NASCAR on ABC
Encyclopedia
NASCAR on ESPN is the coverage of NASCAR
on ESPN
, ESPN2
, and ABC
. ABC, and later ESPN, carried NASCAR races from the sanctioning body's top three divisions at various points from the early 1960s until 2002. ESPN resumed coverage of NASCAR with the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in February 2007 and the Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis in July 2007. ESPN currently holds the rights to broadcast the final 17 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, including the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup as well as the entire NASCAR Nationwide Series season through the respective series' 2014 seasons.
. One of its events was the Daytona 500
. ABC showed the last half of the race, except in 1976
, when it showed the first 30 laps, went to the Olympics
and then came back for the wild finish, in which David Pearson edged out Richard Petty
with both cars sliding sideways across the track. The race TV rights went to CBS Sports
in 1979
. For much of the 1970s and 1980s, ABC broadcast NASCAR races on tape delay
. The commentary was added later in post production. They would actually sit in the booth and call something live if they needed to for the satellite feed. Otherwise, ABC would do all the editing afterwards for the final telecast.
ESPN began showing NASCAR races in 1981, with the first event being at North Carolina Speedway. The last of its 265 Cup telecasts (that number includes some on ABC Sports
) was the 2000
Atlanta
fall race (now the Labor Day Classic 500). Even though Fox, FX, NBC, and TNT were the exclusive broadcasters of the Winston/Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series from 2001 to 2006, the ESPN networks still carried the Craftsman Truck Series in 2001 and 2002 because the Truck races were under a separate contract. Speed Channel took over the Truck broadcasts in 2003.
. As of the 2011 season Nicole Briscoe is the usual host, with Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace
providing commentary. It is typically 1 hour for Sprint Cup and major Nationwide races and a half-hour for all other Nationwide races. In addition to the races, ESPN2 airs a daily show called NASCAR Now
, which is similar to Baseball Tonight
and NFL Primetime
. It airs daily on ESPN2 and is hosted by Briscoe, with various others substituting. Unlike other league shows on ESPN such as NFL Live
, Baseball Tonight
, and College Football Live
, NASCAR Now only airs during the NASCAR season.
In 2007, 29 of the 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series races aired on ESPN2, with the other five airing on ABC. (At that time, the series was sponsored by Anheuser-Busch
and known as the NASCAR Busch Series). ESPN2 started its coverage with the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway
on February 17, 2007. ABC's first race was the Sam's Town 300
at Las Vegas on March 10. The first NEXTEL Cup race telecast was the Brickyard 400 on July 29 on ESPN. The next 5 races aired on ESPN and the Richmond race and the final 10 races (the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup
) appeared on ABC.
The initial broadcast team consisted of Jerry Punch
as the lead announcer with Wallace and Andy Petree
as analysts. Allen Bestwick
, Mike Massaro
, Jamie Little
, and Dave Burns
were the pit reporters. Brent Musburger
, Suzy Kolber
, and Chris Fowler
contributed as studio hosts.
In 2008, ESPN moved Wallace and Bestwick from their positions. Bestwick became studio host while Wallace joined the studio team. Dale Jarrett
, who had retired at the end of the previous season and had worked part time for the network afterward, joined Punch and Petree as booth analyst. Shannon Spake
replaced Bestwick on pit road.
In 2009, the Monday edition of NASCAR Now became a roundtable show, similar to the old Inside NEXTEL Cup show that was on Speed Channel. Bestwick hosts the roundtable; he is also the former host of the Speed Channel program. The panelists rotate and have included Mike Massaro
, Johnny Benson
, Boris Said
, Ray Evernham
, and Ricky Craven
. Massaro has also filled in as host, including after the 2010 Daytona 500
. Beginning with the 2010 season, ESPN carried fourteen of the seventeen races, including the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup except for the Bank of America 500
which continues to be televised on ABC. ABC acquired the Irwin Tools Night Race and kept the Air Guard 400 as part of its race coverage. Previously, ABC aired the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup and the Richmond race (now known as the Air Guard 400), but NASCAR's decision to standardize early start times conflicted with ABC's expanding Sunday morning political talk show lineup. This led to consternation among ABC's Southern affiliates, who counted on the races as a bulwark against NFL games on competing CBS and FOX stations. This decision was in-line with ESPN taking over the rights to the Rose Bowl
and the British Open as part of an ongoing strategy to shift sports programming from ABC to ESPN, to the outrage of many sports fans.
The ESPN family of networks continues to be exclusive home for almost every NASCAR Nationwide Series events. 22 of those races will be on ESPN2, with ABC carrying four and ESPN nine. Marty Reid
, who for the past several seasons was the lead play-by-play announcer for Indy Racing League events on the ESPN family of networks, became its lead NASCAR voice for the 2010 season replacing Jerry Punch
. Andy Petree
and Dale Jarrett
will return as color commentators, while Punch will move to lead pit reporter. The April 2011 race from Richmond International Raceway
was produced and broadcast by SPEED
due to conflicts with the NFL Draft
and the NBA Playoffs
which are also broadcast by ESPN.
. Daugherty and Wallace may be absent for weekends of Nationwide-only races, and Wallace occasionally moves to the broadcast booth for Nationwide races. The studio is not used at Nationwide races where ESPN is responsible for both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at two different tracks. The studio has not been used at Road America events where ESPN has brought a skeleton crew since the race is ESPN's only broadcast of the weekend due to the Little League World Series
. The pre-race show is 30 minutes for Nationwide races and an hour for Sprint Cup races. Cuts to commercials see a plastic NASCAR Countdown logo in city attractions outside the track.
Practice and qualifying session broadcasts also originate from the studio and drivers will occasionally enter the studio during qualifying to preview their runs. Sprint Cup drivers have also been seen in the booth to commentate on Nationwide races.
All races are presented in high-definition, and all cameras, including those in the race cars, are capable of sending out HD pictures. Starting in 2011, in-car cameras are able to provide two camera angles instead of just one.
At the Bashas' Supermarkets 200
at Phoenix International Raceway
on April 20, 2007, NASCAR on ESPN unveiled a new feature, "Full Throttle". In this feature, which takes place on one restart a race, the audio is provided by various team communications between drivers, crew chiefs, and spotters. Typically, this lasts for about one lap. This frequency has been reduced from its earlier use, and was not seen at all in 2011.
to cover the New Hampshire presidential primary. The studio also uses state-of-the-art LED lighting to light up the hosts.
, radio broadcasts, and NASCAR.com. Some were even looking forward to the return of NASCAR on Fox
, despite the gimmicks inherent to that portion of the racing season.
The many changes made in 2008, specifically the removal of on-air personalities with no previous NASCAR backgrounds and the reassignment of Wallace, may have come in response to these complaints.
NASCAR itself was disappointed at the production job done by ESPN at 2009 fall Talladega race. The morning of the race, in response to recent accidents at the track where cars went airborne, NASCAR instituted a rule banning bump drafting during the race. ESPN commentators frequented commented on how boring the race was because of the rule change, despite statistically (in numbers of lead changes and passes) being comparable to past races at the track. The rule change itself proved ineffective at preventing car flips and accidents, as both Ryan Newman and Mark Martin flipped their cars during the event, and was quickly reversed before the 2010 season.
Commentators often seem to be quite biased towards or against drivers on ESPN's NASCAR broadcasts, as with most of the network's racing broadcasts. At the 2008 AMP Energy 500
, just after the finish, the station listened in on Tony Stewart
's radio after he was controversially overtaken for the lead by Regan Smith
. He said "It was below the yellow line, it was belo-" when he was cut off, appearing intentional. Punch often seemingly argued with Petree and Jarrett over whether or not the pass was illegal. This was one of many cases where ESPN analysts have shown bias.
ESPN also consistently shows a sponsorship bias in terms of how races are named when marketed by ESPN. In races that are named after corporate sponsors (i.e. U.S. Cellular 250
) and even ones without corporate naming or where the sponsor's name is not commonly used (i.e. Pennsylvania 500
), ESPN uses a generic name that takes the form of "NASCAR (series name) at (track name)", unless the sponsor of the race is also a sponsor of ESPN's NASCAR coverage. Additionally, some of the names are followed by one of ESPN's sponsors (i.e. GoDaddy.com). Additionally, ESPN has a considerably different set of sponsors than other NASCAR-covering networks, including competitors of official NASCAR sponsors (i.e. Toyo Tires, who once sponsored pit-road coverage during a Nationwide Series race, opposition of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, official tires of NASCAR). Generally these sponsors would not be allowed to appear on cars or at tracks, but there is not yet a restriction on television broadcasts. ESPN has a long standing policy of not advertising race advertisers unless they have paid a premium to the network. In 2011, the usage of non-NASCAR sponsors was discontinued.
In NASCAR on ESPN's advertising campaign, their slogan is "Feel your heart race", a slogan which has already been trademark
ed by Kyle Petty
's Victory Junction Gang. The latter's advertising also appears on ESPN-carried races. This was changed to "Cause it's Racing" in 2010 and "Noting Beats First Place" in 2011.
During broadcasts since 2010, several improvements have been made, including reduction in technology. There have also been changes in announcing and pit reporters, most notably the moving Dr. Jerry Punch to pit road and IndyCar and occasional Nationwide Series lead announcer Marty Reid to lead broadcaster for the majority of NASCAR broadcasts beginning in 2010, including all Sprint Cup races. Sponsorship by non-NASCAR sponsors has also been reduced. Allen Bestwick took over as lead broadcaster for Sprint Cup Series races in 2011.
