In-Progress From Chicagoland: Thursday on SPEED and ESPN2

NASCAR teams take to the track on Thursday, as this is a night race from Chicagoland Speedway this season. Both SPEED and ESPN will carry live coverage.

John Roberts and company kick SPEED's day off with NASCAR Live at 4:30PM Eastern Time. Bob Dillner and Hermie Sadler will be Robert's reporters roaming the garage area and pit road. There should be a lot of news to discuss and some very interesting interviews.

Up next will be Sprint Cup practice at 5PM with Steve Byrnes calling the action. He will be joined in the announce booth by Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds. Down in the garage will be Lindsay Czarniak and Ralph Shaheen.

Go or Go Home is next at 6:30PM as this show continues to try and find a real format. Often, the remaining Sprint Cup stories from the earlier action dominate this show which was designed to focus on the teams that have to qualify on time.

Also at 6:30PM is NASCAR Now on ESPN2 which will originate from the Connecticut studios of the network. This thirty minute show will be hosted by either Ryan Burr or Nicole Manske and cover the news topics of the day.

ESPN2 continues with live Nationwide Series final practice at 7PM. Once again, first practice was not televised. Dr. Jerry Punch will be joined by Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree in the booth. On pit road will be Dave Burns, Shannon Spake and Jamie Little. Allen Bestwick will man the Infield Pit Center with Brad Daugherty.

After a short break, Sprint Cup qualifying returns at 8:30PM. Byrnes and company return in the booth with Marty Snider joining Ralph Shaheen on pit road this time.

This weekend finishes a long run of SPEED covering almost every single Sprint Cup practice and qualifying session in 2008. Telecasts have featured Mike Joy and Steve Byrnes in the host position. Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds have been in the booth. A ton of personalities have been on pit road and in the garage area. SPEED has done a great job this season and deserves to be commended.

This post will serve to host your comments about the Thursday NASCAR TV from both SPEED and ESPN2.

Smoke On SPEED/ESPNEWS With The Big Announcement

It will be 2:30PM Eastern Time on Thursday when SPEED and ESPNEWS will break into regularly scheduled programming to cover an announcement from a NASCAR driver.

It will be the Infield Media Center at Chicagoland Speedway that plays host to Tony Stewart as he lays-out his plans for the future following his release from Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of 2008.

SPEED has not yet indicated who the reporter will be on-site, but it should be an opportunity to see an "old school" news conference from the infield of a track with all the traveling NASCAR media present.

Things are always more fun when Tony has a chance to interact with the print, radio and TV reporters that he knows so well.

This page will serve to host your comments while the press conference is in-progress and thoughts on the coverage after it has ended. To add your opinion, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thanks for dropping by.

Jim Cramer And NASCAR: What A Mix

The "Mad Money" man is making a stop in NASCAR land and he has a pretty good supporting cast. Jim Cramer has his first broadcast TV network special on NBC this Sunday at 7PM Eastern Time.

The CNBC finance king is calling his special "The American Dream With Jim Cramer." This program was taped at Lowe's Motor Speedway a while back, and Cramer asked a lot of drivers to stop by and chat.

Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Casey Mears and Jeff Burton are featured in this special. Cramer talks about the ecomony and investing. He also addressed the gas price situation, retirement issues and securing a financial future.

This certainly seems like an interesting mix of topics and personalities. We will take a look at it and offer a post for comments after the show.

The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the comments button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page and thanks for stopping by.