The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to ESPN with a live, flag-to-flag telecast of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 25. The telecast is presented by Golden Corral. The NASCAR Countdown pre-race show kicks off the day at noon ET with the race telecast starting at 1:00pmn/et and the races green flag is scheduled for 1:19 pm. The Indianapolis race is the first of 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup events to be produced by ESPN to close out the 2010 NASCAR season, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Of the 17 races, 14 will air on ESPN and three on ABC. ESPNs coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway includes a live telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Saturday, July 24, at 10:00am/et, and telecasts of two practice sessions for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars on the famed 2.5-mile track, all on ESPN2. The first practice session airs Friday, July 23, at 2:00pm/et, while final practice airs Saturday at 3:30pm/et. All programming airs in high definition.
Five former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions will be an integral part of ESPNs coverage team at the Brickyard, including analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 driving champion, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid in the booth. Two-time champion crew chief Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.
NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will feature analysis by 1989 champion driver Rusty Wallace and three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham, with host Allen Bestwick and analyst Brad Daugherty. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race. Following the race, additional reports, analysis and interviews from Indianapolis will air on ESPNs flagship program SportsCenter as will be the case for all 14 races airing on ESPN.(7-21-2010)
