ESPN IN ABC OUT

ESPN will air 14 Sprint Cup races this season, including nine of the 10 races in the Chase. ABC will air three prime time Saturday night races.

For the past three seasons, ESPN has aired six races, with 11 on ABC.

"Last year's performance showed us that ESPN provides the best home for NASCAR," said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president, content.

Down the stretch ...

Date Track Network

July 25 Indianapolis ESPN

Aug. 1 Pocono ESPN

Aug. 8 Watkins Glen ESPN

Aug. 15 Michigan ESPN

Aug. 21 Bristol ABC

Sept. 5 Atlanta ESPN

Sept. 11 Richmond ABC

Sept. 19 Loudon ESPN

Sept. 26 Dover ESPN

Oct. 3 Kansas ESPN

Oct. 10 Fontana ESPN

Oct. 16 Charlotte ABC

Oct. 24 Martinsville ESPN

Oct. 31 Talladega ESPN

Nov. 7 Texas ESPN

Nov. 14 Phoenix ESPN

Nov. 21 Homestead ESPN

• Complete TV schedule"ESPN further strengthens NASCAR's consistent start times message for the fans, and with the strong support of NASCAR across our multimedia platforms, we hope to build on that momentum in 2010."
"This is exciting news for NASCAR and our fans," said NASCAR Media Group president Paul Brooks. "The ESPN subscriber base is larger than ever at nearly 100 million, and the network has the proven ability to attract younger viewers.
"As the premier network during the most competitive time of the year for sports, having more NASCAR races on ESPN will create more exposure."
With 12 nights of college football, three Cup Series races and the Little League World Series U.S. championship game, ESPN is producing 16 consecutive weeks of prime time Saturday night sports for ABC.
"Saturday night racing on ABC benefits from the strong crossover between NASCAR and college football fans," Skipper said.
ESPN's 17-race coverage of the Cup Series begins with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and concludes with the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead.
All Cup Series race telecasts on the ESPN networks will continue to be preceded by NASCAR Countdown. With NASCAR's new 1 p.m. ET starting times for Sunday afternoon races in the Eastern and Central time zones, NASCAR Countdown will air on ESPN2 at noon prior to the 1 p.m. races during the NFL season. For other races, NASCAR Countdown will air on the same network as the race.
The entire Nationwide Series season will continue to appear on ESPN networks, with most on ESPN2 and selected races on ESPN and ABC.