NASCAR roster gets fine-tuning

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2008 | by Michael Hiestand

ABC/ESPN, after returning to NASCAR racing last year, will retool its coverage this season.

The moves, being announced today, include removing Rusty Wallace as lead race analyst. He'll become lead analyst in the prerace show, which last year didn't have anyone in such a role.

Wallace's replacement on races: Dale Jarrett, who'll retire from racing after the first five races in this season's Sprint Cup Series (the former Nextel Cup Series).

"Before last year, (TV) wasn't something I'd given any thought to," says Jarrett, who called 10 Busch Series races -- a circuit now called the Nationwide Series-- on ESPN2 and ABC last year. "I was 100% focused on driving," he says. "But once ESPN gave me the opportunity last year, I found it was something I really...