NASCAR race airing on alternate channels in seven markets on Saturday night
(Jared C. Hilton/Getty Images)
The annual Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway is one of the most popular races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. This Saturday night, drivers will race for 500 laps around the half-mile track some have called “The Colosseum of Concrete.”
ESPN’s NASCAR team will televise the race on ABC. Because ABC affiliates in seven markets are airing NFL preseason games rather than the racing, ESPN’s Programming Department and ABC Affiliate Relations worked together to give NASCAR fans alternate options for viewing the telecast. As a result, the race will still air nationwide and no fans will miss out on the action.
ABC’s coverage begins with NASCAR Countdown at 7 p.m. ET, with the race’s green flag at 7:44 p.m.
The affected markets:
•Buffalo, N.Y. – ABC affiliate WKBW-TV will join either NASCAR Countdown or the race in progress following 4:30 p.m. Buffalo-Washington game.
• Charlotte, N.C. – ABC affiliate WSOC-TV will join either NASCAR Countdown or the race in progress following 4:30 p.m. Buffalo-Washington game.
• Columbus, Ohio – NASCAR Countdown and race will air on local station WWHO-TV.
• Dayton, Ohio – NASCAR Countdown and race will air on ESPN.
• Nashville – NASCAR Countdown and race will air on ESPN.
• Philadelphia – NASCAR Countdown and race will air on ESPN and on Digital Tier 2 channel of ABC affiliate WPVI-TV.
• Phoenix – NASCAR Countdown and race will air on ESPN and Digital Tier 2 channel of ABC affiliate KNXV-TV.
• Rochester, N.Y. – ABC affiliate WHAM-TV will air NASCAR Countdown on its Digital Tier 2 channel and will join in progress on its main channel following 4:30 p.m. Buffalo-Washington game.
• St. Joseph, Mo. – NASCAR Countdown and race will air on ESPN.
• Weslaco, Texas – NASCAR Countdown and race will air on ESPN and Digital Tier 2 channel of ABC affiliate KRGV.
NASCAR Countdown will be pre-empted by local news in Little Rock, Ark., and Tyler, Texas, but both ABC affiliates will air the race telecast.
