytona Speedweeks
Other TV highlights include NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series preview shows on ESPN2 and the airing of multiple past Daytona 500 races on ESPN Classic.
SportsCenter at Daytona airs Saturday, Feb. 14, at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, originating from the Fan Zone at Daytona International Speedway. SportsCenter is ESPN's flagship studio show and television's only nightly, one-hour sports news program. Offering in-depth reports on breaking news, creative highlights, features and in-depth analysis from award-winning journalists, SportsCenter is television's most comprehensive and longest-running sports news show.
“SportsCenter is an American institution and we’re thrilled to host them for ‘The Great American Race,’" said speedway president Robin Braig. “There’s no better backdrop for SportsCenter than ‘The World Center of Racing’ and the Daytona 500 and we’re grateful for all the coverage that ESPN provides during DIRECTV Speedweeks."
In addition to programming on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNEWS, which includes extensive coverage on SportsCenter, other ESPN platforms including ESPN.com, Jayski.com, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile Properties also will surround the NASCAR Nationwide Series race telecast and the Daytona 500 with NASCAR-related programming and coverage.
ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with select races to be televised by ESPN and ABC. The networks also will provide coverage of the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races of the season, including all races in the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup" on ABC.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for the Camping World 300 telecast, joined in the booth for analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Andy Petree. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Prior to the race, Allen Bestwick returns to host NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio, with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace, three-time NASCAR champion crew chief Ray Evernham and Brad Daugherty, a winning team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
ESPN2 also airs live coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Friday, Feb. 13, at 3 p.m., as well as NASCAR Nationwide Series practice coverage on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 9:30 a.m.
NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily news and information show totally dedicated to NASCAR, originates from Daytona with daily one-hour episodes the week of the Daytona 500. The Monday, Feb. 9, edition at 5 p.m. will feature a roundtable discussion with ESPN analysts Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty and Boris Said hosted by Allen Bestwick. Nicole Manske and Mike Massaro host NASCAR Now the rest of the week.
Massaro and Manske will co-host ESPNEWS’ coverage of NASCAR Media Day on Thursday, Feb. 5, at noon, and conduct exclusive driver interviews from Daytona for the three-hour telecast.. They’ll be joined for analysis by former winning NASCAR driver Ricky Craven.
ESPN2 airs season preview shows for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series on Tuesday, Feb. 10, starting at 3 p.m. ESPN2 will have an airing of ESPN’s acclaimed original movie “3," based on the life and racing career of seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, at 1 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15. ESPN Classic will air five classic Daytona 500 races beginning at 8 p.m. on the night before the Daytona 500.
ESPN’S MULTIMEDIA PLATFORMS SURROUND DAYTONA
SportsCenter at Daytona — SportsCenter will present a one-hour special from Daytona International Speedway on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, the eve of NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Hosted by Allen Bestwick, with analysts Rusty Wallace, Ray Evernham and Brad Daugherty, SportsCenter at Daytona will preview the Great American Race with analysis, opinion, and interviews with three-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon and former race winners Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip.
SportsCenter at Daytona also will present a feature on the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Daytona 500, the first 500-mile race to be broadcast live on national television (CBS) which featured a final lap crash and subsequent fight between Cale Yarborough and brothers Donnie and Bobby Allison. Additionally, reporter Marty Smith will moderate a roundtable discussion with defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.
ESPN.com — Extensive coverage will originate from Daytona. Award-winning motorsports journalists Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton and ESPN.com motorsports editor K. Lee Davis will lead the reporting team, with additional contributions from NASCAR Insiders Angelique Chengelis and Marty Smith. Hinton, Blount, Newton and other ESPN reporters and personalities maintain and regularly update blogs with their insights, perspectives and more within the ESPN Insider premium content section. ESPN.com, along with Jayski.com, will feature extensive video, audio and editorial coverage of the 2009 NASCAR season, as well as providing multiple ESPN Fantasy games and content distributed to other emerging platforms such as Apple’s iTunes Store and Microsoft’s X Box Live.
ESPN.com RaceCast, ESPN.com’s enhanced, live race-day applications features a live animated graphic display, track information, lap leaders, race leaders, driver information and live in-race chat with ESPN announcers and reporters. NASCAR Surround features one-stop shopping for highlights, features, observations and stats of all races, running Friday-Monday. As part of ESPN.com’s integration with Jayski.com, veteran racing voice Mark Garrow returns as a frequent contributor this year, producing podcasts, hosting regular chats on ESPN.com, providing online video segments and appearances on NASCAR Now.
Jayski.com — ESPN-owned Jayski.com is considered one of the most influential Web sites in the motorsports world. Jayski has gained a reputation for consistently breaking industry stories and serving as the ultimate resource and trackside companion for NASCAR fans. Jayski’s editorial content during Daytona Speedweeks will help NASCAR fans keep up with late-breaking news, including updating any on-track incidents and garage news. Jayski also helps NASCAR fans understand the qualifying procedure for the Daytona 500, and NASCAR’s Top 35 rule, with updates and scenarios. And Jayski’s popular paint scheme section helps fans stay abreast of the new looks for NASCAR race teams.
ESPNEWS – Coverage of NASCAR Media Day from noon – 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 5. Extensive reports and interviews during regular programming throughout Daytona Speed Weeks, including highlights from any news conferences.
