ESPN To Offer Extended Coverage Of NASCAR’s Season Ender All Week

Courtesy: ESPN

The final round of NASCAR’s “Chase for the Championship” is officially upon us. Eight drivers have been cut to only four. In anticipation of the season’s final race, the Ford Ecoboost 400, ESPN will follow all four contenders—Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, and Joey Logano—all week. ESPN will have reporters with each team—Dave Burns with Joey Logano, Marty Smith with Kevin Harvick, Ryan McGee with Denny Hamlin, and Mike Massaro with Ryan Newman –early this week. And SportsCenter will air multiple live reports from the shops of each of the contenders’ teams Monday and Tuesday. They will air between 9:30am and 2:00pm ET. ESPN will offer extended coverage on each team and their preparations during the 6pm and 11pm editions of SportsCenter.

On Wednesday, there will be a press conference live from Miami featuring all four of the championship contenders and their team owners. SportsCenter will have interviews and reports from the day’s events. On Thursday, ESPN will head back to the shops with the championship contenders. ESPN’s reporters will follow the drivers’ pre-race preparations before things pick back up on track this Friday. Sunday’s season-ending race will be broadcast live on ESPN. It will be preceded by a special two-hour edition of NASCAR Countdown beginning at 1pm ET. The green flag is expected to fly at 3:16pm ET. All four of the championship contenders will appear on Countdown from the ESPN Pit Studio.

ESPN NASCAR analyst Ricky Craven will be on SportsCenter frequently throughout the race weekend with insight into the race and the championship contenders. He will also have an interview with the newly crowned champion after the race Sunday night.

None of the four final drivers in this year’s championship hunt have won a championship at NASCAR’s top level before. All four come from multi-car race teams. And they each represent one of NASCAR’s car makers—Ford, Chevy, Toyota.

More information on ESPN’s coverage of the 2014 NASCAR Championship week and weekend is available online at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ESPN

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ESPN To Air NASCAR SCS, NNS Finales This Weekend

Courtesy: ESPN

And then there was one.  This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ 2013 series comes down to a winner take all race that will decide who takes the Sprint Cup Championship.  Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson have been locked in a head to head battle since the start of the annual “Chase for the Championship.”  But Kenseth has fallen off track in recent weeks.  He trails Jimmie Johnson by almost thirty points as the series heads into its season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend.  Allen Bestwick will anchor this weekend’s broadcast.  He will be joined by analysts and NASCAR veterans Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree.  Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, and Vince Welch will have all the latest in-race news live from the pits.  ESPN’s NASCAR Countdown will be anchored by Mike Massaro.  He will be joined by NASCAR veteran Rusty Wallace, former crew chief and Evernham Racing head Ray Evernham, as well as team owner Brad Daughtery for analysis.

The Ford Econoboost 400 closes out the Sprint Cup Series’ 2013 season.  It will be broadcast live this Sunday beginning with a special two-hour edition of NASCAR Countdown beginning at 1pm ET.  The green flag is currently scheduled to drop at 3:15pm ET.  ESPN will have also air practice and qualifying live this Friday at 1:30pm and 6pm ET respectively.

Along with its broadcast of the Sprint Cup Series season finale, ESPN will also have full coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ finale Saturday afternoon.  Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish, Jr. will take it right down to the wire Saturday for the series’ championship in the Ford Econoboost 300.  Broadcast of the race begins with NASCAR Countdown live at 4pm.  The green flag is expected to drop at 4:46pm ET.

ESPN will build up to this weekend’s championship battle by embedding reporters Ryan McGee and Shannon Spake with Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth’s teams respectively today and tomorrow, November 12^th and 13^th.  They will bring reports from both camps on ESPN’s flagship show, SportsCenter.  NASCAR fans can also tune in to ESPNEWS this Thursday, November 14^th for a special hour-long program that will come live from the NASCAR Championship Contenders news conference.  That broadcast will kick off live at 12pm ET from Miami.

More information on this weekend’s races is available online at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

NNS Heads To The High Banks Of Talladega This Weekend

Courtesy: NASCAR/ESPN/ESPN2

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will face the high banks and high speeds of Talladega Speedway this weekend in the Aarons 312.  Points leader Sam Hornish Jr. and second place driver Regan Smith will go wheel to wheel in the next round.  Hornish, who drives for Penske Racing, leads Smith by only a single point.  The pair is evenly matched on the track.  Hornish boasts a current record of six top tens, four top fives and one win.  Smith has five top tens and two top fives.  He doesn’t have any wins yet this season.  ESPN will have qualifying coverage Friday at 12pm EST. 

Coverage of the Aarons 312 kicks off Saturday afternoon at 2:30pm EST on ESPN2.  Nicole Briscoe will lead pre-race coverage on NASCAR Countdown, and will be joined by analysts Rusty Wallace and Brad Daughtery.  The green flag drops at 3:35pm EST.  Allen Bestwick will lead the lap-by-lap coverage alongside Andy Petree.  They will be joined by NASCAR Sprint Cup veteran Carl Edwards in the booth.  Edwards is currently second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, behind five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson.  Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, and Vince Welch will have all the action live from the pits throughout the race. 

