Here we go with the channel surfing and the DVR programming for the NASCAR at Indy weekend. This is the recently changed Friday line-up. You may choose to take notes.
SPEED starts at 1PM ET with NASCAR Live. It will be Steve Byrnes, Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds at the SPEED Stage for this one hour live news and information show. Randy Pemberton and Hermie Sadler will report from the garage. The fun part is next.
At 2PM, it will be SPEED carrying the early session of Sprint Cup practice. I know that this was not reflected in the SPEEDtv.com schedule, but trust me...it is there. More info on this will appear next week in a column. Byrnes, Hammond and McReynolds will actually voice-over the practice from the SPEED Stage. Bob Dillner and Wendy Venturini will be handling the interviews as reporters.
Somehow, the early Sprint Cup practice at Indy found a live national TV home.
The ESPN gang will be up next with the second half of Cup practice and it will be shown on ESPN2 at 3:30PM. The entire crew will be on-hand led by Allen Bestwick in the infield and Jerry Punch in the announce booth. This coverage will last one hour.
At 4:30PM it will be SPEED picking-up with post-practice interviews as they originate a thirty minute version of NASCAR Live. Byrnes will host with Dillner reporting and he will be joined in the garage by John Roberts.
At 5PM it is time for the Craftsman Trucks to qualify over at O'Reilly Raceway Park on the other side of Indy. Rick Allen and Phil Parsons will call the action with Ray Dunlap and Adam Alexander patrolling the garage and pit road.
It is decision time for fans as NASCAR Now is next at 6PM on ESPN2. Ryan Burr hosts from Bristol, CT with Allen Bestwick, Marty Smith and Nicole Manske reporting from The Brickyard. This is a special one hour live edition that should feature a lot of information and interviews.
Halfway through NASCAR Now, Trackside begins over on SPEED at 6:30PM. Byrnes, McReynolds, Hammond and Elliott Sadler make-up the Indy panel. Mark Martin and Travis Kvapil will be the two guests at the SPEED Stage.
Lots of fans are waiting for the final episode of Shifting Gears at 7PM on ESPN. This is Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s original production from his Hammerhead Entertainment company and is the last of five episodes. The show is one hour in length and should be well worth watching or recording.
Things get racy at 7:30PM with The Set-Up on SPEED. Krista Voda hosts this thirty minute pre-race show for the NCTS. Allen and Parsons return to call the live racing action from ORP at 7:30PM.
For those of you who missed it the first time around, the NASCAR Confidential show that looks at the inner-workings of NASCAR officials and even Race Control will re-air at 10:30PM or immediately after the NCTS race concludes on SPEED. It is well worth watching.
Weekend Notes:
Saturday at 1:30PM - McReynolds and NASCAR Performance on SPEED
Saturday at 2PM - She's back! Jenna Fryer of the AP on Tradin' Paint on SPEED
Sunday at 11AM - Tony Stewart will be a live guest on RaceDay on SPEED
We will try to keep this post updated with any changes due to weather or scheduling on Friday. This is always a hectic TV weekend with all three series in the same town at two tracks. If you see an error or something changes, please feel free to drop me an email at the address on the main page to keep us updated.
This post will serve to let you voice your opinions about the TV scheduling on this Indy Friday. Fans without the ability to record one show while watching another are going to be making tough choices between good programs. It should be very interesting to watch all of this unfold live.
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