ESPN Classic continues the historic Daytona 500 series on Monday at 2PM with the 1999 race that featured Jeff Gordon and Earnhart Sr. racing for the win. This is a two hour program for those of you recording it.
SPEED also returns on Monday after covering pre-season testing with three days of team previews at 7PM Eastern Time each night. Hosted from the SPEED studios, the network will look at the contenders for the Sprint Cup Championship in 2008.
The big story is that NASCAR Now returns on ESPN2 at 6PM. This first thirty minute program is going to serve to show-off the new format, the new announcers, and hopefully help to begin a new chapter in the relationship between ESPN and the NASCAR fans. Ryan Burr, Nicole Manske and Allen Bestwick are the three co-hosts.
Set your DVR or TiVo for Thursday at Noon Eastern Time as ESPN News puts NASCAR front and center for three hours as Daytona International Speedway holds its annual Media Day.
The interesting part of this "news coverage" is that veteran reporter Mike Massaro has been moved to the ESPN Studios in Connecticut to co-host alongside of Ryan Burr.
Let me give you one guess as to who will be hosting the ESPN News coverage from Daytona? That's right, the new kid on the block Nicole Manske will be in Daytona joined by Rusty Wallace for three hours of live interviews and conversation.
Friday at 7PM Eastern Time is the kick-off of Dale Junior's five part TV series called Shifting Gears. This post-produced series follows his transition from DEI to Hendrick, and promises some new footage and interesting perspectives on those issues. We shall see.
NASCAR TV really begins to get cranked-up this week, and it should be fun to see all the new personalities and programs. Both ESPN and SPEED have made significant changes to their NASCAR TV packages, and we can only hope for positive results.
There will be columns about several of these programs after they air. Please feel free to add your comments below. Thanks.
13 comments:
Well, this ought to put a quick resolution to the "Nicole--good or not?" discussion. three hours with Rusty will make it prety tough for her to hide a lack of knowledge on the subjetc, if that's the case.
If you read the story below, you may be able to agree that she is very quickly been put "in the blender."
I feel a little bit for Massaro, but he had a tough year and maybe thinks the studio is a good place to be right now.
JD
Hi, JD
Lets give it a chance. Do not feel comfortable with Rusty involved. But then again it may be all tellng. I am hoping for the best. So we can have a better year than the last one.
Lou
Kingston, NY
Heh, Manske's biggest challenge will be to stay awake while Rusty is talking . . .
My DVR has the 1999 Daytona 500 race as being broadcast on Classic from 2-5pm today, which is 3 hours, not 2. Just in case someone's trying to set a VCR.
jhd,
It is a two hour show, followed at 4PM by two hours of classic ACC basketball. How could it get more exciting?
JD
Rusty and Nicole for 3 hours! I wonder if she's seen the draft tracker yet? I'll give final analysis after the show but I don't really hope for much . . . .
Monday's "NASCAR Now" was solid, save a few audio problems. good, strong start.
SPEED also returns on Monday after covering pre-season testing with three days of team previews at 7PM Eastern Time each night. Hosted from the SPEED studios, the network will look at the contenders for the Sprint Cup Championship in 2998.
2998! WOW! ESPN better get on the stick, lots of catchin up to do!
OK, so the 9 is next to the 0....I got it!
Busy Nascar week ahead! Sadly, I had to give up my expanded digital cable, so I won't be able to see ESPN News coverage of media day. I'll have to check in here to see how it goes.
I was going to post and ask why SPEED isn't providing any Daytona media day coverage and chalk it up to them saving it for their 100 hours of HD coverage. But then I checked their schedule and see that they've got a two hour Media Day show Thursday night, sandwiched in between a Bud Shootout highlights show and the Shootout selection show.
SPEED also has a new show called NASCAR...In Thirty Seconds that lasts one hour. Any info on this?
Looks like it's going to be a great week in NASCAR TV!
Watching SPEED. Back from a break.
Byrnes: "Welcome back to NASCAR Preseason Thunder on SPEED.
You look comfortable."
Guy cracks me up.
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