Indianapolis marks a true second half to the season

The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, this weekend's stop on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, marks the "head of the stretch" when it comes to the horse race expected to determine a series champion.

Though it is not the true halfway point of the 36-race season, it is where all sorts of things come together for the run to the Chase, and after that, the run to the Sprint Cup.

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First, ESPN assumes the TV coverage for the remainder of the season, taking over from TNT, which had the previous six races. Joining the NASCAR fray with the second-biggest race on the schedule is a big deal, and in typical ESPN fashion, the Worldwide Leader is pulling out the stops.

A full week of NASCAR-related programming leads up to the Allstate 400, and the race is the key to the opening salvo, which features NASCAR on nearly the whole ESPN arsenal -- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN360.com and ESPN MobileTV, the 24/7 mobile video network. Don't forget ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language channel, which will also simulcast the race.

It's an all-star cast of commentators, too, featuring former series champions Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace, along with champion crew chiefs Ray Evernham, Andy Petree and Tim Brewer.

Allstate, the race sponsor, has plenty lined up for the second-half kickoff, too. In the fourth year of a multi-year contract as the race sponsor, Allstate does a lot to promote its involvement, including having its star driver appear on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Kasey Kahne will make a pit stop at the show's New York studios on Friday morning. Kahne will talk up the Allstate 400 with host Kelly Ripa and guest host David Duchovny -- otherwise known as Fox Mulder from The X-Files.

Besides the race, Kahne will talk about Allstate's Teen Driving Pit Stop, one of the company's signature programs to aid parents with teen drivers.

Earlier in the week, Allstate named its grand marshal, actor John C. McGinley from the TV show Scrubs (read more).

What exactly does a grand marshal do?

Well, as a guest of Allstate, McGinley will be on-site at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to headline pre-race activities, including the ceremonial waving of the green flag. Usually, the grand marshal also gives the command to start engines, but at Indy, that duty is carried out by IMS chairman of the board Mari Hulman George.

"I am looking forward to attending my first NASCAR race at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard," McGinley said. "I've been a racing fan for a while but have never had the chance to see a live race. I've had plenty of challenging roles in my acting career, but trying to act like I'm not nervous when I wave the green flag before the start of the 15th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will be my toughest one yet."

This process of naming a grand marshal for a particular race is one way that companies attract attention from non-endemic media outlets and fans of the grand marshal. At Indy, Allstate commands a big audience, both at the track and on TV. More than 250,000 fans attend the Brickyard in person.

With ESPN's all-out media blitz on all channels, Allstate vice president of marketing Lisa Cochrane is looking like a genius in securing the race sponsorship back in 2005 with a multi-year deal.