Coverage takes it to another gear

Fox and ESPN will be vying for racing fans' attention this weekend when the NASCAR season kicks off. ESPN will cover tomorrow's Busch race, and Fox will cover Sunday's Daytona 500, the first race in the Nextel Cup series.

Fox has signed a deal to be the home of the Daytona 500 through 2014. The package includes 13 Cup races, as well as the Budweiser Shootout. TNT will cover six Nextel Cup races.

After NBC bailed out, ESPN/ABC regained the series it left in 2000. ESPN will cover the entire Busch series and 17 of the 36 Nextel Cup races.

And the network will be back in high style, starting with "NASCAR Countdown" at noon tomorrow on ESPN2. Hosts Brent Musburger and Chris Fowler, NASCAR driver Boris Said, former NBA All-Star and current team owner Brad Daugherty, former crew chief Tim Brewer, and veteran television racing reporter Shannon Spake will appear.

The show will also feature the race telecast team of Rusty Wallace, play-by-play announcer Jerry Punch, booth analyst Andy Pierce, and pit reporters Mike Massari and Allen Beswick. The telecast will feature ESPN's new mobile pit. All this to set the stage for the NASCAR Busch Series opener at 1:15 p.m.

So to say ESPN is revved up is putting it mildly.

"We are thrilled to be back," senior vice president Jed Drake said. "The count for anybody asking is 2,778 days since we televised our last race. We have spent over a year preparing for this and have a team that is second to none."

ESPN2 will be the home of the Busch Series all season, while ABC will televise "The Race for the Cup" series. All programming will be produced in high definition.

ESPN will have a staff of more than 250 at Daytona, Drake said, and will feature coverage on "SportsCenter," ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPN Classic, and . . . well, you get the picture.

Fox, which will carry its Nextel Cup races in high definition, has a broadcast team of analysts Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds with race announcer Mike Joy, who will call Sunday's action starting at 2 p.m.

"We have a production army that will swell to about 300 personnel on Sunday," said Fox president David Hill. "We'll have 90 cameras, 150 microphones, a CableCam, and a 3D illustration stem."

Drake acknowledged the networks are competitive.

"Sports television is a very competitive business, and we play to win," Drake said. "So are we competitive? You bet. But it makes all of us better, and in the end, that competition is good for the fans."

Jerry Chu says he's not a gearhead, but he is a motorsports enthusiast, as well as a film editor. He has produced a show he hopes appeals to people like him. "Pit Stop Talk" is a behind-the-scenes look at racing in New England, airing on FSN every other Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Last week's show will be repeated Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

The half-hour show, which runs through April, is hosted by Chu, K.C. Tropeano, Davina Marshall, and Noreen Cozza.

"We try to do up-close-and-personal stories about racers in New England," said Chu, a teacher in Boston. The first show, for example, featured Katrina Canney, a 16-year-old "up-and-coming racer" who races modified cars, and Peter Cook, a veteran driver who had a heart attack during his first race last season, then returned to win his first race back.

"We gear the show toward the regular viewer and want to attract the nonracer to watch the show," said Chu.

Bill Cowher didn't stay on the open market long. The former Pittsburgh Steelers coach will be a studio analyst for CBS on "The NFL Today." Cowher resigned last month after 15 years with the Steelers, winning one Super Bowl title, which came two seasons ago. Cowher plans to spend more time with his family, but football is still in his blood. He would not commit to appearing on TV beyond one season. "I can still be a part of it but not have it consume your life," he said. "It's an opportunity to stay busy on Sundays and it may go beyond this year." . . . The Revolution and Channel 38 announced a two-year contract that will include 22 games, including the Aug. 12 match against the Galaxy, featuring David Beckham. The broadcasts will begin with the season opener April 7 at Chicago. The team retains ESPN2 and Fox as its national cable partners. Also, Spanish-language partner Univision will carry some Revolution games . . . The NFL Network is celebrating Black History Month with two prime-time specials Wednesday. In the first (8-9 p.m.), Super Bowl-winning Colts coach Tony Dungy leads a roundtable discussion of influential African-Americans in NFL history; at 9, the network will trace the history of the black quarterback in the NFL, using archival footage and interviews with former and current quarterbacks . . . Former San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker has joined ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" as an analyst. Last season, he was an analyst during the World Series. Fernando Vina will also join the "Baseball Tonight" roster . . . Fox's Game of the Week will begin April 7 at its new 3:30 p.m. time, offered in high definition for the first time. The Yankees and Red Sox will make nine Fox appearances, including four head to head . . . Dick Vitale, joined by Dan Shulman and Doris Burke, will be at Conte Forum to announce the Boston College-North Carolina game tomorrow at 9 p.m. for ESPN.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report; Susan Bickelhaupt can be reached at bickelhaupt@globe.com.