Once the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins and even in the races leading up to the Chase, ESPN has shifted its focus to the drivers in the Chase, in particular Jimmie Johnson
. Often if a driver not in the chase is leading and is passed for the lead by a Chase driver, he is not spoken of again for the rest of the broadcast. During the November 2009 race in Texas, the vast majority of the broadcast was spent talking about Jimmie Johnson despite the fact he crashed on the third lap of the race and finished 38th. This was a fear of many once the Chase was introduced.
Finally, in 2010 ESPN, with the consent of NASCAR, changed the networks that races were broadcast on. While the final eleven races of the season were broadcast on ABC from 2007–2009, all Sprint Cup races except for the three Saturday Night races in ESPN's portion of the schedule were switched to ESPN. (The Bristol night race, previously on ESPN, was moved to ABC.) This leaves only 3 races on over-the-air broadcasts for the last two-thirds of the NASCAR season. This, combined with the moving of the Brickyard 400, arguably NASCAR's second biggest race to ESPN, has angered fans and sponsors.
season, where Nationwide Series races often follow an early college football game. The broadcast start has also been delayed by Little League Baseball and ATP tennis. Many times (at least 15 as of 2010), NASCAR Countdown and even the start of the race have been moved to ESPN Classic
. Due to contractual agreements with Turner, ESPN cannot put broadcasts with ESPN3.com, another fact that has angered fans. However, in 2011 an agreement was reached letting ESPN put all NASCAR programming on WatchESPN.
In 2010, because of the move of Chase races to ESPN and the earlier 1:00 PM ET start time, ESPN moved NASCAR Countdown to ESPN2 for all Chase races starting at 1:00 PM ET to avoid shortening or moving it's Sunday NFL Countdown program. Viewers had to switch to the race at 1:00 PM ET from ESPN2 to ESPN. The next year, NASCAR moved the Chase races to later times (2:00 ET, then 3:00 ET for the final three races).
In July 2007, ESPN aired a series of related documentaries
. Three of them were countdown shows, ranking the greatest drivers, races, and rivalries in the sport's history. The other shows were "The Explosion" (a general overview), "The Dirt" (the origins of NASCAR), "The Cars" (the evolution of the NASCAR race car), "The Families" (an in-depth look at the Allison, Earnhardt and Petty families), and "Speed and Danger" (in which NASCAR drivers discuss the risks they take).
, and Allen Bestwick
), four different color commentator
s (Wallace, Petree, Jarrett, and Randy Lajoie
), nine different pit reporters (Jack Arute
, Bestwick, Dave Burns
, Gary Gerould
, Jamie Little
, Mike Massaro
, Marty Smith
, Spake, and Vince Welch
), six infield studio hosts (Musburger, Bestwick, Massaro, Chris Fowler
, Erik Kuselias
, and Suzy Kolber
), and at least four infield studio analysts (Daugherty, Brewer, Wallace, and Ray Evernham
). Three times during the season, the network did not use an infield studio for NASCAR Countdown, during the split races (where Nextel Cup and Busch Series were in different venues during the same weekend). Also, none of the talent has been at every race. In 2007, Daugherty had the longest streak, being at every race until the Meijer 300
at Kentucky Speedway
on June 16.
The main booth remained the same for all Sprint Cup races.
In 2008, Jarrett was to be granted two months off from the end of April to the end of June to prepare for being the analyst for all 17 Sprint Cup races.
The exact team to be used at each race is listed in an ESPN press release on this page.
See below for a more detailed list of announcers and their roles.
Reporters
[Note:] This show was either televised on ESPN
or ESPN2
whether ABC
, ESPN
, or, ESPN2
was televising the race. It was the pre-race show between 1995 and 2000. There wasn't a pre-race before 1995.
Analysts
Reporters
All Sprint Cup races
Selected Nationwide Series races
Regular pit reporters
Fill in pit reporters
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
, and ABC
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
. ABC, and later ESPN, carried NASCAR races from the sanctioning body's top three divisions at various points from the early 1960s until 2002. ESPN resumed coverage of NASCAR with the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in February 2007 and the Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis in July 2007. ESPN currently holds the rights to broadcast the final 17 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, including the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup as well as the entire NASCAR Nationwide Series season through the respective series' 2014 seasons.
History
ABC's involvement with NASCAR began in the days of ABC's Wide World of Sports, in which it presented some of the biggest races in stock car racingStock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
. One of its events was the Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
. ABC showed the last half of the race, except in 1976
1976 Daytona 500
In the 1976 Daytona 500, Richard Petty was leading on the last lap when he was passed on the backstretch by David Pearson. Petty tried to turn under Pearson coming off the final corner, but didn't clear Pearson. The contact caused the drivers to spin in to the grass in the infield just short of the...
, when it showed the first 30 laps, went to the Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...
and then came back for the wild finish, in which David Pearson edged out Richard Petty
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
with both cars sliding sideways across the track. The race TV rights went to CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
in 1979
1979 Daytona 500
The 1979 Daytona 500 was the second race of the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was held on February 18, 1979. Critics consider the 1979 Daytona 500 to be the most important race in stock car history....
. For much of the 1970s and 1980s, ABC broadcast NASCAR races on tape delay
Broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical...
. The commentary was added later in post production. They would actually sit in the booth and call something live if they needed to for the satellite feed. Otherwise, ABC would do all the editing afterwards for the final telecast.
ESPN began showing NASCAR races in 1981, with the first event being at North Carolina Speedway. The last of its 265 Cup telecasts (that number includes some on ABC Sports
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
) was the 2000
2000 in NASCAR
The 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on Sunday February 13 and ended on Sunday November 20. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte was crowned champion at season's end. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was won by Ford when they captured 14 wins and 234 points to better Pontiac's 11 wins...
Atlanta
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track just outside Hampton, Georgia, twenty miles south of Atlanta. It is a quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track...
fall race (now the Labor Day Classic 500). Even though Fox, FX, NBC, and TNT were the exclusive broadcasters of the Winston/Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series from 2001 to 2006, the ESPN networks still carried the Craftsman Truck Series in 2001 and 2002 because the Truck races were under a separate contract. Speed Channel took over the Truck broadcasts in 2003.
General information and history since 2007
Each race telecast begins with the pre-race show NASCAR CountdownNASCAR Countdown
NASCAR Countdown is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series prerace show that debuted on February 17, 2007. It is a live on-site pre-race show for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC...
. As of the 2011 season Nicole Briscoe is the usual host, with Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace
Rusty Wallace
Russell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...
providing commentary. It is typically 1 hour for Sprint Cup and major Nationwide races and a half-hour for all other Nationwide races. In addition to the races, ESPN2 airs a daily show called NASCAR Now
NASCAR Now
NASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
, which is similar to Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
and NFL Primetime
NFL Primetime
NFL Primetime is a sports television program that has aired on ESPN since 1987. The show is presented similarly to ESPN's own SportsCenter, featuring scores, highlights, and analysis of every game of the week in the NFL.-Format :...
. It airs daily on ESPN2 and is hosted by Briscoe, with various others substituting. Unlike other league shows on ESPN such as NFL Live
NFL Live
NFL Live is a National Football League studio show, currently airing Monday through Friday at 4:00 p.m and 12:30 a.m ET on the ESPN cable network. Formerly known as NFL 2Night, the program is the only NFL-related studio program to air during the week...
, Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
, and College Football Live
College Football Live
College Football Live is a show that airs weekdays on ESPN or ESPN2, and ESPNU. Its premiere was on Monday, July 23, 2007. Rece Davis is the lead host, but it also features ESPN college football analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Lou Holtz, Mark May, Desmond Howard, Bob Griese, and others...
, NASCAR Now only airs during the NASCAR season.
In 2007, 29 of the 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series races aired on ESPN2, with the other five airing on ABC. (At that time, the series was sponsored by Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
and known as the NASCAR Busch Series). ESPN2 started its coverage with the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
on February 17, 2007. ABC's first race was the Sam's Town 300
Sam's Town 300
The Sam's Town 300 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car race held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been scheduled as either the third, fourth, or fifth race of the season for the Nationwide Series since it was first held in 1997....
at Las Vegas on March 10. The first NEXTEL Cup race telecast was the Brickyard 400 on July 29 on ESPN. The next 5 races aired on ESPN and the Richmond race and the final 10 races (the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup
2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup
The 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup was the ten-race playoffs which concluded the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. It began with the Sylvania 300 on September 16, 2007 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and ended with the Ford 400 on November 18 of the same year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Jimmie...
) appeared on ABC.
The initial broadcast team consisted of Jerry Punch
Jerry Punch
Dr. Jerry Punch is an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville.-Early life and career:...
as the lead announcer with Wallace and Andy Petree
Andy Petree
Andy Petree , is a long-time fixture in NASCAR. After racing for years at local short track , Andy became part owner of the #32 Busch Series car for Dale Jarrett. By the age of 28, Andy was already a NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief on the Leo Jackson racing team...
as analysts. Allen Bestwick
Allen Bestwick
Allen Bestwick is the host of ESPN's NASCAR pre-race show NASCAR Countdown and play-by-play announcer for the Sprint Cup Series races for the same company. He took over that position in 2011 after serving as the countdown to green host from 2008-2010 and a pit reporter for the network in 2007...
, Mike Massaro
Mike Massaro
Mike Massaro is a racing analyst at ESPN for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On October 12, 2006, ESPN announced that Massaro will be a pit reporter when NASCAR coverage returns to ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC in 2007....
, Jamie Little
Jamie Little
Jamie Little from Las Vegas, Nevada is the pit reporter for NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series coverage on ESPN/ABC. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 Indianapolis 500...
, and Dave Burns
Dave Burns
Dave Burns , is a Dutch-British football coach. He is fluent in English and Dutch, and has basic knowledge of French and German....
were the pit reporters. Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
, Suzy Kolber
Suzy Kolber
Suzanne Lisa "Suzy" Kolber is a football sideline reporter, co-producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but rejoined ESPN in late 1999....
