NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing Coming to ESPN for Second Half of Season

The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of the premier events in NASCAR, will be the launching point for ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag telecasts of the final 17 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season on Sunday, July 29.

ESPN’s multimedia platforms will surround the race telecasts on television, radio, online and on mobile devices. Of the 17 races, 14 will air on ESPN and WatchESPN and three Saturday night events will air on ABC, and ESPN’s flagship news and information program SportsCenter will follow the 14 ESPN race telecasts with additional post-race interviews, highlights and information.

Beginning Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway, the final 10 races will comprise the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s playoffs, culminating Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the crowning of the series champion.

For the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, ESPN will again utilize NASCAR NonStop, a split-screen commercial format that brings more racing action to viewers. The format, which ESPN used for the first time in 2011, shows the advertisement on the left side of the screen and a continuation of racing action on the right side. ESPN’s scoring ticker continues to move across the top of the screen, allowing NASCAR fans to follow the running order of the race during the breaks. NASCAR NonStop takes effect at or near the halfway point of the race, with the first half of the race presented in the traditional commercial break format.

The race telecast from Indianapolis is presented by Golden Corral and follows the one-hour NASCAR Countdown pre-race show at noon, with the race’s green flag at 1:19 p.m. ET. Also from Indianapolis, ESPN will televise the inaugural race at the famed track for the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Saturday, July 28, with NASCAR Countdown at 4 p.m. and the green flag at 4:49 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying for the Brickyard 400 airs earlier that day at 2 p.m. on ESPN, with NASCAR Sprint Cup practice at 10:30 a.m. on ESPN2.

The winner of the Brickyard 400 will visit ESPN’s Bristol, Ct., studios on Tuesday, July 31, to appear on multiple ESPN programs and platforms.

ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage team will include four former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, led by analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 driving champion, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Allen Bestwick in the booth. Rusty Wallace, the 1989 driving champion, and three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham will be analysts for NASCAR Countdown with host Nicole Briscoe and analyst Brad Daugherty, a NASCAR team owner.

Pit reporters during ESPN’s 17-race NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Dr. Jerry Punch, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch while Marty Reid will be the lap-by-lap announcer for the remainder of ESPN’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race telecasts beginning with Indianapolis.

ESPN will use 74 high definition cameras in the Brickyard 400 telecast, including a new, Ultra Slo Mo handheld camera for analyzing pit stops. Bat Cam, a camera running on a cable over pit road and the frontstretch that can move at more than 80 mph, also will be utilized again at IMS. ESPN will have a helicopter camera for all 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup race telecasts.

Last year at Indianapolis, ESPN introduced the first-ever use of dual path transmission for onboard cameras, allowing the network for the first time to show two high definition views from onboard cameras in the same car simultaneously. The technology has been refined and is being expanded into ESPN’s NASCAR Nationwide Series telecasts starting at Indianapolis.

The NASCAR Countdown show for the Brickyard 400 will have a different look as it will move from the ESPN Pit Studio to a set located on an outside floor of the speedway’s iconic Pagoda. The grandstands, track and pits will provide a backdrop during the program.

Among the features that are planned for airing during ESPN’s Indianapolis telecasts:

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief Steve Letarte sit down together with ESPN’s Marty Smith to discuss the evolution of their relationship, how Earnhardt has changed as a driver since they joined forces this season and why their team is finally firing on all cylinders.
  • ABC News journalist Katie Couric talks with Danica Patrick at Indianapolis Motor Speedway about her transition to NASCAR, how people perceive her as a person and possible sexism she might face on a daily basis at the racetrack.
  • Jeff Gordon reunites with his former championship winning crew chief Ray Evernham to talk about his struggles in 2012 and if success for him is lurking at the Brickyard, a place where he has won four times in his career.
  • Last year’s Brickyard 400 is relived through the eyes of race winner Paul Menard and his father, John. Collectively they tell the story of how emotional and meaningful the victory was to the Menard Family.

ESPN PR