Surrounded by the glitz
and glamour of New York
City, Jimmie Johnson will
officially be crowned as the
2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series champion during the
series’ annual awards
banquet Friday night, Dec.
5, at the Waldorf-Astoria.
ESPN Classic will have live
coverage at 9 p.m. ET.
In addition to Johnson
and the Hendrick Motorsports
team, the rest of the top 10
NASCAR drivers of the season
also will be honored. The
banquet will feature a
musical performance by
Matchbox 20, stand-up comedy
from John Pinette and a
special historical segment
with actor Kevin Costner.
Dr. Jerry Punch, lead
announcer for ESPN’s NASCAR
racing coverage, will be the
onstage master of ceremonies
for the banquet.
ESPN Classic, which has
televised live coverage of
other awards ceremonies such
as the Baseball Hall of
Fame, is a 24-hour,
all-sports network devoted
to connecting today's sports
fan to the timeless elements
of sports by airing the
greatest games, moments,
stories and personalities in
sports history. ESPN Classic
brings a current perspective
and creates bridges between
two generations of athletes
and fans by illustrating the
connections between the past
and present.
The banquet re-airs on
Monday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. on
ESPN2.
About NASCAR on ESPN:
ESPN and ABC have
comprehensive,
multi-platform coverage
featuring telecasts of the
final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup
races, including the 10-race
“Chase for the NASCAR Sprint
Cup” on ABC. Additionally,
ESPN2 is the home of the
NASCAR Nationwide Series all
season. All programming is
produced totally in high
definition. ESPN’s
comprehensive, multimedia
NASCAR coverage extends to
ESPN.com, SportsCenter, ESPN
the Magazine, ESPN Classic,
ESPNEWS, ESPNRadio and ESPN
International, among other
ESPN platforms. ESPN aired
262 NASCAR Cup Races over a
20-year period starting in
1981 and returned to NASCAR
coverage in 2007. The
network's award-winning,
live flag-to-flag coverage
on ESPN has been honored
with 18 Sports Emmy Awards,
as well as many industry
honors. It is widely
credited for helping to
popularize the sport
nationwide. NASCAR races
have appeared on ABC for
decades, beginning with
broadcasts on the
award-winning Wide World of
Sports program in the 1960s.