, and Chris Fowler
Chris Fowler
Chris Fowler is a sports broadcaster for ESPN known best for his work on College GameDay for college football. Since 1989, Fowler has been the primary studio host for college football. Until 2006, he was also the lead studio host for men's college basketball on ESPN...
contributed as studio hosts.
In 2008, ESPN moved Wallace and Bestwick from their positions. Bestwick became studio host while Wallace joined the studio team. Dale Jarrett
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship...
, who had retired at the end of the previous season and had worked part time for the network afterward, joined Punch and Petree as booth analyst. Shannon Spake
Shannon Spake
Shannon Spake is a NASCAR correspondent for ESPN. Spake contributes to both NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now, and occasionally appears on SportsCenter to give pre and post-race reports...
replaced Bestwick on pit road.
In 2009, the Monday edition of NASCAR Now became a roundtable show, similar to the old Inside NEXTEL Cup show that was on Speed Channel. Bestwick hosts the roundtable; he is also the former host of the Speed Channel program. The panelists rotate and have included Mike Massaro
Mike Massaro
Mike Massaro is a racing analyst at ESPN for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On October 12, 2006, ESPN announced that Massaro will be a pit reporter when NASCAR coverage returns to ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC in 2007....
, Johnny Benson
Johnny Benson
Jonathan Benson, Jr. is an American NASCAR driver and the son of former Michigan modified driver John Benson, Sr...
, Boris Said
Boris Said
Boris Said is an American race car driver from Carlsbad, California but considers his hometown to be Stamford, Connecticut. His father, Bob Said, was a Formula One race driver and US Olympic bobsled driver in 1968 and 1972. He drove the #26 Ford Fusion for Latitude 43 Motorsports in the NASCAR...
, Ray Evernham
Ray Evernham
Ray Evernham is currently a consultant for Hendrick Companies. In 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated “Person of the Year”.-Racer:...
, and Ricky Craven
Ricky Craven
Richard Allen Craven is an ESPN broadcaster who works ESPN2's NASCAR Now and a race analyst for the network. Prior to his ESPN duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the K&N Pro Series, and the three national series. He occasionally served as a pit reporter when NASCAR...
. Massaro has also filled in as host, including after the 2010 Daytona 500
2010 Daytona 500
The 2010 Daytona 500 was the 52nd running of "The Great American Race", and it kicked off the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season on February 14 at the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Fox telecast the race while radio coverage was handled by Sirius XM Radio...
. Beginning with the 2010 season, ESPN carried fourteen of the seventeen races, including the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup except for the Bank of America 500
Bank of America 500
The Bank of America 500 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that is hosted annually at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, United States. The race is usually held in the month of October, as part of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and is 500 miles long...
which continues to be televised on ABC. ABC acquired the Irwin Tools Night Race and kept the Air Guard 400 as part of its race coverage. Previously, ABC aired the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup and the Richmond race (now known as the Air Guard 400), but NASCAR's decision to standardize early start times conflicted with ABC's expanding Sunday morning political talk show lineup. This led to consternation among ABC's Southern affiliates, who counted on the races as a bulwark against NFL games on competing CBS and FOX stations. This decision was in-line with ESPN taking over the rights to the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
and the British Open as part of an ongoing strategy to shift sports programming from ABC to ESPN, to the outrage of many sports fans.
The ESPN family of networks continues to be exclusive home for almost every NASCAR Nationwide Series events. 22 of those races will be on ESPN2, with ABC carrying four and ESPN nine. Marty Reid
Marty Reid
Marty Reid is an American television sportscaster who has worked for ESPN since 1982.Reid is currently the lead television announcer for ESPN on ABC's coverage of the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and was the lead announcer for ESPN and ABC's NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage for the...
, who for the past several seasons was the lead play-by-play announcer for Indy Racing League events on the ESPN family of networks, became its lead NASCAR voice for the 2010 season replacing Jerry Punch
Jerry Punch
Dr. Jerry Punch is an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville.-Early life and career:...
. Andy Petree
Andy Petree
Andy Petree , is a long-time fixture in NASCAR. After racing for years at local short track , Andy became part owner of the #32 Busch Series car for Dale Jarrett. By the age of 28, Andy was already a NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief on the Leo Jackson racing team...
and Dale Jarrett
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship...
will return as color commentators, while Punch will move to lead pit reporter. The April 2011 race from Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
was produced and broadcast by SPEED
Speed
In kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance traveled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as...
due to conflicts with the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
and the NBA Playoffs
NBA Playoffs
The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...
which are also broadcast by ESPN.
Production
Each broadcast begins with NASCAR Countdown, ESPN's pre-race show. Using a mobile pit studio similar to FOX's Hollywood Hotel, the pre-race is typically led by host Nicole Briscoe with Brad Daugherty and Rusty WallaceRusty Wallace
Russell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...
. Daugherty and Wallace may be absent for weekends of Nationwide-only races, and Wallace occasionally moves to the broadcast booth for Nationwide races. The studio is not used at Nationwide races where ESPN is responsible for both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at two different tracks. The studio has not been used at Road America events where ESPN has brought a skeleton crew since the race is ESPN's only broadcast of the weekend due to the Little League World Series
Little League World Series
The Little League Baseball World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 11 to 13 years old. It was originally called the National Little League Tournament and was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South...
. The pre-race show is 30 minutes for Nationwide races and an hour for Sprint Cup races. Cuts to commercials see a plastic NASCAR Countdown logo in city attractions outside the track.
Practice and qualifying session broadcasts also originate from the studio and drivers will occasionally enter the studio during qualifying to preview their runs. Sprint Cup drivers have also been seen in the booth to commentate on Nationwide races.
All races are presented in high-definition, and all cameras, including those in the race cars, are capable of sending out HD pictures. Starting in 2011, in-car cameras are able to provide two camera angles instead of just one.
At the Bashas' Supermarkets 200
Bashas' Supermarkets 200
The Bashas' Supermarkets 200 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.Bashas' Supermarkets sponsored the November race from 2002 until 2004...
at Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...
on April 20, 2007, NASCAR on ESPN unveiled a new feature, "Full Throttle". In this feature, which takes place on one restart a race, the audio is provided by various team communications between drivers, crew chiefs, and spotters. Typically, this lasts for about one lap. This frequency has been reduced from its earlier use, and was not seen at all in 2011.
The pit studio
The ESPN pit studio is one of the most technologically advanced mobile studios in all of sports. It is the size of a big-rig trailer and weighs 78000 lbs. The interior is 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and holds five production crew members, three robotic cameras and the on-air hosts. The entire studio can be elevated 14 feet (4.3 m) and has 30 feet (9.1 m) of glass so the hosts and the fans can see the track. In 2008, the studio was re-decorated and used by ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
to cover the New Hampshire presidential primary. The studio also uses state-of-the-art LED lighting to light up the hosts.
General
Many visitors to forums and blogs such as The Daly Planet have complained that the coverage seen on ESPN and its related networks were not up to the standards set by the earlier version of network coverage. Their biggest complaints were excessive commercials, bored announcers, abuse of production technology, and language that seemed to talk down to them. Many said that they had found alternate means of racing coverage, including NASCAR Hot PassNASCAR Hot Pass
NASCAR Hot Pass is a complementary television package available exclusively on DirecTV in the United States and on various cable & satellite providers in Canada. It debuted at the 2007 Daytona 500, which aired on February 18 of that year. In 2007 and 2008, it was a pay-per-view subscription package...
, radio broadcasts, and NASCAR.com. Some were even looking forward to the return of NASCAR on Fox
NASCAR on Fox
NASCAR on Fox is the Emmy-winning branding used for Fox Sports's broadcasts of NASCAR races airing on the Fox network since 2001. The production has been in high-definition since 2005.-Background:...
, despite the gimmicks inherent to that portion of the racing season.
The many changes made in 2008, specifically the removal of on-air personalities with no previous NASCAR backgrounds and the reassignment of Wallace, may have come in response to these complaints.
NASCAR itself was disappointed at the production job done by ESPN at 2009 fall Talladega race. The morning of the race, in response to recent accidents at the track where cars went airborne, NASCAR instituted a rule banning bump drafting during the race. ESPN commentators frequented commented on how boring the race was because of the rule change, despite statistically (in numbers of lead changes and passes) being comparable to past races at the track. The rule change itself proved ineffective at preventing car flips and accidents, as both Ryan Newman and Mark Martin flipped their cars during the event, and was quickly reversed before the 2010 season.
Commentators often seem to be quite biased towards or against drivers on ESPN's NASCAR broadcasts, as with most of the network's racing broadcasts. At the 2008 AMP Energy 500
2008 AMP Energy 500
The 2008 AMP Energy 500, was race number thirty of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the fourth event of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on October 5 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, and marked the only race in the Championship Chase to utilize restrictor plates on...
, just after the finish, the station listened in on Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
's radio after he was controversially overtaken for the lead by Regan Smith
Regan Smith
Regan Smith is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #78 Furniture Row Chevrolet Impala for Furniture Row Racing.-Beginnings:...
. He said "It was below the yellow line, it was belo-" when he was cut off, appearing intentional. Punch often seemingly argued with Petree and Jarrett over whether or not the pass was illegal. This was one of many cases where ESPN analysts have shown bias.
ESPN also consistently shows a sponsorship bias in terms of how races are named when marketed by ESPN. In races that are named after corporate sponsors (i.e. U.S. Cellular 250
U.S. Cellular 250
The U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by the Enlist Weed Control System is a 250 lap NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.-Past winners:-References:*...
