April 23, 2012

Motorsports This Week on ESPN

Travis Pastrana to Make NASCAR Nationwide Series Debut on ESPN2

Action sports star and 17-time X Games medalist Travis Pastrana will make his long-awaited debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Friday night, April 27, at Richmond International Raceway and ESPN2 will have a live telecast of the 250-lap race. NASCAR Countdown airs at 7 p.m. ET with the race’s green flag at 7:43 p.m. Also from Richmond, ESPN2 will air NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying earlier in the day at 4 p.m. All NASCAR programming on ESPN and ESPN2 is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets with the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.

Announcers:

Booth: Lap-by-Lap announcer Allen Bestwick; analysts Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree.

Pit reporters: Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch.

NASCAR Countdown: Nicole Briscoe (host); Jarrett, Brad Daugherty, Marty Smith (analysts).

Pastrana is featured in ESPN’s latest “This is SportsCenter” spot. In the spot, Pastrana inspires SportsCenter anchors Jay Harris and John Buccigross with his fearless attitude by refusing to wait for a confirmation notice after sending a fax. The spot was created in collaboration with Wieden + Kennedy New York. The spot can be viewed HERE.

NHRA Houston Action on ESPN2, ESPN3

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will compete in Houston this weekend in the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Sprint Nationals and drag racing fans can watch action from Royal Purple Raceway on both ESPN2 and ESPN3. All NHRA programming on ESPN2 and ESPN3 is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.

The schedule:

Announcers:

Booth: Paul Page (anchor); Mike Dunn (analyst)

Pit reporters: Gary Gerould, Dave Rieff, Jamie Howe.

ESPN.com national motorsports writer Terry Blount will also be on hand in Houston to report on the event.

NASCAR Now Saluting Richard Petty on April 25

NASCAR’s all-time leading winner Richard Petty will be saluted on ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now on Wednesday, April 25, at 3 p.m. ET. ESPN analysts Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty and NASCAR Now lead reporter Marty Smith will join host Mike Massaro in the studio for the program, which will include a feature on how Petty’s image and trademark hat and sunglasses have evolved over the years.

The one-hour weekend edition of NASCAR Now will air on Saturday, April 28, at noon with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. Analyst Dale Jarrett and reporters Nicole Briscoe and Smith will be at the track with Massaro hosting from the studio.

Motorsports on Other ESPN Platforms

ESPN.com — RacingLive! on ESPN.com is a live blog where fans can engage in debate and discussion with ESPN.com writers and editors during the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. On Saturday, April 28, RacingLive! Richmond will coincide with the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at https://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/. ESPN.com motorsports writer David Newton will be on hand at Richmond.

ESPN Radio — Each weekend morning, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay starts its engines at 6 a.m. ET with host Pat Patterson anchored from the site of that weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay listeners get an hour of news, previews and analysis, as well as profiles and interviews with NASCAR’s biggest names and newsmakers and the involvement of listeners via calls and e-mails.

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Media Contact: Andy Hall, 386-492-2246 or andy.hall@espn.com