ESPN2: The New Home of the NASCAR Busch Series

 
From BGNracing.com
Date: 12-07-06 at 3:16 PM

NASCAR Busch Series fans will have a new television destination in 2007.
 
Beginning Feb. 17, ESPN2 will be the new home of the NASCAR Busch Series with select races to air on ESPN on ABC.

ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer has called the NASCAR Busch Series “one of the jewels in the rough of the (full NASCAR) deal,” and fans will notice a new shine on the gem with ESPN’s elevation of the series. With its multi-media platforms and the same standards and quality of production as the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series including use of High Definition cameras, SportVision enhancements and state-of-the-art graphics, ESPN is poised to provide a tremendous experience for viewers.

“We are as excited as the fans to launch our NASCAR coverage starting with the NASCAR Busch Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway,” said ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper. “Having the NASCAR Busch Series entirely on one network is really going to serve the NASCAR fan and allow us to tell a story all year long. The strength of the NASCAR Busch Series significantly enhances all of our content offerings and brings tremendous value to ESPN2 and ESPN on ABC.”

In addition to all 35 NBS races, the networks will telecast practice and qualifying from 17 races, the season-ending banquet and a season preview and review specials.  There will also be a dedicated pre-race program for each race called NASCAR Busch Series Countdown as well as comprehensive coverage of the Busch Series in ESPN2’s NASCAR news and information program, NASCAR Now.  And, for the first time in televised motorsports, all will be produced in High Definition.

To help fans prepare for the new season, NASCAR Now will debut on Feb. 5, marking the network’s first-ever daily program solely dedicated to NASCAR, delivering the latest race news and information. Also on Feb. 5, ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) will start a countdown of the “100 Defining Moments” in NASCAR history. These 30-second vignettes will lead to ESPN and ESPN on ABC’s airing of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, beginning July 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

ESPN’s comprehensive NASCAR Busch Series coverage will extend to ESPN.com, ESPN Deportes, SportsCenter, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPNRadio, ESPN360, ESPN International and EOE, among other ESPN platforms.

“Having ESPN2 showcase the excitement and anticipation of the season-opening Daytona 300 from Daytona International Speedway is the perfect way to open the NASCAR Busch Series season,” said speedway president Robin Braig.  “We’re excited to have ESPN’s multi-media platforms showcase this great event to millions of fans around the world.”

In 2006, Chevy driver Kevin Harvick captured the coveted NASCAR Busch Series season title by a record margin of 824 points over Carl Edwards.

“It is great that ESPN is rejoining NASCAR,” said Harvick. “I think it will help the sport and with ESPN’s full-season broadcast of the Busch Series, I believe it will help owners secure more sponsorship dollars for their Busch programs. I also think that ESPN will bring a lot of new features to their broadcast that will entice more fans to join the world of NASCAR.”

ESPN2 will become the motorsports destination for NASCAR Busch Series fans with more than 500 hours of motorsports programming in 2007.

For more information visit, www.espnmotorsportsmedia.com.

ESPN and ESPN on ABC will have comprehensive, multi-platform coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races including the 10-race “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” championship on ABC. Additionally, ESPN2 will be the home of the NASCAR Busch Series all season.

ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981. The network's award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage on ESPN was honored with 17 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It is widely credited for helping to popularize the sport nationwide. NASCAR races have appeared on ABC for decades, beginning with broadcasts on the award-winning Wide World of Sports program in the 1960s.