) and even ones without corporate naming or where the sponsor's name is not commonly used (i.e. Pennsylvania 500
Pennsylvania 500
The Good Sam RV Insurance 500 is the second of two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car races held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, the other being the Pocono 500...
), ESPN uses a generic name that takes the form of "NASCAR (series name) at (track name)", unless the sponsor of the race is also a sponsor of ESPN's NASCAR coverage. Additionally, some of the names are followed by one of ESPN's sponsors (i.e. GoDaddy.com). Additionally, ESPN has a considerably different set of sponsors than other NASCAR-covering networks, including competitors of official NASCAR sponsors (i.e. Toyo Tires, who once sponsored pit-road coverage during a Nationwide Series race, opposition of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, official tires of NASCAR). Generally these sponsors would not be allowed to appear on cars or at tracks, but there is not yet a restriction on television broadcasts. ESPN has a long standing policy of not advertising race advertisers unless they have paid a premium to the network. In 2011, the usage of non-NASCAR sponsors was discontinued.
In NASCAR on ESPN's advertising campaign, their slogan is "Feel your heart race", a slogan which has already been trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed by Kyle Petty
Kyle Petty
Kyle Eugene Petty is a former American NASCAR driver and is currently a co-host for NASCAR RaceDay and panel member for NASCAR Smarts which are both on SPEED. He also commentates for TNT in the summer. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of the late Adam...
's Victory Junction Gang. The latter's advertising also appears on ESPN-carried races. This was changed to "Cause it's Racing" in 2010 and "Noting Beats First Place" in 2011.
During broadcasts since 2010, several improvements have been made, including reduction in technology. There have also been changes in announcing and pit reporters, most notably the moving Dr. Jerry Punch to pit road and IndyCar and occasional Nationwide Series lead announcer Marty Reid to lead broadcaster for the majority of NASCAR broadcasts beginning in 2010, including all Sprint Cup races. Sponsorship by non-NASCAR sponsors has also been reduced. Allen Bestwick took over as lead broadcaster for Sprint Cup Series races in 2011.
Once the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins and even in the races leading up to the Chase, ESPN has shifted its focus to the drivers in the Chase, in particular Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He currently drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports....
. Often if a driver not in the chase is leading and is passed for the lead by a Chase driver, he is not spoken of again for the rest of the broadcast. During the November 2009 race in Texas, the vast majority of the broadcast was spent talking about Jimmie Johnson despite the fact he crashed on the third lap of the race and finished 38th. This was a fear of many once the Chase was introduced.
Finally, in 2010 ESPN, with the consent of NASCAR, changed the networks that races were broadcast on. While the final eleven races of the season were broadcast on ABC from 2007–2009, all Sprint Cup races except for the three Saturday Night races in ESPN's portion of the schedule were switched to ESPN. (The Bristol night race, previously on ESPN, was moved to ABC.) This leaves only 3 races on over-the-air broadcasts for the last two-thirds of the NASCAR season. This, combined with the moving of the Brickyard 400, arguably NASCAR's second biggest race to ESPN, has angered fans and sponsors.
Broadcast Interruptions
Due to ESPN's various sports commitments, there have been several interferences with NASCAR broadcasts. This is especially true during college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
season, where Nationwide Series races often follow an early college football game. The broadcast start has also been delayed by Little League Baseball and ATP tennis. Many times (at least 15 as of 2010), NASCAR Countdown and even the start of the race have been moved to ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
. Due to contractual agreements with Turner, ESPN cannot put broadcasts with ESPN3.com, another fact that has angered fans. However, in 2011 an agreement was reached letting ESPN put all NASCAR programming on WatchESPN.
In 2010, because of the move of Chase races to ESPN and the earlier 1:00 PM ET start time, ESPN moved NASCAR Countdown to ESPN2 for all Chase races starting at 1:00 PM ET to avoid shortening or moving it's Sunday NFL Countdown program. Viewers had to switch to the race at 1:00 PM ET from ESPN2 to ESPN. The next year, NASCAR moved the Chase races to later times (2:00 ET, then 3:00 ET for the final three races).
Network pre-emptions and relocations
- On September 30, 2007, the end of the LifeLock 4002007 LifeLock 400The 2007 LifeLock 400 is the 29th race in the 2007 NASCAR season and the third race of the ten in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup Championship Series. The event, held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, was run on September 30, 2007....
, part of that season's Chase2007 Chase for the NEXTEL CupThe 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup was the ten-race playoffs which concluded the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. It began with the Sylvania 300 on September 16, 2007 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and ended with the Ford 400 on November 18 of the same year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Jimmie...
, was moved to ESPN2 when a rain delay went past 6 p.m. ET, the end of the allotted broadcast window. This was in contrast to Fox and NBC coverage, which typically stayed on those stations even if the races ran long past the expected time. - On March 15, 2008, the Sharpie Mini 300Sharpie Mini 300The Scotts EZ Seed 300 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race that takes place at Bristol Motor Speedway. The first Busch Series race at Bristol was 150 laps, and was won by Phil Parsons in 1982. The race was not held in 1984. The race has increased in length several times since then...
moved from ABC to ESPN ClassicESPN ClassicESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
at 6:15 p.m. so that ABC could show World News Saturday in the Eastern and Central time zones. The race was in a rain delay at the time and it was not resumed. - On May 2, 2008, the Lipton Tea 250 was moved from ESPN2 to ESPN Classic due to ESPN2's commitment to cover game 6 of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Washington Wizards first-round NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
playoff2008 NBA PlayoffsThe 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
series. Because ESPN Classic has a much more limited potential audience than ESPN or ESPN2, NASCAR asked Speed ChannelSPEED ChannelSpeed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
to simulcast the race, and it agreed. ESPN2 then rebroadcast the race in its entirety after the basketball game. A similar arrangement was reached for the Kroger On Track for the Cure 250, scheduled for October 2008 at Memphis Motorsports ParkMemphis Motorsports ParkMemphis International Raceway is an auto racing park located across the Loosahatchie River from Memphis, Tennessee, approximately ten miles south of Millington, Tennessee. The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile road course...
. - On November 9, 2008, the conclusion of the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 5002008 Checker Auto Parts 500The 2008 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was the penultimate race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 312-lap, event on the circuit was held on November 9 at Phoenix International Raceway in the Phoenix, Arizona suburb of Avondale...
aired on ESPN2 because the race exceeded the allowable broadcast window due to two red-flag delays. ABC affiliates in the Eastern and Central time zoneTime zoneA time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
s aired America's Funniest Home VideosAmerica's Funniest Home VideosAmerica's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
instead, while those in the MountainMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
and PacificPacific Time ZoneThe Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
time zones stayed with race coverage, with ESPN2 serving as a simulcast.
- On August 22, 2009 at the Sharpie 5002009 Sharpie 500The 2009 Sharpie 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 22, 2009 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The 500 lap race was the twenty-fourth in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kyle Busch, of the Joe Gibbs Racing team, won the race, with Mark Martin...
at Bristol Motor Speedway, both the invocation and the national anthem were preempted because the Little League World Series2009 Little League World Series-Pool play:The top two teams in each pool move on to their respective semifinals. The winners of each will meet on August 30 to play for the Little League World Championship. Teams marked in green qualified to the knockout stage, while teams marked in red were eliminated.Ties are broken based on...
game ran long. - On July 31, 2010, the first 23 laps of the Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250U.S. Cellular 250The U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by the Enlist Weed Control System is a 250 lap NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.-Past winners:-References:*...
at the Iowa SpeedwayIowa SpeedwayIowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. The track was designed with influence from Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond International Raceway, a short track where Wallace was very successful...
, as well as all pre-race programming, were moved to ESPN ClassicESPN ClassicESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
because of a semifinal match at the ATP Legg Mason Classic that ran long. This came shortly after the channel was upgraded to more expensive channel tiers on DirecTVDirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish NetworkDish NetworkDish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, among other providers. - The following day, August 1, the final round of the Women's British OpenWomen's British OpenThe Women's British Open is a leading event in women's professional golf and the only tournament which is classified as a major championship by both the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. Since 2007, it has been called the Ricoh Women's British Open, for sponsorship reasons...
ran a few minutes past 1 p.m. ET, meaning that the pre-race ceremonies of the Pennsylvania 5002010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500The 2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 1, 2010 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 200 laps, it was the twenty-first race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Greg Biffle for the...
were pre-empted. ESPN2, which picked up NASCAR Countdown from ESPN due to the conflict, had to start its coverage of the X Games at that time. However, the race itself was not affected. - On October 2, 2010, NASCAR Countdown and the first several laps of the Kansas Lottery 300 were aired on ESPN Classic due to the Clemson-Miami football game running longer than anticipated.
- On November 1, 2010, due to technical difficulties, the last 45 minutes of Sunday NFL CountdownSunday NFL CountdownNFL GameDay redirects here. For the video games series, see NFL GameDay Sunday NFL Countdown is a pregame show of all the NFL action for that week. The official name is Sunday NFL Countdown presented by IBM. The show airs on ESPN, ESPN HD, TSN and TSN HD from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time every...
and the first 57 laps of the 2010 AMP Energy Juice 500 were preempted on some providers. - The 2011 Bubba Burger 250, scheduled for April 29 was moved from ESPN to Speed due to anticipated conflicts on both ESPN (with the second night of the 2011 NFL Draft2011 NFL DraftThe 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players...
) and ESPN2 (one or more NBA playoff games). Unlike past conflicts, this broadcast was produced entirely by SPEED combining their Truck & FOX's Sprint Cup broadcasting teams.
