NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series Return to ESPN Networks
ESPN and ABC also will have live coverage of the final 17 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on ABC. The Sept. 20 event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., again marks the beginning of ESPN’s coverage of the Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The Richmond International Raceway event, run the week before the start of the Chase, is the first ABC event after six races on ESPN. The Richmond event determines the final seeding of the 12 drivers in the Chase. ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage begins July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In addition to race coverage for both series, the networks also will televise practice and qualifying from select races, the season-ending banquets and season preview and review specials. Each race includes a dedicated pre-race program called NASCAR Countdown, and comprehensive coverage of NASCAR appears on ESPN2’s NASCAR news and information program, NASCAR Now. All NASCAR programming on the ESPN networks is produced fully in high definition.
NASCAR fans have become accustomed to ESPN’s on-air team, including play-by-play announcers Dr. Jerry Punch and Marty Reid, analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree, and pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch. NASCAR Countdown is hosted by Allen Bestwick, with analysts Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty and Ray Evernham. Analyst Tim Brewer reports from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
ESPN’s multimedia approach to coverage of NASCAR touches multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN2, ESPN2 HD, ABC, ABC HD, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPN International, ESPN Mobile and Jayski.com.
NASCAR race schedules for the ESPN Networks in 2009 are as follows:
2009 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE on ESPN NETWORKS
| Date | Site | Network | Airtime (ET) |
| July 26 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | ESPN | 1 p.m. |
| Aug. 2 | Pocono Raceway | ESPN | 1 p.m. |
| Aug. 9 | Watkins Glen International | ESPN | 1 p.m. |
| Aug. 16 | Michigan International Speedway | ESPN | 1 p.m. |
| Aug. 22 | Bristol Motor Speedway | ESPN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 6 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | ESPN | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 12 | Richmond International Raceway | ABC | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 20 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | ABC | 1 p.m. |
| Sept. 27 | Dover International Speedway | ABC | 1 p.m. |
| Oct. 4 | Kansas Speedway | ABC | 1 p.m. |
| Oct. 11 | Auto Club Speedway | ABC | 2:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 | Lowe’s Motor Speedway | ABC | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 25 | Martinsville Speedway | ABC | 1 p.m. |
| Nov. 1 | Talladega Superspeedway | ABC | Noon |
| Nov. 8 | Texas Motor Speedway | ABC | 2:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 15 | Phoenix International Raceway | ABC | 2:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 22 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | ABC | 2:30 p.m. |
2009 NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES SCHEDULE on ESPN NETWORKS
| Date | Site | Network | Airtime (ET) |
| Feb. 14 | Daytona International Speedway | ESPN2 | Noon |
| Feb. 21 | Auto Club Speedway | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 28 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | ESPN2 | 4 p.m. |
| March 21 | Bristol Motor Speedway | ABC | 2 p.m. |
| April 4 | Texas Motor Speedway | ESPN2 | 2:30 p.m. |
| April 11 | Nashville Superspeedway | ESPN | 3 p.m. |
| April 17 | Phoenix International Raceway | ESPN2 | 9 p.m. |
| April 25 | Talladega Superspeedway | ABC | 2:30 p.m. |
| May 1 | Richmond International Raceway | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| May 8 | Darlington Raceway | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| May 23 | Lowe’s Motor Speedway | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| May 30 | Dover International Speedway | ABC | 2 p.m. |
| June 6 | Nashville Superspeedway | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| June 13 | Kentucky Speedway | ESPN2 | 8 p.m. |
| June 20 | Milwaukee Mile | ESPN2 | 7:30 p.m. |
| June 27 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | ABC | 2:30 p.m. |
| July 3 | Daytona International Speedway | ESPN | 7:30 p.m. |
| July 10 | Chicagoland Speedway | ESPN | 7:30 p.m. |
| July 18 | Gateway International Raceway | ESPN2 | 9 p.m. |
| July 25 | O’Reilly Raceway Park | ESPN | 7:30 p.m. |
| Aug. 1 | Iowa Speedway | ESPN | 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 8 | Watkins Glen International | ESPN2 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Aug. 15 | Michigan International Speedway | ESPN2 | 3 p.m. |
| Aug. 21 | Bristol Motor Speedway | ESPN2 | 7:30 p.m. |
| Aug. 30 | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | ESPN2 | 2 p.m. |
| Sept. 5 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | ESPN2 | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 11 | Richmond International Raceway | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 26 | Dover International Speedway | ESPN2 | 3 p.m. |
| Oct. 3 | Kansas Speedway | ESPN2 | 3 p.m. |
| Oct. 10 | Auto Club Speedway | ESPN2 | 4 p.m. |
| Oct. 16 | Lowe’s Motor Speedway | ESPN2 | 7:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 24 | Memphis Motorsports Park | ESPN2 | 3 p.m. |
| Nov. 7 | Texas Motor Speedway | ESPN2 | Noon |
| Nov. 14 | Phoenix International Raceway | ESPN2 | 4 p.m. |
| Nov. 21 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | ESPN2 | 4 p.m. |
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