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NASCAR Nationwide Series Heads Out West This Weekend

Courtesy: NASCAR/ESPN/ESPN2

The NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to Phoenix this weekend.  Drivers will face off in the desert in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 presented by Kawasaki.  Current series points leader Sam Hornish, Jr. and the rest of the field will look to rebound this week after this past weekend’s devastating wreck in the series’ season opening race at Daytona.  NASCAR Countdown host Nicole Briscoe will be joined by analysts and NASCAR veterans Rusty Wallace and Ricky Craven along with Brad Daugherty beginning at 4pm. 

Allen Bestwick will helm the race broadcast as he calls lap-by-lap action from the booth.  He will be joined by two more well known NASCAR veterans in Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree for in race analysis.  Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, and Vince Welch will have the call from the pits.  The green flag is currently expected to drop at 4:45pm EST/1:45 PST.  The race will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

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ESPN Announces Daytona Coverage Schedule

The weather is still cold around most of the country.  But America’s premier racing series is warming up its engines.  NASCAR will return to the track this weekend.  And ESPN will be there with two full weeks of coverage culminating in a broadcast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season opener on Saturday, February 23^rd.  The network’s coverage will span its family of networks, as well as its digital and print outlets.  As an added bonus, the winner of this year’s Daytona 500 will appear on a variety of ESPN telecasts the day after the Sprint Cup Series’ season opener.

Courtesy: ESPN

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN’s coverage of the Nationwide Series begins with live coverage of Nationwide practice on Thursday, February 21^st at 3pm EST and qualifying Friday, February 22^nd at 3:30pm EST.  Its broadcast of the season opening 300-mile race live from Daytona International Speedway begins at 12pm EST on February 23^rd with the race itself beginning at 1:15pm EST.  The race will be called from the booth by Allen Bestwick.  He will be joined by ESPN analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree.  The pits will be covered by Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, and Vince Welch.  The countdown show will be hosted by Nicole Briscoe.  She will be joined by Rusty Wallace, Ray Evernham, and Brad Daughetry.

 

This week and next week will be front loaded with all the coverage that any member of the NASCAR Nation could want.  A complete schedule of coverage across the ESPN family of networks is available below.

ESPN’S 2013 DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS SCHEDULE

(all times Eastern)

 

Date	Time	Program	Network
Tuesday, Feb. 12	12:30 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Wednesday, Feb. 13	12:30 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 14	2 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 14	Noon	NASCAR Now: Media Day Special	ESPNEWS
Friday, Feb. 15	Midnight	SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 15	1 a.m.	1998 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 15	1:30 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 15	3 a.m.	3 Nation: The Life & Legacy of Dale Earnhardt	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 15	4 a.m.	SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 15	5 a.m.	3 Nation: The Life & Legacy of Dale Earnhardt	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 15	7 a.m.	1998 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 15	9 a.m.	SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt	ESPN Classic
Saturday, Feb. 16	6 a.m.	RaceDay	ESPN Radio
Sunday, Feb. 17	6 a.m.	RaceDay	ESPN Radio
Tuesday, Feb. 19	12:30 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Wednesday, Feb. 20	12:30 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Wednesday, Feb. 20	8:30 a.m.	SportsCentury: Mario Andretti	ESPN Classic
Wednesday, Feb. 20	9:30 a.m.	SportsCentury: Tim Flock	ESPN Clsssic
Wednesday, Feb. 20	10:30 a.m.	SportsCentury: Jeff Gordon	ESPN Classic
Wednesday, Feb. 20	11 a.m.	1993 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Wednesday, Feb. 20	1 p.m.	2007 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Wednesday, Feb. 20	3 p.m.	1997 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Wednesday, Feb. 20	5 p.m.	1999 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	2 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 21	2:30 a.m.	2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Preview	ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 21	8 a.m.	Tim Richmond: To the Limit	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	9 a.m.	3 Nation: The Life & Legacy of Dale Earnhardt	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	10 a.m.	NASCAR Nationwide Series practice	ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 21	10 a.m.	SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt Jr.	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	11 a.m.	SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	Noon	1976 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	1 p.m.	1981 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	3 p.m.	1983 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Thursday, Feb. 21	5 p.m.	1979 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	1:30 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 22	2 a.m.	2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Preview	ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 22	7:30 a.m.	1998 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	9:30 a.m.	SportsCentury: Tony Stewart	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	11 a.m.	SportsCentury: Richard Petty	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	Noon	1973 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	1 p.m.	1978 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	2 p.m.	1988 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	3:30 p.m.	NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying	ESPN2
Friday, Feb. 22	4 p.m.	1993 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Friday, Feb. 22	6 p.m.	1998 Daytona 500	ESPN Classic
Saturday, Feb. 23	1:30 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Saturday, Feb. 23	6 a.m.	RaceDay	ESPN Radio
Saturday, Feb. 23	Noon	NASCAR Countdown	ESPN
Saturday, Feb. 23	1:15 p.m.	NASCAR Nationwide Series race, telecast presented by Royal Purple	ESPN
Sunday, Feb. 24	2:30 a.m.	NASCAR Nationwide Series race (re-air)	ESPN2
Sunday, Feb. 24	4 a.m.	NASCAR Nationwide Series race	ESPN Deportes
Sunday, Feb. 24	6 a.m.	RaceDay	ESPN Radio
Sunday, Feb. 24	9 a.m.	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Monday, Feb. 25	Midnight	NASCAR Now	ESPN2
Monday, Feb. 25	TBA	Daytona 500 winner at ESPN	Various outlets

  

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