Local station pre-emptions
- The Subway 5002007 Subway 500The 2007 Subway 500, the 32nd race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season and the sixth race in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, ran on Sunday, October 21st, 2007, at Martinsville Speedway, located on the outskirts of Martinsville, Virginia...
from Martinsville SpeedwayMartinsville SpeedwayMartinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, near Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved...
was not shown on KABCKABC-TVKABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(the second largest media marketMedia marketA media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) on October 21 due to the California wildfires of October 2007, specifically the Buckweed fire in Santa ClaritaSanta Clarita, CaliforniaSanta Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-fourth largest city in the state of California. The 2010 US Census reported the city's population grew 16.7% from the year 2000 to 176,320 residents. It is located about northwest of downtown...
and the Canyon fire in Malibu. Instead, the broadcast was shown on digital subchannelDigital subchannelIn broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
ABC7+, which is not available to all local residents. - Several stations chose to pre-empt NASCAR CountdownNASCAR CountdownNASCAR Countdown is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series prerace show that debuted on February 17, 2007. It is a live on-site pre-race show for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC...
for local news. KABC did so before every Saturday night race in 2007 and 2008, and also did it before the 2007 Ford 4002007 Ford 400The 2007 Ford 400, the final race of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season for 2007 and the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, was run on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, located in Dade County outside Miami, the final event of the three day Ford Championship...
, a Sunday-afternoon event, to show The Suite Life of Zack and CodyThe Suite Life of Zack and CodyThe Suite Life of Zack & Cody is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series premiered on Disney Channel on March 18, 2005 with 4 million viewers, making it the most successful premiere for Disney Channel in 2005. It was one of their first five shows available on the...
from the Disney Channel to fulfill an E/IE/IE/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
programming requirement. WPLGWPLGWPLG, channel 10, is an ABC network affiliated television station located in Miami, Florida. WPLG is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station's studios are located in Pembroke Park, and its transmitter is located at the massive broadcast...
in Miami, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and KSAT-TVKSAT-TVKSAT-TV channel 12 is the local ABC affiliate television station in the greater San Antonio area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas. The station calls itself KSAT 12, pronounced as "K-Sat"....
in San Antonio, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
also did so at least once in 2007. On November 1, 2009, the day of the 2009 AMP Energy 5002009 AMP Energy 500The 2009 AMP Energy 500 was the 33rd race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the seventh event of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 1, 2009 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, and is the only race in the Championship Chase to utilize restrictor plates...
, KXLY-TVKXLY-TVKXLY-TV, virtual channel 4, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Spokane, Washington, USA. KXLY-TV is owned by Spokane Television Group, a subsidiary of Morgan Murphy Media, it is one of five local Spokane TV stations seen in Canada on the Shaw Direct satellite provider.-History:Although KHQ...
in Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, WashingtonSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
preempted NASCAR Countdown and instead aired Hannah MontanaHannah MontanaHannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody also to fulfill E/I. - At the other end of the scale, KTKA in Topeka, KansasTopeka, KansasTopeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
left the 2007 Bank of America 5002007 Bank of America 500The 2007 Bank of America 500, the 31st race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, and the fifth race of the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, was run on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte...
on October 13 to launch its nightly late newscast at 10 p.m. Central time and did not return. Topeka is located about 60 miles from EmporiaEmporia, KansasEmporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
, the hometown of NASCAR Cup driver (and 2007 Chase participant) Clint BowyerClint BowyerClint Bowyer is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #15 5 Hour Energy Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series for Michael Waltrip Racing. Early in his career, he drove for Richard Childress Racing. He won the 2008 Nationwide Series championship....
. KSAT also aired a brief news update, which came during a red flagRed flagIn politics, a red flag is a symbol of Socialism, or Communism, or sometimes left-wing politics in general. It has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution. Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it became a symbol of communism as a result of its...
, but returned in time for the checkered flag. - The 2008 Sharpie Mini 300Sharpie Mini 300The Scotts EZ Seed 300 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race that takes place at Bristol Motor Speedway. The first Busch Series race at Bristol was 150 laps, and was won by Phil Parsons in 1982. The race was not held in 1984. The race has increased in length several times since then...
was not seen on several ABC stations for various reasons, ranging from weather bulletins (WSBWSB-TVWSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
in Atlanta and WSOCWSOC-TVWSOC-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. The station's studio is located at North Tryon and 23rd Streets, just north of Uptown Charlotte, and is shared with sister station WAXN-TV . The transmitter is located just outside...
in CharlotteCharlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
) to the Big 12 basketball tournament2008 Big 12 Men's Basketball TournamentThe 2008 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship was the 2008 edition of the Big 12 Conference's championship tournament held at the Sprint Center in Kansas City from March 13 until March 16, 2008. It was the 12th Big 12 tournament in the series...
(KLKNKLKNKLKN, channel 8, is the ABC-affiliated television station in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. It is owned by Citadel Communications...
in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, NebraskaThe City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
and WOIWOI-TVWOI-DT, channel 5, is the ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Ames, and serving the Des Moines, Iowa market. Its studios are in West Des Moines...
in Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, among other stations in the conference's footprint). In addition, WABCWABC-TVWABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
carried the race, but pre-empted NASCAR Countdown and the rain delay to cover a construction accidentMarch 2008 Manhattan construction crane collapseOn March 15, 2008, a crane owned by New York Crane & Equipment collapsed at 303 East 51st Street on 51st Street in Manhattan, New York, United States. Seven people were killed and 24 others were injured. It was a luffing-jib tower crane manufactured by Favco that was 200 feet tall at the time of...
at a high-rise building in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. - The pre-race for the 2008 Bank of America 5002008 Bank of America 500The 2008 Bank of America 500, was the thirty-first race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and race five of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, serving as the only Saturday night race in the Chase as of 2008. The 334-lap, event was held on October 11 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina...
was not seen on at least seven stations: KABC,KSAT, WPVI in Philadelphia, WXYZ-TVWXYZ-TVWXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
in Detroit, WEWS in Cleveland, WFTS in the Tampa Bay areaTampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and KXLY. All of them aired newscasts, except for WXYZ, which aired a charity fundraiser. - The final eight laps of the 2008 Pep Boys Auto 5002008 Pep Boys Auto 500The 2008 Pep Boys Auto 500, is the thirty-third race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the third to the last race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Pep Boys Auto 500 was held on October 26 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia...
were not shown on KOAT, the ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. The station cut away at 4 p.m. Mountain timeMountain Time ZoneThe Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
to show a debate between the major party candidates for the election for the state's First District of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. The ending was shifted to ESPN2, but only those receiving KOAT on local cable (mostly ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
) were able to see it; those who receive the station via satellite continued to get the national feed of ESPN2. On the same day, KXLY went off the air on the day of the race due to a transmitter problem, so obviously there was no telecast back to that area. - On August 21, 20102010 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesThe 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was the 62nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States. Beginning at Daytona International Speedway, the season included 36 races and two exhibition races. The season concluded with the 2010 Ford 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway...
, eight ABC affiliates pre-empted the summer race at Bristol2010 Irwin Tools Night RaceThe 2010 Irwin Tools Night Race was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 21, 2010 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps, it was the twenty-fourth race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Kyle Busch, for the...
due to coverage of National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
preseason games, and WXYZWXYZ-TVWXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
joined the race in progress due to the Woodward Dream CruiseWoodward Dream CruiseThe Woodward Dream Cruise event is a classic car event held annually on the third Saturday of August in Metropolitan Detroit, along Woodward Avenue. The WDC Event spans much of the avenue, from Pontiac through Ferndale in Oakland County, Michigan, all the way to the State Fair Grounds inside the...
, a major civic event in Detroit. In Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, the race was moved to a sister station, in six other cases the race was picked up by a digital subchannel, and in the other two it was not shown at all. One of those two was Joplin, MissouriJoplin, MissouriJoplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
, meaning that fans there missed local driver Jamie McMurrayJamie McMurrayJames Christopher "Jamie" McMurray is a professional American race car driver. McMurray is best known for winning the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 as a substitute driver in his second Winston Cup start, and is one of three drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year...
's third-place finish. - WKRN Channel 2 in Nashville, TN showed a Tennessee Titans pre-season game instead of the 2011 Irwin Tools Night Race. The station scrolled on the screen that the race could be seen on ESPN2. But due to the failure of Local station communication with ABC/ESPN local residents who use Charter Cable did not receive the race, instead they were served Billiards, Worlds Strongest Man, and High School Football.
- Several east coast stations moved the 2011 Irwin Tools Night Race to ESPN2 as local ABC stations aired Hurricane Irene coverage. In those areas, the race was not available on DirecTV HD but instead, on an alternate, low-quality feed.
Missing race endings
- On August 24, 2007, the final five laps of the Food City 250Food City 250The Food City 250 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car race that takes place each August under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. It is held the night before the Sprint Cup Series Sharpie 500...
NBS race at Bristol Motor SpeedwayBristol Motor SpeedwayBristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961...
were not televised by ESPN2ESPN2ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
. The reason was that a satelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
uplinkUplinkA telecommunications link is generally one of several types of information transmission paths such as those provided by communication satellites to connect two points on earth.-Uplink:...
path was somehow eliminated, preventing the master controlMaster controlMaster control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated...
at the network headquarters (ironically in Bristol, ConnecticutBristol, ConnecticutBristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
; the track is in Bristol, TennesseeBristol, TennesseeBristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...
) from re-transmitting the event to cableCable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and satelliteSatellite televisionSatellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
providers. Instead, viewers saw a blank screen, then the ESPN2 logo "screensaverScreensaverA screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
," then some commercials. By the time the problem was rectified, the race was over, with Kasey KahneKasey KahneKasey Kenneth Kahne is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #5 Farmers Insurance Group Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series....
as the winner. Jerry PunchJerry PunchDr. Jerry Punch is an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville.-Early life and career:...
