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NASCAR Countdown: ESPN2 Lowes Motor Speedway Highlights:

May 24, 2007 at 12:00 AM

ESPN2s NASCAR Countdown will preview the live, prime-time NASCAR Busch Series race at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Lowes Motor Speedway. Allen Bestwick will host the telecast with studio analyst Brad Daugherty. Analyst Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Cutaway Car. The race telecast team will include special guest Ned Jarrett, Dale Jarrett, lead announcer Jerry Punch and Andy Petree. Additionally, NASCAR Countdown will include segments from pit reporters Dave Burns, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake as drivers and teams prepare to race under the lights on the 1.5-mile track in suburban Charlotte, N.C. NASCAR Countdown will originate from Lowes Motor Speedway and will be telecast from ESPNs state-of-the-art mobile Pit Studio as it sets the stage for ESPN2s coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday, May 26. Highlights include:
Home Weekend for Drivers and Teams Charlotte is often referred to as the epicenter of NASCAR, with 21 NASCAR Busch Series teams, 15 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series teams and nearly all NASCAR drivers located within a 30-mile radius of the city. And, because Lowes Motor Speedway is so close to home, teams are especially fired up for bragging rights in the Queen City. ESPN will use Google Earth technology to map all of the team shops and their proximity to Charlotte and the speedway.
Double Duty The NASCAR Busch Series often has NASCAR Nextel Cup regulars, commonly known as Buschwhackers, entered in its race each week. Saturday nights race is no exception, with nearly 30 Nextel Cup drivers set to compete in the 300-mile race.
From the Pits

  • Reigning Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will be interviewed from the Pit Studio and will talk about why he decided to race in Saturdays NASCAR Busch Series race his first of the year.
  • The Busch Brothers: ESPN Pit Reporter Dave Burns will report with Nextel Cup driver Kurt Busch, while ESPN Pit Reporter Mike Massaro will report with his younger brother Kyle to find out if theyve had a chance to make up since the two wrecked each other during the Nextel Cup All-Star race last weekend.
  • ESPN Pit Reporter Shannon Spake will speak with Dave Blaney, driver of the #10 Toyota about his chances of winning Saturdays race. Blaney is fourth in the Busch Series standings. He won the Oct. 2006 NASCAR Busch Series race at Lowes.(ESPN PR)(5-24-2007)