ESPN2's NASCAR Now Returns February 1

ESPN2's daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now returns for its fourth season on Monday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. ET, to coincide with the beginning of the 2010 NASCAR season. The program includes highlights, opinion, debate, analysis and the latest news from drivers, crew chiefs and insiders.

With hosts Nicole Briscoe, Mike Massaro and Allen Bestwick, NASCAR Now originates from ESPN's high definition studios in Bristol, Conn., with reporters and analysts checking in from locations around the country wherever NASCAR news is happening. In addition to reports from races, NASCAR Now reporters also visit race shops and special events.

NASCAR Now will originate from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., site of the NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500, with special hour-long programs Feb. 8-14. Massaro will host the first week of episodes beginning Feb. 1, with Briscoe reporting from Daytona starting Feb. 4. NASCAR fans should check their local listings for NASCAR Now times during Daytona Speedweeks, and, with limited exceptions, the program will air at its regular time of 5 p.m. the rest of the year.

ESPN2 also airs an hour-long edition of NASCAR Now at on the morning of each NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and a weekend wrap-up edition will begin in July.
The first two weeks of the program will include a focus on the top 10 teams in the sport, looking back at the 2009 season and looking ahead to 2010 with predictions from ESPN analysts. In addition, the first week of the program will feature drivers of the decades, starting on Feb. 1 with drivers from the 1960s.

The NASCAR Now team also includes Terry Blount, motorsports writer for ESPN.com; analyst Tim Brewer, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief; reporter Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News writer and columnist; D.J. Copp, tire changer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; analyst Ricky Craven, a former winning driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series; and analyst Brad Daugherty, five-time NBA All-Star and NASCAR team owner.

Others are analyst Ray Evernham, three-time NASCAR Cup champion crew chief; Ed Hinton, motorsports writer for ESPN.com; analyst Randy LaJoie, two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion; Ryan McGee, motorsports writer for ESPN the Magazine; David Newton, motorsports writer for ESPN.com; and NASCAR Now lead reporter and ESPN Insider Marty Smith.

Shannon Spake, a pit reporter on ESPN's NASCAR race coverage, will report for NASCAR Now this season and occasionally host while also reporting for SportsCenter and other ESPN platforms covering NASCAR.

NASCAR Now viewers also will see analysis and reports from the NASCAR on ESPN race coverage team including analysts Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree and pit reporters Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.

Live NASCAR racing returns to the ESPN networks for the 2010 season when ESPN2 airs flag-to-flag coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series 300-mile from Daytona on Saturday, Feb. 13. NASCAR Countdown airs at noon ET, with the race's green flag at 1:34 p.m.