, the lap-by-lap announcer, apologized for the error immediately and the final two laps were shown on replay unedited. In addition, the first rebroadcast showed the same laps as they were intended to be broadcast - with on-screen ticker and GEICOGEICOThe Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
sponsorship bug - just after 4:30 a.m. ET the next morning. An ESPN spokesman blamed a "human error" of an unspecified nature. - With nine laps remaining in the 20082008 NASCAR Nationwide SeriesThe 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series began on February 16, 2008, at Daytona International Speedway with the Camping World 300, and ended on November 15, 2008, at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 300. This was the first season in which NASCAR's second-tier series was known as the Nationwide...
Federated Auto Parts 300Federated Auto Parts 300The Federated Auto Parts 300 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race that takes place at Nashville Superspeedway. The race is one of two races held at the track, which received a second date on the then-Busch Series schedule one year after the track opened...
, one or more feeds of ESPN2 on DirecTVDirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
suddenly cut off and was replaced by a static screen of the provider's logo, with audio from XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
's Top TracksTop TracksTop-Tracks was a fully automated XM classic rock channel. The station was available on XM 46 and DirecTV Channel 833 . The channel focuses on classic rock artists such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, and some...
channel. By the time the picture returned, the race was over and Brad KeselowskiBrad KeselowskiBradley Robert Keselowski is an American auto racing driver currently competing in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the #22 Discount Tire Company/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing...
celebrated his first win in the series, by then renamed Nationwide Series. The exact cause of the failure is unknown. Blogger John M. Daly blamed the problem on an error in the routing system in which the picture is sent to master control, and that neither ESPN2HD nor cable companies were affected. However, on a message board dealing with TV auto racing, moderator Cheryl Lauer reported that the opposite had happened to her, that HD was out while SD was broadcasting normally. She thought the problem was due to a complication in testing signals from a new satellite, D11DirecTV-11DirecTV-11, also known as D11, is a Boeing model 702 satellite built by the Boeing Satellite Development Center.- Technology :This satellite is functionally identical to DirecTV-10 and is co-located with SPACEWAY-2 at or very near 99.225°W.- Launch data :...
.
Other problems/issues
- Due to college football2007 NCAA Division I FBS football seasonThe 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 30, 2007, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 7, 2008, where the top...
commitments - and an exceedingly long race which had 26 caution flags - coverage of the Busch Series Sam's Town 250 on October 27, 2007 ended the moment that David ReutimannDavid ReutimannEmil David Reutimann is the driver the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine/Tums/Best Western Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...
took the checkered flag to win the race. There was no post-race interview with Reutimann, summary of the finishing order, or any other usual post-race programming. No interview aired on ESPNEWSESPNEWSESPNEWS , launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel...
or SportsCenterSportsCenterSportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
, either, another decision that rankled some long-time fans. - In addition, some drivers had testy relationships with ESPN reporters. Tony StewartTony StewartAnthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
was fined and had points taken away after his win at the Allstate 4002007 Allstate 400 at the BrickyardThe 2007 Allstate 400 at The Brickyard was the twentieth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season and the first race under the ESPN/ABC section of the TV coverage. It was held on July 29, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana....
in 2007; he used an obscenityObscenityAn obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
in his post-race interview. During it, he implied unfair treatment by the network in the past. Also, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Jr.* NOTE: References to "Earnhardt", "he", and "him" refer to the subject of this article, unless otherwise specified. References to his father will include "Sr."...
looked very uneasy in his interview with Mike MassaroMike MassaroMike Massaro is a racing analyst at ESPN for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On October 12, 2006, ESPN announced that Massaro will be a pit reporter when NASCAR coverage returns to ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC in 2007....
at the Chevy Rock and Roll 4002007 Chevy Rock & Roll 400The 2007 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 was the twenty-sixth and final "regular season" race in the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. The race was run on Saturday night, September 8, 2007 at Richmond International Raceway in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside of Virginia's state capital...
; Massaro ran a lengthy talk after Earnhardt Jr. dropped out with engine failure. And in 20092009 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesThe 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was the 61st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, which began at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, with the 2009 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, a race for the top six teams of the four brands in the 2008...
, Juan Pablo MontoyaJuan Pablo MontoyaJuan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint...
walked out on an interview with Vince WelchVince WelchVince Welch is an American radio and television personality. From 1998 to March 2007, he was the sports program director at WIBC in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to that job, he worked as a sports reporter at WISH-TV and as sports director for WNDY, both in Indianapolis...
after the Pennsylvania 500 due to a line of questioning he was not happy with.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8X9qKfw8CY - Most of the races broadcast on ESPN on ABCESPN on ABCESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
had very minimal or no post-race coverage. Several times, ESPN only interviewed the winner and 2nd place drivers. The most likely explanation is that the next program is, typically, ABC World News Sunday or a local newscast; the network wants to start the newscast as soon as possible. - At the 2007 Dickies 5002007 Dickies 500The 2007 Dickies 500 was the 34th race in the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season and the third to last race in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. This race took place on Sunday, November 4th at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.-Pre-race news:...
at Texas Motor SpeedwayTexas Motor SpeedwayTexas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....
, the majority of the coverage was focused on Jeff GordonJeff GordonJeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
and Jimmie JohnsonJimmie JohnsonJimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He currently drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports....
. There was only one mention when Juan Pablo MontoyaJuan Pablo MontoyaJuan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint...
led the opening laps of the race and ESPN on ABCESPN on ABCESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
did not air several of the lead changes or mention them on air. In addition, during the Busch Series O'Reilly ChallengeO'Reilly ChallengeThe O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge is a NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car race that takes place at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The race came about from the results of the Ferko lawsuit in 2004...
race at Texas, the final laps were broadcast from an in-car camera of points championship leader Carl EdwardsCarl EdwardsCarl Michael Edwards, II is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #99 Fastenal/Aflac Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series and the #60 Ford in the Nationwide Series for Roush Fenway Racing...
. ESPN did not air the finish of the race where Kevin HarvickKevin HarvickKevin Michael Harvick is an American stock car auto racing race car driver and car owner currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the No. 29 Budweiser/Jimmy John's/Rheem/Okuma/Realtree Outdoors/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet Impala...
won and instead stayed with an in-car shot of Edwards through the finish. - At the 2007 UAW-Ford 5002007 UAW-Ford 500The 2007 UAW-Ford 500 was the 30th race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Season and the fourth race in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. This race was raced on Sunday, October 7, 2007 at the Talladega Superspeedway outside of Talladega, Alabama....
at Talladega, ESPN on ABC did not air the final lead change as they were covering a battle a little deeper in the field. Jeff GordonJeff GordonJeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
made the race winning move without mention of the lead change on ESPN on ABC until well after it had happened. Gordon won the race. - At the 2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 5002010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500The 2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 1, 2010 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 200 laps, it was the twenty-first race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Greg Biffle for the...
, Kurt BuschKurt BuschKurt Thomas Busch is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 22 Shell Oil Company/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and will race on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA...
and Elliott SadlerElliott SadlerElliott William Barnes Sadler is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. He is one of only 23 drivers to have won in each of NASCAR's top three series...
crashed violently during the late stages of the race. ESPN could get multiple angles on Busch's wreck, but ESPN only could get one small angle of Sadler's crash leaving many fans angry about not knowing how Sadler crashed and hit the inside wall. - Shortly after the 2011 DRIVE4COPD 300, ESPN lost audio just as race winner Stewart was about to answer a question. Due to those technical problems, ESPN began its special edition of SportsCenterSportsCenterSportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
, from an infield studio at Daytona, early. The interviews with Stewart and Earnhardt, Jr. were still recorded and played back 18 minutes later with the audio restored. However, the usual final tape montage and proper sign-off was not shown, at least not in the original live versions. - At the 2011 Tums Fast Relief 5002011 Tums Fast Relief 500The 2011 Tums Fast Relief 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 30, 2011 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States. Contested over 500 laps on the 0.526-mile oval, it was the 33rd race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the seventh race...
at Martinsville, ESPN did not show the final lead change because Brad KeselowskiBrad KeselowskiBradley Robert Keselowski is an American auto racing driver currently competing in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the #22 Discount Tire Company/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing...
spun around, Tony StewartTony StewartAnthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
made the race winning move around Jimmie JohnsonJimmie JohnsonJimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He currently drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports....
.
Ultimate NASCAR
In addition to race coverage, ESPN has aired a series of programs called Ultimate NASCAR. The series began in April 2007, when the network began to air a series of 100 one-minute vignettes highlighting NASCAR's most important moments as selected by a panel of experts. The vignettes aired every day until July 29. These moments are also recounted in a companion book published by the network.In July 2007, ESPN aired a series of related documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
. Three of them were countdown shows, ranking the greatest drivers, races, and rivalries in the sport's history. The other shows were "The Explosion" (a general overview), "The Dirt" (the origins of NASCAR), "The Cars" (the evolution of the NASCAR race car), "The Families" (an in-depth look at the Allison, Earnhardt and Petty families), and "Speed and Danger" (in which NASCAR drivers discuss the risks they take).
Lineup variations
In order to reduce the workload of announcers during the first half of the season, ESPN constantly changes the lineup of those who cover the activities on the race track. In the 2007 season, ESPN used three different lap-by-lap announcers (Punch, Marty ReidMarty Reid
Marty Reid is an American television sportscaster who has worked for ESPN since 1982.Reid is currently the lead television announcer for ESPN on ABC's coverage of the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and was the lead announcer for ESPN and ABC's NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage for the...
, and Allen Bestwick
Allen Bestwick
Allen Bestwick is the host of ESPN's NASCAR pre-race show NASCAR Countdown and play-by-play announcer for the Sprint Cup Series races for the same company. He took over that position in 2011 after serving as the countdown to green host from 2008-2010 and a pit reporter for the network in 2007...
