ESPN eagerly races back into NASCAR coverage

ESPN makes its return to Nextel Cup coverage this weekend with Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In addition to reminders, scrolls and commercials the past few weeks to promote its return, ESPN is airing 66 hours of NASCAR-related programs this week to market its coverage of the final 17 races of the season.

The first six of the 17 ABC/ESPN races will air on ESPN. The final 11 will be on ABC as one network will air the entire Chase for the Cup championship for the first time since its 2004 debut.

All race telecasts will include a prerace show, be shown in high definition and include the first use of HD in-car cameras. In addition, ESPN will use 17 platforms to cover NASCAR.

Play-by-play announcer Jerry Punch and analyst Andy Petree will join analyst Rusty Wallace in the booth. Las Vegas resident Jamie Little will be one of the pit reporters.

Gadgets, including a “Draft Track” that shows air flowing behind cars and drivers drafting in it, will be part of the coverage.

• NASCAR — Robert Yates Racing is expected to announce a merger between Yates’ NASCAR operation and Newman-Haas Racing of the Champ Car World Series.

Yates fields Cup teams for Ricky Rudd and David Gilliland, and Newman-Haas is the three-time reigning champion in Champ Car with driver Sebastien Bourdais.

Actor/philantropist Paul Newman has been an avid racer, and Carl Haas was a part owner of Cup teams for eight seasons, mostly in the late 1990s.

• OLD-TIMERS — Las Vegas Motor Speedway is trying to round up retired short-track racers from Southern Nevada who excelled at either the old Speedrome or Craig Road Speedway. LVMS wants to honor them during its Aug. 8 event at the Bullring. Call John Bisci at 632-8231.

• SPEED TRUCKS — Darren Young of Gilbert, Ariz., won Saturday’s ASA Speed Truck race at Irwindale Speedway near Los Angeles, and 15-year-old teammate Bear Rzesnowiecky of Las Vegas finished third.

Rzesnowiecky earned the “hard-charger” award for passing the most trucks during the race.

The series will be part of the Aug. 8 NASCAR All-American Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during a special Wednesday night program.

• SPORTS CARS — Las Vegas-based Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing fired driver Tomas Enge of Monaco during Sunday’s Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Enge was released about 45 minutes into the 2-hour, 45-minute American Le Mans Series GT2 race after race officials penalized him for causing damage to a competitor’s car while being on probation.

Co-driver Dirk Muller, also of Monaco, drove the team’s Ferrari F430 GT to a fifth-place finish.

• MOTOCROSS — James Stewart carries the AMA Motocross Championship points lead into Sunday’s event at Washougal MX Park in Washington.

Stewart returned to racing last week in Lakewood, Colo., after a bad crash the week before in New Berlin, N.Y.