Nationwide Series Bumped Off ESPN2 Friday

If nothing else, at least they let us know ahead of time.

ESPN announced today that Friday night's Nationwide Series Lipton Tea 250 will get the shaft end of the deal and will get moved to ESPN Classic, instead of its originally scheduled ESPN2 home in favor of an NBA Playoff game. From the release:

Friday night's ESPN production of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Richmond International Raceway has been moved to ESPN Classic and also will be simulcast on ESPN360.com and SPEED. The telecast begins at 7 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The change was made to accommodate NBA playoff game six between Washington and Cleveland.

Additionally, for fans without ESPN Classic, a special encore presentation of the race from start to finish will air that evening following the NBA game beginning at approximately 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

If nothing else, I suppose, ESPN has at least worked out a deal for the race to be on SPEED for those without ESPN Classic.

Friday night's Richmond race will mark the second race in-a-row that the Nationwide Series wasn't on ESPN2, as last week's event at Talladega was on ABC. That seems quite confusing to me after NASCAR and ESPN2 tried to make a big point that ESPN2 would be the "home" of the Nationwide Series back when the current television package began.

I understand that the NBA Playoffs is a big deal, but it can't be in ESPN2's best brand interest to be shipping NASCAR to ESPN Classic and to another network entirely.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-01-2008 @ 4:36PM

joeaustin! said...

they are clueless. who the hell watches basketball anymore? I think it has pretty much sucked since Jordan retired. there are aprox. 300 guys on the job where I work, probably 2 are interested in basketball, at least half like to enjoy the race.

5-01-2008 @ 5:43PM

Samantha said...

This guy above can't be serious. Lebron James ring a bell?

5-01-2008 @ 8:32PM

Cleo said...

good thing that I get speed on cable...ESPN should just stop broadcasting Nascar as they don't seem to care about it.

5-01-2008 @ 8:43PM

Pamm said...

Yep, we're the red-headed stepchild yet again...:(

5-02-2008 @ 10:06PM

art said...

who cares nascar is all about the japcar can you say another company selling out to the japs

5-02-2008 @ 10:28PM

Kim said...

Frankly, I prefer the Speed Network over ESPN anyway, so would much rather have watched the race on Speed, which I did. I agree with Cleo, ESPN should just stick with Basketball, Tennis, Golf, Football, and whatever other sports they put first before NASCAR because they sure don't seem to care about their viewers that love NASCAR.

And Art, seriously, your bigotry is getting really old. Go spew your hatred elsewhere. No one here wants to hear your derogatory comments about the Japanese anymore. That war ended decades ago. Don't you feel they've paid their dues yet? We weren't exactly "civil" towards them in World War 2 either. Wars are horrible and leave behind many who lost loved ones. People who continue to be bigots against an entire group of people concerning something that happened many decades ago, are just bitter. You can't go through life being so bitter and hateful. May I suggest you view two wonderful movies that were recently released. Flags of Our Fathers by Clint Eastwood & Letters from Iwo Jima by Clint Eastwood. Not only were the films incredibly accurate, but they showed the "softer" side of both sides of the coin. The Japanese lost many loved ones as did the Americans. War is a tragedy. The best way to get over it, is to learn to forgive and move on, not to hold an entire new generation or two of people to the "crimes" of their forefathers.

And just for your information, my father fought in World War 2 and he made peace with the Japanese. He tutored a family that moved here in the eighties from Japan. He taught them English, helped them find housing & employment, and remained friends with them until the day he died. Please take a lesson from my Father in forgiveness.

Kim