), four different color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
s (Wallace, Petree, Jarrett, and Randy Lajoie
Randy LaJoie
Randall LaJoie was a driver in the NASCAR Busch Series , where he is a two-time champion. Presently, he does not have a full-time ride. He is the father of racers Casey and Corey LaJoie.-Early racing career:LaJoie started racing go-karts when he was 12 years old...
), nine different pit reporters (Jack Arute
Jack Arute
Jack Arute, Jr. currently covers the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He is the president of the Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut...
, Bestwick, Dave Burns
Dave Burns
Dave Burns , is a Dutch-British football coach. He is fluent in English and Dutch, and has basic knowledge of French and German....
, Gary Gerould
Gary Gerould
Gary Gerould is an American sportscaster, best known as the radio voice of the NBA's Sacramento Kings since 1985 and as a motorsports reporter for ABC and ESPN....
, Jamie Little
Jamie Little
Jamie Little from Las Vegas, Nevada is the pit reporter for NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series coverage on ESPN/ABC. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 Indianapolis 500...
, Mike Massaro
Mike Massaro
Mike Massaro is a racing analyst at ESPN for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On October 12, 2006, ESPN announced that Massaro will be a pit reporter when NASCAR coverage returns to ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC in 2007....
, Marty Smith
Marty Smith
Marty Smith is a former professional motocross racer. He won three AMA National Motocross championships, all aboard Hondas, and was runner-up twice...
, Spake, and Vince Welch
Vince Welch
Vince Welch is an American radio and television personality. From 1998 to March 2007, he was the sports program director at WIBC in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to that job, he worked as a sports reporter at WISH-TV and as sports director for WNDY, both in Indianapolis...
), six infield studio hosts (Musburger, Bestwick, Massaro, Chris Fowler
Chris Fowler
Chris Fowler is a sports broadcaster for ESPN known best for his work on College GameDay for college football. Since 1989, Fowler has been the primary studio host for college football. Until 2006, he was also the lead studio host for men's college basketball on ESPN...
, Erik Kuselias
Erik Kuselias
Erik Kuselias is a television and radio host. He is the current co-host of Golf Channel's Morning Drive program and is the former host of NASCAR Now on ESPN2, andThe SportsBash on ESPN Radio...
, and Suzy Kolber
Suzy Kolber
Suzanne Lisa "Suzy" Kolber is a football sideline reporter, co-producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but rejoined ESPN in late 1999....
), and at least four infield studio analysts (Daugherty, Brewer, Wallace, and Ray Evernham
Ray Evernham
Ray Evernham is currently a consultant for Hendrick Companies. In 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated “Person of the Year”.-Racer:...
). Three times during the season, the network did not use an infield studio for NASCAR Countdown, during the split races (where Nextel Cup and Busch Series were in different venues during the same weekend). Also, none of the talent has been at every race. In 2007, Daugherty had the longest streak, being at every race until the Meijer 300
Meijer 300
The Feed the Children 300 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, United States. The distance of the race is 300 miles .-History:...
at Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
on June 16.
The main booth remained the same for all Sprint Cup races.
In 2008, Jarrett was to be granted two months off from the end of April to the end of June to prepare for being the analyst for all 17 Sprint Cup races.
The exact team to be used at each race is listed in an ESPN press release on this page.
See below for a more detailed list of announcers and their roles.
NASCAR 2Day
Host- Dave DespainDave DespainDave Despain is an American motor sports journalist. He is the host of WindTunnel with Dave Despain on Speed Channel, and formerly the host of Inside Nextel Cup, until the latter underwent a format change at the beginning of the 2008 NASCAR Season.-Early life and career:A native of Fairfield,...
: (1995–2000)
Reporters
- Bill WeberBill WeberBill Weber is a former television sports commentator, perhaps best known for his work on TNT and NBC NASCAR broadcasts. Weber was also the lead announcer for Champ Car World Series events and other auto racing series on NBC. He currently is working as an illusionist.-Early life and career:Weber...
: (1995–2000) - Ray Dunlap: (1997–2000)
- Matt YocumMatt YocumMatt Yocum is a long standing reporter in motorsports. He is best known for his pit reporting in the sport of NASCAR.-Biography:Matt Yocum's exposure to automobile racing began at an early age...
: (1998–2000)
[Note:] This show was either televised on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
or ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
whether ABC
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, or, ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
was televising the race. It was the pre-race show between 1995 and 2000. There wasn't a pre-race before 1995.
Lap-by-Lap
- Bob JenkinsBob JenkinsBob Jenkins is an American television and radio sports announcer with NBC Sports Network, also known for his work at ABC and ESPN calling IndyCar and NASCAR telecasts. He is currently the lead commentator for the IndyCar Series on NBC Sports Network.-ESPN and ABC:Bob Jenkins was born in Richmond,...
: NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Winston Cup Series (1981–2000), NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (1981–2000), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1995–2000) - was a fill in lap by lap announcer for Jerry PunchJerry PunchDr. Jerry Punch is an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville.-Early life and career:...
on NASCAR Busch Grand National series races and Dave DespainDave DespainDave Despain is an American motor sports journalist. He is the host of WindTunnel with Dave Despain on Speed Channel, and formerly the host of Inside Nextel Cup, until the latter underwent a format change at the beginning of the 2008 NASCAR Season.-Early life and career:A native of Fairfield,...
and Marty ReidMarty ReidMarty Reid is an American television sportscaster who has worked for ESPN since 1982.Reid is currently the lead television announcer for ESPN on ABC's coverage of the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and was the lead announcer for ESPN and ABC's NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage for the...
on NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. - Jerry PunchJerry PunchDr. Jerry Punch is an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville.-Early life and career:...
*: NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1984–2000), NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (1984–2000), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2001–2002) Sprint Cup Series (2007-2009) - Marty ReidMarty ReidMarty Reid is an American television sportscaster who has worked for ESPN since 1982.Reid is currently the lead television announcer for ESPN on ABC's coverage of the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and was the lead announcer for ESPN and ABC's NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage for the...
: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1999–2000), NASCAR Nationwide Series (2008–Present), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (2010) - Dave DespainDave DespainDave Despain is an American motor sports journalist. He is the host of WindTunnel with Dave Despain on Speed Channel, and formerly the host of Inside Nextel Cup, until the latter underwent a format change at the beginning of the 2008 NASCAR Season.-Early life and career:A native of Fairfield,...
: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1995–1998)
Analysts
- Benny ParsonsBenny ParsonsBenjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...
: NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1989–2000), NASCAR Busch Grand National Series] (1989–2000), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1995–2000) - Ned JarrettNed JarrettNed Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
: NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1988–2000), NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (1988–2000) - was a fill in lap by lap announcer for Bob Jenkins between 1984 and 2000 on NASCAR Winston Cup Series races. - he did not provide analysis for races on ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
due to his network contract with CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Therefore he only worked for ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming.... - Ray EvernhamRay EvernhamRay Evernham is currently a consultant for Hendrick Companies. In 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated “Person of the Year”.-Racer:...
: NASCAR Winston Cup Series (2000) - after he left Jeff GordonJeff GordonJeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
's # 24 DuPontDuPontE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
ChevroletChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
team from Hendrick MotorsportsHendrick MotorsportsHendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...
to help DodgeDodgeDodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
return to NASCAR, he became the second analyst in the booth for ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's coverage of NASCAR, essentially filling Ned JarrettNed JarrettNed Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
's role for ABC races. - Phil ParsonsPhil ParsonsPhil Parsons , is a former NASCAR driver and owner of MSRP Motorsports . He is also the younger brother of the late 1973 Winston Cup champion and former NBC/TNT commentator Benny Parsons. Years later, he returned to the Busch Series, where he enjoyed modest success...
: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2001–2002) - was only an analyst for ESPN. ABC didn't carry any of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races in 20012001 in NASCARThe 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup season began on February 11 at the Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 23 at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports was crowned series champion for the fourth time in seven years. The season was marked by tragedy,...
or 20022002 in NASCARThe 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup began on Saturday, February 10, and ended on Sunday, November 17. Tony Stewart with Joe Gibbs Racing was crowned the Winston Cup champion. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was captured by Ford after winning 14 events, and gaining 245 points over second place...
. However, he did do pit reporting for ABC's coverage of the 19951995 in NASCARThe 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on February 12 and concluded November 12. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his first career championship.- Overview :...
Truck Series Ford Credit 125 from Mesa Marin.
Pit Reporters
- Jerry PunchJerry PunchDr. Jerry Punch is an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville.-Early life and career:...
: NASCAR Winston Cup Series(1984–2000) - Bill WeberBill WeberBill Weber is a former television sports commentator, perhaps best known for his work on TNT and NBC NASCAR broadcasts. Weber was also the lead announcer for Champ Car World Series events and other auto racing series on NBC. He currently is working as an illusionist.-Early life and career:Weber...
: NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1995–2000), NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (1995–2000) - John Kernan: NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1990–2000), NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (1990–2000)
- Ray Dunlap: NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1997–2000), NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (1997–2000), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1998–2002) - was a fill in pit reporter when Punch, Weber, and Kernan were on other assignments for NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and NASCAR Busch Grand National Series races.
- Amy East: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1999–2002)
- Dave BurnsDave BurnsDave Burns , is a Dutch-British football coach. He is fluent in English and Dutch, and has basic knowledge of French and German....
: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1999–2000)
Studio
Hosts- Allen BestwickAllen BestwickAllen Bestwick is the host of ESPN's NASCAR pre-race show NASCAR Countdown and play-by-play announcer for the Sprint Cup Series races for the same company. He took over that position in 2011 after serving as the countdown to green host from 2008-2010 and a pit reporter for the network in 2007...
