The Chase Begins at Chicagoland Speedway
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s playoffs, begins this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway with the GEICO 400. ESPN will have a live telecast on Sunday, Sept. 15, with NASCAR Countdown at 1 p.m. ET and the race’s green flag at 2:16 p.m. The NASCAR Nationwide Series also competes at the 1.5-mile track on Saturday, Sept. 14, and ESPN2 will air the race at 3:30 p.m., with the green at 3:47 p.m. Also from Chicagoland, ESPN2 airs NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13. All NASCAR programming on ESPN and ESPN2 is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.
Announcers:
Booth: Lap-by-Lap announcer Allen Bestwick (Sprint Cup); Marty Reid (Nationwide Series); analysts Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree.
Pit reporters: Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch.
NASCAR Countdown: Nicole Briscoe (host); Rusty Wallace; Ray Evernham, Brad Daugherty (analysts).
Two NASCAR Now Specials to Preview Chase; Weekend Wrap-up Show Returns
ESPN’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now will help NASCAR fans get ready for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a pair of special programs on Thursday, Sept. 12. ESPNEWS will air coverage from Chase Media Day at Navy Pier in Chicago from noon until 2:30 p.m. ET, with host Mike Massaro, analyst Ricky Craven and reporter Marty Smith speaking with the Chase drivers and other NASCAR newsmakers. Massaro, Craven and Smith will be back with a one-hour NASCAR Now Chase Preview at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. NASCAR Now’s weekend wrap-up show returns to the air Sunday, Sept. 15, at 11:30 p.m. This week’s schedule:
| Date | Time | Show | Host | Network |
| Tue., Sept. 10 | 2:30 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Allen Bestwick | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Wed., Sept. 11 | 2:30 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Mike Massaro | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Thu., Sept. 12 | 3:30 a.m. | NASCAR Now | Mike Massaro | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Noon | NASCAR Now | Mike Massaro | ESPNEWS, WatchESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | NASCAR Now | Mike Massaro | ESPN2, WatchESPN | |
| Sun., Sept. 15 | 11:30 p.m. | NASCAR Now | Mike Massaro | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
NHRA in Charlotte on ESPN2, ESPN3
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competes at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., adjacent to Charlotte Motor Speedway, this weekend in the Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals presented by NAPA Auto Parts and drag racing fans can watch the action on both ESPN2 and ESPN3. All NHRA programming on ESPN networks is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app. The schedule:
| Date | Time | Event | Network |
| Friday, Sept. 13 | 6:45 p.m. | Qualifying (live) | ESPN3, WatchESPN |
| Sunday, Sept. 15 | 3:30 a.m. | Qualifying | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Noon | Eliminations (live) | ESPN3, WatchESPN | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Eliminations | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
Announcers:
Booth: Dave Rieff (anchor); Mike Dunn (analyst)
Pit reporters: Gary Gerould, Jamie Howe, John Kernan.
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 Sunday, Sept. 15, RacingLive! Chicago will coincide with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland 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.
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Media Contact: Andy Hall, 386-492-2246 or [email protected]
