Saturday, November 17, 2007

Sunday: "NASCAR Now" Championship Preview On ESPN2


The final NEXTEL Cup race of the season will be previewed by a one hour live edition of NASCAR Now at 10AM Eastern Time.

This ESPN2 show will be hosted by either Erik Kuselias or Ryan Burr. The one hour Saturday preview show for the Busch Series was hosted by Burr. The weekend studio analyst for this TV series is Craftsman Truck Series driver Stacy Compton.

This program is said to be featuring the entire ESPN on ABC staff including the booth announcers Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, and Andy Petree. Brad Daugherty and Tim Cowlishaw will also be making appearances for commentary purposes.

Also at the track, NASCAR Now will be using the ESPN on ABC pit reporters including Shannon Spake, Jamie Little, Dave Burns, Mike Massaro and Allen Bestwick.

This is a normally scheduled edition of NASCAR Now, although the series did add a new live show Sunday night after the championship race at 10PM on ESPN.

This program series on ESPN2 has endured some tremendous struggles this season in on-air talent, production decision-making and overall credibility. The rumor is that immediately after the season is over, ESPN will be making drastic changes to the series in order to prepare for the 2008 NASCAR season.

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14 comments:

  1. JD, NASCAR Now was said to be a year-round show that will continue to have shows thought the winter. Is this true?

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  2. I meant THROUGH the winter.

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  3. According to the program guide on espntv.com, the 10:00pm version of Nascar Now will be on ESPN, not ESPN2.

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  4. After Sunday it looks like the only new NASCAR Now for the rest of 2007 will be on Tuesday at 6:00pm ET. It's preceded by Chasing Glory at 5:30. Also, the next three Tuesdays will also have Chasing Glory at 6:00. December 11, the night ESPN2 shows the Busch banquet at 7:00, they'll have an extra Chasing Glory at 5:30.

    I don't know if any of those Chasing Glory episodes are new.

    After the Busch banquet airs there's no more NASCAR scheduled on any ESPN channel for the rest of the year.

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  5. Thanks for the correction, you are right...its ESPN.

    I have asked several times about the post-season plans for the show, and have received no reply.

    My own personal opinion is they are going to drop-back and re-group for a bit after the banquet.

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  6. For some reason NASCAR Happy Hour is on ESPN2 right now. this was not on the TV Guide.

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  7. @anon 1:34a It was on my guide to run 1 am to 2 am CST and out of curiousity I set it to record since we had a very abbreviated original HH earlier. Since I was doing other stuff I didn't have it on the deuce so I checked after seeing your post and at 1 they're doing that silly draft tracker, did they show actual practice when you noticed it?

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  8. It was a pleasure to see Ryan Burr host this program along with his co-host Allen Bestwick from Homestead.

    This is the type of program that ESPN2 should have delivered each NEXTEL Cup racing weekend.

    This is the level of integration and information that NASCAR fans deserve.

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  9. I enjoy both Allen and Ryan. I wish they had interviewed David R.

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  10. Sandie said...
    @anon 1:34a It was on my guide to run 1 am to 2 am CST and out of curiosity I set it to record since we had a very abbreviated original HH earlier. Since I was doing other stuff I didn't have it on the deuce so I checked after seeing your post and at 1 they're doing that silly draft tracker, did they show actual practice when you noticed it?

    November 18, 2007 2:15 AM

    they were showing the cars on the track for at least the first 15 minutes. I don't remember seeing that in the abbreviated version.

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  11. I have it from my ESPN people here in Charlotte that the last Nascar Now show of the season will be Monday. The Tuesday show will only happen "if there is a need," which probably means it depends on Jimmie Johnson's commitments if he wins the championship.

    Nascar Now will not continue through the off-season . It will come back shortly before Daytona. They may air a Nascar Now special now and then if there is a need based on news during silly season.

    The morning Nascar Now is going away next year for races and will be replaced by a show built more around the goings on around the track. It will involve the fans, allowing for fan reaction and feedback before the race. This is the first major change that ESPN will make for Nascar in 2008.

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  12. Anon @12:12:

    I think it's real "swell" ESPN plans to mimic Speed's RaceDay program. I'm sure Speed is flattered. But, how about ESPN concentrate on fixing the things that are under their control? The announcing team, the race coverage, the post-race coverage, conflicts with other live sports programs, everything every poster has brought to ESPN's attention during ESPN's coverage of the 2007 season. Once ESPN gets those teeny, tiny details under control, then work on going head to head with Race Day.

    Boy, talk about getting the priorities straight!

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  13. @anon 12:00--thanks :)

    @anon 12:12--sounds interesting...

    @anon 1:00--definitely agree! Get the whole package together first and then worry about tweaking the "minor" things. Some people like the pre-race shows others could do without it. But everyone tunes in for the big picture which is the race itself!

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  14. This morning's NASCAR NOW was what I expected from ESPN in January and clearly demonstrates the program quality of which ESPN is capable when they try. Super show. Thank you ESPN. Please don't backslide.

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