ESPN's NASCAR Sprint Cup Coverage Rolls Out at Indianapolis

ESPN begins its coverage of the final 17 races of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule with a live, flag-to-flag telecast of the Brickyard 400 at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 28. ESPN's multimedia platforms will surround the race telecast on television, radio and online.

The telecast from Indianapolis is presented by Golden Corral and begins with the NASCAR Countdown pre-race show at noon ET from the Speedway's iconic Pagoda. The program will set up the race with interviews and features before the race's green flag flies at 1:19 p.m.

In addition to the race, ESPN will televise NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Saturday, July 27, at 2 p.m. and ESPN2 will air NASCAR Sprint Cup practice Saturday at 9 a.m.

Also from Indianapolis, ESPN will televise the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, with NASCAR Countdown at 4 p.m. and the green flag at 4:50 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jimmie Johnson will visit the ESPN telecast booth for part of the race.

ESPN will use 72 high definition cameras at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including four Ultra Hi Motion cameras for replays and unique action shots. One will be mounted on pit wall near the "Yard of Bricks" that make up the start/finish line at the Speedway while another robotic Ultra Hi Motion camera will be mounted to provide a low shot in the first turn. Two others will be in the second and fourth turns.

Eight cars competing in the race will carry onboard cameras and ESPN also will have a helicopter camera for overhead shots in the Brickyard 400 and for all 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup race telecasts.

Four former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, including two NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers, will be an integral part of ESPN's coverage team for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, including lead analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 driving champion and newly elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Allen Bestwick in the booth. Marty Reid will be the lap-by-lap announcer for the remainder of ESPN's NASCAR Nationwide Series race telecasts this season beginning with Indianapolis.

NASCAR Countdown will feature analysis by 1989 champion driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace and three-time champion crew chief Ray Evernham, with host Nicole Briscoe and NASCAR team owner Brad Daugherty. The Countdown team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.

Beginning Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway, the final 10 races will comprise the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR's playoffs, culminating Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the crowning of the series champion.

For the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, ESPN will again utilize NASCAR NonStop, a split-screen commercial format that brings more racing action to viewers. The format, which ESPN used for the first time in 2011, shows the advertisement on the left side of the screen and a continuation of racing action on the right side. ESPN's scoring ticker continues to move across the top of the screen, allowing NASCAR fans to follow the running order of the race during the breaks. NASCAR NonStop takes effect at or near the halfway point of the race, with the first half of the race presented in the traditional commercial break format.

Among the features that will be presented during ESPN's coverage from Indianapolis:

Going Home with Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya shows viewers around his home country of Colombia. The tour includes returning to the track where he grew up racing, spending time with family and his Formula Smiles philanthropy project that is changing lives of young Colombian boys and girls.

The Drive For 5

A look at the number 5: its importance in sports, its symbolism in society and the numerology behind the number 5. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon discuss their four wins at the Brickyard and what it would mean to be the first racer in history to win five times of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Danica inspires and finds inspiration despite a lifetime of criticism

Danica Patrick has faced criticism her entire career. Despite breaking gender boundaries and setting records, (first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500, first woman to start on the pole for the Daytona 500) her career continues to be scrutinized. The intense criticism she has always faced is examined as is the way she motivates herself and has inspired a young generation of racers who look up to her.

Tony Stewart at The Brickyard

Our roots as humans stem from home. For Tony Stewart home is Indiana. He grew up racing sprint cars at Indianapolis Raceway Park and other short tracks and dreamed of one day racing the Indianapolis 500. As his career turned to NASCAR, his dream of winning the Indy 500 took a backseat. His career blossomed with many race wins and multiple championships. He continued to hang onto his sprint car roots; racing in the series when his NASCAR schedule allowed. One month ago, he lost his good friend and former roommate Jason Leffler. In a conversation with ESPN's Marty Smith at the Brickyard, Stewart will look at his roots as a racer and how losing a friend has changed his life.

ESPN's Multimedia Platforms Surround NASCAR

WatchESPN

All NASCAR programming on ESPN and ESPN2 is available on computers, smartphones, tablets, Xbox and Apple TV via WatchESPN, accessible to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliate provider including Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity TV, Midcontinent Communications, Cablevision, Cox, Charter Communications and AT&T U-verse (coming soon to NRTC members' customers).

ESPN.com

ESPN.com will provide surround coverage from the Brickyard. Award-winning motorsports journalists Terry Blount, David Newton and John Oreovicz and ESPN.com motorsports editor K. Lee Davis will lead the reporting team, with additional contributions from NASCAR Insider Marty Smith. Blount, Newton, Oreovicz and other ESPN reporters and personalities maintain and regularly update blogs with their insights, perspectives and more. ESPN.com, along with Jayski.com, will feature extensive video, audio and editorial coverage of the 2013 NASCAR season. This week, a special five-part series on NASCAR's France Family written by senior motorsports writer Ed Hinton is featured leading to the Brickyard.

espnw.com

espnW's mission is to connect female fans with the sports they love and follow, and with Danica Patrick in her first full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, espnW.com continues its full-season coverage. In addition, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Johanna Long will be blogging for espnW all season. espnW.com provides an engaging environment where women are an integral part of the sports conversation, share their perspective on men's and women's sports and find the motivation and support for their athletic goals and interests.

ESPN Radio

The Raceday program airs from 6 - 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 27, and Sunday, July 28, Programs will originate from Indianapolis with host Pat Patterson and include news, interviews and reports. In addition, ESPN Radio will have daily reports and interviews during other programming in the week leading up to the race. RaceDay airs 52 weeks a year and will originate from the site of every NASCAR Sprint Cup race this season.

ESPN The Magazine

The ESPN The Magazine "Body Issue," on newsstands now, contains a column by senior writer Ryan McGee on the evolution of safety in NASCAR and the sanctioning body's use of SAFER barriers at racetracks.

ESPN Deportes

ESPN's Spanish-language television, radio and Internet in the U.S. will televise the NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Indianapolis on a tape-delayed basis at 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 28, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Brickyard 400 on Monday, July 29, at 4 a.m. ESPN Deportes' NASCAR commentator team will feature Andrés Agulla (play-by-play) and Alex Pombo (analysis). In addition to the telecast of the race, ESPN Deportes will have segments for its edition of SportsCenter.

ESPN International

ESPN International is one of the world's leading syndicators of sports programming and its relationship with NASCAR is helping maximize coverage of NASCAR and providing a solid base of distribution. Through a combination of sales and network programming, the 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup races (including the Bud Shootout and Sprint All-Star Race) and 33 NASCAR Nationwide Series races are available to 112 countries and territories around the world. In addition, U.S. troops and their families serving around the world and Navy vessels at sea can watch the season through American Forces Network.

ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic will count down to the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 with airings of multiple past editions of the race as well as classic NASCAR-themed SportsCentury programs on Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. The race airings begin Thursday, July 25, at midnight with the 2011 race.

Visit www.espnmediazone.com for ESPN's latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video and audio clips and more.

About NASCAR on ESPN:

ESPN produces comprehensive, multi-platform coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Additionally, ESPN is the television home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. ESPN's NASCAR coverage extends to ESPN.com, SportsCenter, ESPN the Magazine, WatchESPN, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN on Xbox LIVE, ESPN Radio and ESPN International, among other ESPN platforms. ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981 and returned to NASCAR coverage in 2007. The network's award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage on ESPN has been honored with 19 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It is widely credited for helping to popularize the sport nationwide.