ESPN yesterday announced it has expanded the roles of Allen Bestwick and Nicole Briscoe for the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Bestwick will move into the booth as the lap-by-lap announcer for all of ESPN's Sprint Cup telecasts. He will be joined by analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the booth when ESPN's '11 Sprint Cup race coverage begins July 31. Briscoe will replace Bestwick as the regular "NASCAR Countdown" host for all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series telecasts on the net. Briscoe will work with analysts Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. Marty Reid, who was the lap-by-lap announcer for Sprint Cup telecasts last year, will continue to call Nationwide Series race telecasts this season (ESPN). SCENEDAILY.com’s Bob Pockrass noted Bestwick was a “part of telecasts for the Motor Racing Network, TBS, TNT and NBC Sports before joining ESPN” in ’07, and he has “worked as a pit reporter and host and has called some races for ESPN.” In addition to his new duties in the booth, Bestwick “will continue as the main host and moderator for the Monday roundtable discussion edition" of "NASCAR Now” (SCENEDAILY.com, 7/20).
AFTER THESE MESSAGES: In Charlotte, Jim Utter writes ESPN appears to have "won the good graces of NASCAR fans" in announcing changes to its Sprint Cup broadcast team. Utter: "How long will the good vibe last? Probably until Bestwick announces for the first time that the broadcast is cutting away for a commercial break" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/21). In Milwaukee, Dave Kallmann wrote, "This move, of course, will have no bearing on the number or timing of commercials" (JSONLINE.com, 7/20).