: (host, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
Monday Roundtable Edition - Mike MassaroMike MassaroMike Massaro is a racing analyst at ESPN for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On October 12, 2006, ESPN announced that Massaro will be a pit reporter when NASCAR coverage returns to ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC in 2007....
: (host, 2009–present) (reporter, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter... - Nicole Briscoe: (host, 2008–present) (reporter, 2008–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
, NASCAR CountdownNASCAR CountdownNASCAR Countdown is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series prerace show that debuted on February 17, 2007. It is a live on-site pre-race show for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC... - Shannon SpakeShannon SpakeShannon Spake is a NASCAR correspondent for ESPN. Spake contributes to both NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now, and occasionally appears on SportsCenter to give pre and post-race reports...
: (host, 2010–present) (reporter, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
Analysts
- Tim BrewerTim BrewerTim Brewer is an American stock-car racing crew chief and television analyst.Brewer joined NASCAR on ESPN for the 2007 season. He is part of NASCAR Countdown, the pre-race show, with host Brent Musburger and fellow analyst Brad Daugherty. He is also a contributor to NASCAR Now, the daily NASCAR...
: (analyst, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
, NASCAR CountdownNASCAR CountdownNASCAR Countdown is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series prerace show that debuted on February 17, 2007. It is a live on-site pre-race show for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC...
, and ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage - Brad Daugherty: (analyst, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
, NASCAR CountdownNASCAR CountdownNASCAR Countdown is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series prerace show that debuted on February 17, 2007. It is a live on-site pre-race show for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC... - Rusty WallaceRusty WallaceRussell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...
: (analyst, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
, NASCAR CountdownNASCAR CountdownNASCAR Countdown is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series prerace show that debuted on February 17, 2007. It is a live on-site pre-race show for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC... - Boris SaidBoris SaidBoris Said is an American race car driver from Carlsbad, California but considers his hometown to be Stamford, Connecticut. His father, Bob Said, was a Formula One race driver and US Olympic bobsled driver in 1968 and 1972. He drove the #26 Ford Fusion for Latitude 43 Motorsports in the NASCAR...
: (analyst, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter... - Tim CowlishawTim CowlishawWilliam Timothy Cowlishaw is an American sportswriter for The Dallas Morning News, a regular panelist on the ESPN sports talk show Around the Horn and formerly the lead reporter for the ESPN2 racing show NASCAR Now.Cowlishaw joined the Dallas Morning News in 1989...
: (analyst, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter... - Ray EvernhamRay EvernhamRay Evernham is currently a consultant for Hendrick Companies. In 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated “Person of the Year”.-Racer:...
: (analyst, 2008–2010) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter... - D.J. Copp: (analyst, 2008–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
- There will also be race participants who will act as analysts during caution laps, known as the in-race reporter.
Reporters
- Marty Smith: (lead reporter, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
- Terry Blount: (reporter, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
- Angelique Chengelis: (reporter, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
- David Newton: (reporter, 2007–present) NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
Race coverage
Booth commentaryAll Sprint Cup races
- Allen BestwickAllen BestwickAllen Bestwick is the host of ESPN's NASCAR pre-race show NASCAR Countdown and play-by-play announcer for the Sprint Cup Series races for the same company. He took over that position in 2011 after serving as the countdown to green host from 2008-2010 and a pit reporter for the network in 2007...
: (lead lap-by-lap, 2011–present) - Dale JarrettDale JarrettDale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship...
: (lead analyst, 2008–present) - Andy PetreeAndy PetreeAndy Petree , is a long-time fixture in NASCAR. After racing for years at local short track , Andy became part owner of the #32 Busch Series car for Dale Jarrett. By the age of 28, Andy was already a NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief on the Leo Jackson racing team...
: (lead analyst, 2007–present)
Selected Nationwide Series races
- Marty ReidMarty ReidMarty Reid is an American television sportscaster who has worked for ESPN since 1982.Reid is currently the lead television announcer for ESPN on ABC's coverage of the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and was the lead announcer for ESPN and ABC's NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage for the...
: (lap-by-lap, 2007–present) Select Nationwide Series races - Allen BestwickAllen BestwickAllen Bestwick is the host of ESPN's NASCAR pre-race show NASCAR Countdown and play-by-play announcer for the Sprint Cup Series races for the same company. He took over that position in 2011 after serving as the countdown to green host from 2008-2010 and a pit reporter for the network in 2007...
: (lap-by-lap, 2007–2011) Select Nationwide Series races - Dave BurnsDave BurnsDave Burns , is a Dutch-British football coach. He is fluent in English and Dutch, and has basic knowledge of French and German....
: (lap-by-lap, 2010) Nationwide Series non-companion events - Vince WelchVince WelchVince Welch is an American radio and television personality. From 1998 to March 2007, he was the sports program director at WIBC in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to that job, he worked as a sports reporter at WISH-TV and as sports director for WNDY, both in Indianapolis...
: (lap-by-lap, 2010) Nationwide Series non-companion events - Rusty WallaceRusty WallaceRussell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...
: (analyst, 2007–present) Select Nationwide Series races - Ray EvernhamRay EvernhamRay Evernham is currently a consultant for Hendrick Companies. In 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated “Person of the Year”.-Racer:...
: (analyst 2008–2010) Select Nationwide Series races - Randy LaJoieRandy LaJoieRandall LaJoie was a driver in the NASCAR Busch Series , where he is a two-time champion. Presently, he does not have a full-time ride. He is the father of racers Casey and Corey LaJoie.-Early racing career:LaJoie started racing go-karts when he was 12 years old...
: (analyst, 2007–2010) Nationwide Series non-companion events - Ricky CravenRicky CravenRichard Allen Craven is an ESPN broadcaster who works ESPN2's NASCAR Now and a race analyst for the network. Prior to his ESPN duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the K&N Pro Series, and the three national series. He occasionally served as a pit reporter when NASCAR...
: (analyst, 2010–present) Nationwide Series non-companion events - Ken SchraderKen SchraderKenneth Schrader is a second-generation race car driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while driving part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series for his own Ken Schrader Racing. He also runs part time in the NASCAR Camping...
: (analyst, 2011–present) Select Nationwide Series races
Regular pit reporters
- Dr. Jerry Punch (lead pit reporter, 2010–present)
- Dave BurnsDave BurnsDave Burns , is a Dutch-British football coach. He is fluent in English and Dutch, and has basic knowledge of French and German....
: (pit reporter, 2007–present) - Jamie LittleJamie LittleJamie Little from Las Vegas, Nevada is the pit reporter for NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series coverage on ESPN/ABC. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 Indianapolis 500...
: (pit reporter, 2007–present) - Vince WelchVince WelchVince Welch is an American radio and television personality. From 1998 to March 2007, he was the sports program director at WIBC in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to that job, he worked as a sports reporter at WISH-TV and as sports director for WNDY, both in Indianapolis...
: (pit reporter, 2009–present)
Fill in pit reporters
- Mike MassaroMike MassaroMike Massaro is a racing analyst at ESPN for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On October 12, 2006, ESPN announced that Massaro will be a pit reporter when NASCAR coverage returns to ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC in 2007....
: (pit reporter, 2007–present) Select Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races - Shannon SpakeShannon SpakeShannon Spake is a NASCAR correspondent for ESPN. Spake contributes to both NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now, and occasionally appears on SportsCenter to give pre and post-race reports...
: (pit reporter, 2007–present) Select Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races - Rick Debruhl: (pit reporter, 2009–present) Nationwide Series non-companion events
- Jim Noble: (pit reporter, 2010–present) Nationwide Series non-companion events
- Jack AruteJack AruteJack Arute, Jr. currently covers the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He is the president of the Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut...
: (pit reporter, 2007–2009) Nationwide Series non-companion events - Marty SmithMarty SmithMarty Smith is a former professional motocross racer. He won three AMA National Motocross championships, all aboard Hondas, and was runner-up twice...
: (pit reporter, 2007) Nationwide Series at Montreal only - Gary GerouldGary GerouldGary Gerould is an American sportscaster, best known as the radio voice of the NBA's Sacramento Kings since 1985 and as a motorsports reporter for ABC and ESPN....
: (pit reporter, 2007) Nationwide Series at Montreal only
See also
- NASCAR CountdownNASCAR CountdownNASCAR Countdown is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series prerace show that debuted on February 17, 2007. It is a live on-site pre-race show for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC...
- NASCAR NowNASCAR NowNASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
- NASCAR Drivers: Non-Stop
- ESPN2 GarageESPN2 GarageESPN2 Garage is a new ninety minute programming block dedicated to the automotive and motorsports world on ESPN2. Debuting Saturday, January 6, 2006, the programming will air on ESPN2 from 5pm ET to 6:30pm ET on weekdays, from 10am ET to 12pm ET on Saturdays and from 10am ET to 11am ET on Sundays...
- Jayski's Silly Season SiteJayski's Silly Season SiteJayski's Silly Season Site is a web site focusing primarily on NASCAR news and rumors, created and run by Charlotte-area resident Jay Adamczyk , a former United States Air Force mechanic, on August 25, 1996. Adamczyk started the site after having difficulty finding news regarding the Melling Racing...
- NASCAR in PrimetimeNASCAR in PrimetimeNASCAR in Primetime is a television program on ABC. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation, logistics, drama and competition of NASCAR....
External links
- NASCAR.com (NASCAR's Official website)
- Jayski (NASCAR News website, owned by ESPN)
- FanZone Sports (NASCAR News)
- The Daly Planet (Website breaks down TV and Media coverage)
- NASCAR on ESPN Media Guide
- NASCAR Issues Still Confusing ESPN
- Google Search - Timeline