NASCAR Nationwide Series in Prime Time from Daytona

NASCAR at Daytona is an Independence Day tradition. The NASCAR Nationwide Series races in prime time on Friday night, July 5, in the Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway and ESPN will have a live telecast. NASCAR Countdown airs at 7 p.m. ET with the race’s green flag at 7:50 p.m.  Also from Daytona, ESPN2 will air qualifying on Friday at 2 p.m. All NASCAR programming on ESPN networks is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.

The Daytona race will be the first of four consecutive events that comprise the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dash 4 Cash, a bonus program that will award an extra $100,000 to the highest-finishing of four eligible drivers in each of the four designated races and could award an additional $600,000 at the fourth race at Indianapolis next month.

Announcers:

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

Pit reporters: Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Dr. Jerry Punch, Shannon Spake

NASCAR Countdown: Nicole Briscoe (host); Rusty Wallace; Brad Daugherty, Ricky Craven (analysts).

Indy Car Returns to Pocono Live on ABC

After an absence of 24 years, Pocono (PA) Raceway will host the stars of open wheel racing when the IZOD IndyCar Series competes at the “Tricky Triangle” in a 400-mile race on Sunday, July 7. The 2.5-mile track was a keystone of open wheel racing for many years but held its last race of that type in 1989. ABC will have a live telecast of the return, with pre-race at noon ET and the race’s green flag at 12:30 p.m.

Announcers:

Booth: Lap-by-Lap announcer: Marty Reid; analysts Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever.

Pit reporters: Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little, Vince Welch.

NHRA Norwalk Action on ESPN2, ESPN3 

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competes in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, this weekend and drag racing fans can watch qualifying and eliminations on both ESPN2 and ESPN3. Veteran NHRA driver Tommy Johnson Jr. will be a guest roving analyst for ESPN during the weekend. All NHRA programming on ESPN networks is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app. The schedule:

Announcers:

Booth: Dave Rieff (anchor); Mike Dunn (analyst)

Pit reporters: Gary Gerould, John Kernan

Roving analyst: Tommy Johnson Jr.

American Le Mans Series Back in Action at Lime Rock

After the traditional schedule break to allow race teams to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the American Le Mans Series is back in action this weekend with an event at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park. The race will air on Saturday, July 6, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and on ESPN3 at 2:45 p.m. Also from Lime Rock, ESPN3 will air qualifying on Friday, July 5, at 4:25 p.m. All American Le Mans Series programming on ESPN2 and ESPN3 also is available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.

NASCAR Now Schedule

ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now will preview the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway in the one-hour edition airing Saturday, July 6, at 2 p.m. ET. Studio host Todd Grisham will be joined from the track by ESPN NASCAR analyst Dale Jarrett and reporters Marty Smith and Nicole Briscoe. All NASCAR programming on ESPN networks is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app. The week’s schedule:

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, July 6, RacingLive! Daytona will coincide with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at https://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/.

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. RaceDay also features interviews with newsmakers from the IZOD IndyCar Series from correspondent Bruce Martin.

Click HERE for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series schedules on ESPN.

Click HERE for the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule on ESPN.

Click HERE for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule on ABC.

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Media Contact: Andy Hall, 386-492-2246 or [email protected]