Verizon Indycar Series Back On The Road (Course) This Weekend

Courtesy: Verizon Indycar Series

The drivers of the Verizon Indycar Series will pull double duty this weekend.

With the Indy 500 now in its rear view, the Verizon Indycar Series and its drivers head to Detroit and the Belle Isle street circuit this weekend for the “Chevy Dual in Detroit” presented by Quicken Loans. Allen Bestwick will have the call for both of this weekend’s races. He will be joined in the booth by analysts Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever for the weekend’s events. Rick DeBruhl, Dr. Jerry Punch, and Jon Beekhuis will be in the pits with additional coverage of the races.

Audiences will be able to see both races on ABC with the broadcast of both set to kick off at 3:30pm ET. Race 1 of the “Chevy Dual in Detroit” is scheduled for Saturday, May 30^th and the second May 31^st. Juan Pablo Montoya comes into this weekend’s events at op the Verizon Indycar Series points standings with a twenty-five point lead over Team Penske teammate Will Power. He also comes in fresh on the heels of his gripping Indy 500 win this past weekend at IMS. The win marked the first time in fifteen years that Montoya had won the crown jewel of the series’ annual season schedule. All of the latest information on this weekend’s races is available online now along with all of the latest Verizon Indycar Series news at:

Website: http://www.indycar.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/indycar

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ESPN Takes Over NASCAR Broadcasts Beginning This Weekend

Courtesy: ESPN

NASCAR shifts gears again this weekend, literally.  Its top series, the Sprint Cup Series, will shift coverage of its races to ESPN beginning with coverage of the annual Brickyard 400 Sunday, July 28^th.  Sunday’s telecast is sponsored by Golden Corral.  It all kicks off with the NASCAR Countdown pre-race show at noon ET.  The pre-race show will broadcast live from the IMS’ legendary Pagoda.  It all leads up to the drop of the green flag, which is expected at 1:19pm ET.

Along with Sunday’s broadcast, ESPN will also handle coverage of Brickyard qualifying Saturday, July 27^th at 2pm ET.  ESPN2 will carry Sprint Cup practice at 9am. 

ESPN also has live coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race this weekend beginning with pre-race coverage on NASCAR Countdown at 4p.m. ET.  The green flag for the Nationwide Series race is expected to drop at 4:50pm ET.  Sprint Cup Series driver and 5-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will be in the broadcast booth for part of the Nationwide Series race.

ESPN will have a number of cameras covering what is one of the biggest of NASCAR’s biggest races each season.  It will have a camera mounted on a helicopter to get aerial shots.  There will also be eight in-car cameras that will give viewers at home an “inside” look at the race.  In all, ESPN will have a total of seventy-two high definition cameras position around Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this weekend’s coverage of the Brickyard 400.  That number includes four Ultra Hi Motion cameras for replays and other unique shots.  Another will be mounted on pit wall near the “Yard of Bricks” at the track’s Start/Finish line.  And another robotic Ultra Hi Motion camera will be mounted to show a low shot in Turn One.  Turns two and four will also have cameras mounted. 

Recently enshrined NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and 1999 Winston Cup Champion Dale Jarrett will be joined by two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Allen Bestwick in the booth during the race.  Marty Reid will take over calling lap-by-lap action for ESPN’s broadcasts of the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  Nicole Briscoe will be joined by 1989 Winston Cup Series Champion and fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Rusty Wallace, three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham, and team owner Brad Daughtery for ESPN’s NASCAR Countdown pre-race broadcast.  Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, and Vince Welch will all be in the pits for all of the action trackside. 

During pre-race coverage, ESPN will take a look at a handful of notable drivers at this year’s Brickyard 400.  Those drivers are Juan Montoya, Danica Patrick, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Tony Stewart.  Each driver will have a special feature that focuses specifically on them during ESPN’s NASCAR Countdown.

NASCAR fans can catch up on all of the latest on this weekend’s race online at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/. 

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, 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.