ESPN Radio – The Saturday Raceday program airs from 6 – 7 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, with Sunday Raceday from 6 – 7 a.m. the next day. Both programs will originate from Daytona with host Pat Patterson. In addition, ESPN Radio will have daily reports during other programming in the week leading up to the race.
ESPN International – ESPN is the exclusive worldwide syndicator outside of North America. NASCAR and ESPN are leveraging their combined resources to identify broadcast partnerships on a country by country basis to expand the scope and reach of NASCAR coverage. ESPN International is one of the world’s leading syndicators of sports programming and this relationship is helping maximize coverage of NASCAR and provide a solid base of distribution. Through a combination of sales and network programming, the 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup races and 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series races are now available to 114 countries and territories around the world.
ESPN Classic – Starting at 8 p.m. on Feb. 15, the eve of the Daytona 500 , ESPN Classic televises highlights of five of the best Daytona 500 races of all time – 1979, 1990, 1998, 1999 and 2007. In addition, ESPN Classic re-airs an episode of its signature series SportsCentury featuring seven-time Daytona 500 winner Richard Petty on Friday, Feb. 13, at 9 a.m.
ESPN Deportes — ESPN’s 24-hour, Spanish-language sports network in the U.S. will carry the Camping World 300 on a tape-delayed basis beginning at 4 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15. ESPN Deportes’ NASCAR commentator team will feature Andrés Agulla (play-by-play) and Alex Pombo (analysis). In addition to the live telecast of the race, ESPN Deportes will have segments for its edition of SportsCenter.
ESPN Deportes Radio — The only around-the-clock national Spanish-language sports radio network in the U.S., and MRN Radio have an agreement that makes ESPN Deportes Radio the exclusive Spanish-language radio home of NASCAR racing’s premier events. ESPN Deportes Radio will provide up-to-the minute NASCAR news and information, highlighted with coverage of NASCAR’s three largest racing series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
ESPN Mobile Platforms — ESPN’s multiple mobile platforms give fans on-the-go access to all the Daytona racing action, news and developments. ESPN Mobile TV (available on MediaFLO and MobiTV) will delver live mobile streaming of NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup races throughout the season, as well as news, analysis and feature video programs. ESPN MVP on Verizon Wireless will feature race highlights from NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races throughout the season, as well as all the latest news and information, ESPN.com columnists, in-progress race leader boards, customizable alerts, and complete control of your Fantasy Stock Car Racing team. In addition, fans can find ESPN.com coverage of NASCAR on the ESPN WAP site, the leading sports site on the wireless Web (and among the most-trafficked wireless Web sites in the world), with 9 million unique users per month.
ESPN’S 2009 DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS SCHEDULE
(all times Eastern)
Wed., Feb. 4 12 – 12:30 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Wed., Feb. 4 5:30 – 6 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 5 12 – 12:30 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 5 Noon – 3 p.m. NASCAR Media Day Highlights ESPNEWS
Thursday, Feb. 5 5 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 6 1 -1:30 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 6 5 – 5:30 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Saturday, Feb. 7 12:30 – 1 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Monday, Feb. 9 5 – 6 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Tuesday, Feb. 10 12:30 – 1:30 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Tuesday, Feb. 10 3 – 3:30 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Preview ESPN2
Tuesday, Feb. 10 3:30 – 4 p.m. NASCAR Nationwide Series Preview ESPN2
Tuesday, Feb. 10 5 – 6 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Wed., Feb 11 12 – 1 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Wed., Feb. 11 6 – 7 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 12 12:30 – 1:30 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 12 9:30-11 a.m. NASCAR Nationwide Series practice ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 12 6 – 7 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 13 1 – 2 a.m. NASCAR Now (re-air) ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 13 9 – 10 a.m. SportsCentury: Richard Petty ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 13 3 – 6 p.m. NASCAR Nationwide Series qual. ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 13 6 – 7 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Saturday, Feb. 14 6 – 7 a.m. RaceDay ESPN Radio
Saturday, Feb. 14 12 – 1:15 p.m. NASCAR Countdown ESPN2
Saturday, Feb. 14 1:15 – 4 p.m. NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 ESPN2
Saturday, Feb. 14 4 – 5 p.m. SportsCenter at Daytona ESPN2
Saturday, Feb. 14 8 – 10 p.m. 1979 Daytona 500 ESPN Classic
Saturday, Feb. 14 10 p.m. – Mid. 1998 Daytona 500 ESPN Classic
Sunday, Feb. 15 Mid. – 2 p.m. 2007 Daytona 500 ESPN Classic
Sunday, Feb. 15 1 – 3 a.m. ESPN Original Movie 3 ESPN2
Sunday, Feb. 15 2 – 4 a.m. 1999 Daytona 500 ESPN Classic
Sunday, Feb. 15 3 – 5 a.m. NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 (re-air) ESPN2
Sunday, Feb. 15 4 – 6 a.m. 1990 Daytona 500 ESPN Classic
Sunday, Feb. 15 4 a.m. Camping World 300 ESPN Deportes
Sunday, Feb. 15 6 – 7 a.m. RaceDay ESPN Radio
Sunday, Feb. 15 8 – 10 a.m. NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 (re-air) ESPN Classic
Sunday, Feb. 15 10 – 11 a.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2
Monday, Feb. 16 5 – 6 p.m. NASCAR Now ESPN2