How to watch NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup: TV, streaming, race times, schedule and more

When the green flag flies Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway it will not just signal the start of the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup, but also the final 10 races where ABC/ESPN will broadcast a NASCAR race for the foreseeable future.

Beginning in 2015, NBC Sports will air 19 Sprint Cup races for the next 10 years, in a landmark deal announced last season. NBC assumes the bulk of the current races aired by TNT and all the races carried by ABC/ESPN. Fox will continue to broadcast the first half of the schedule.

Having lost the broadcast rights to NASCAR’s top division in 2001, ESPN resumed its coverage six years later. But looking to distance itself from the stick-and-ball sports and receive more prominent coverage, NASCAR elected to realign itself with NBC, which aired Cup races from 1999-2006.

Entering its final season as a NASCAR broadcast partner, for the foreseeable future, ESPN is planning similar coverage as it has for the past few years.

Allen Bestwick will handle play-by-play duties alongside NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett and former crew chief Andy Petree. Following the nine Chase races on ESPN, (the Oct. 11 at Charlotte Motor Speedway airs on ABC) there will be extended post-race coverage on SportsCenter. The ESPN portion of the schedule will again implement a split-screen feature in the second half of a race where commercials will air alongside the race action.

All races on ESPN can also be streamed via WatchESPN.

ESPN’s NASCAR playoff coverage begins Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.