JGR specials to kick off NASCAR on SPEED in '10

NASCAR on SPEED is back and bigger than ever.

Beginning Jan. 24, NASCAR fans will be given unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to one of the sport's most successful teams as it prepares for the season-opening Daytona 500. SPEED and IMG Sports Media are working together on a series of four one-hour specials featuring Joe Gibbs Racing and giving fans a unique perspective of what it takes to be ready to perform in the Great American Race.

The JGR Countdown to the Daytona 500 will take viewers to previously restricted areas, including wind tunnel testing, the engine department and team plane.

• NASCAR on SPEED schedule

JGR Countdown to the Daytona 500 schedule:
• Episode 1 -- 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 24
• Episode 2 -- 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 31
• Episode 3 -- 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 7
• Episode 4 -- 6 p.m. ET on Feb. 13

Daily NASCAR coverage returns to SPEED at 7:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 11 with the season premiere of NASCAR Race Hub. Adam Alexander and Randy Pemberton host the first episode, with a guest appearance from Toyota GM for Racing Development Lee White. NASCAR newcomer Danica Patrick will appear on Tuesday's show. In addition, SPEED will now offer a West Coast airing (11:30 p.m. ET) of the Hub all season long. For complete coverage of motorsports, The SPEED Report returns at 7 p.m. ET Sunday.

Later in the week, SPEED will be live from Daytona Beach and the NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest. Entitled NASCAR 2010 Live from Daytona, shows will air at 8 p.m. ET on Jan. 15 and 4 p.m. ET on Jan. 16. Daytona 500 winners Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are scheduled to appear.

For something a little different, SPEED will cover the Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge in Lake Placid, N.Y., with a group of NASCAR and NHRA drivers competing in modified bobsleds down the three-quarter mile, 16-turn Mount Van Hoevenberg track, site of the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games as well as the 2003 and 2009 World Bobsled Championships. The special will air at noon ET and at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 31.

To close out January, SPEED will offer live coverage of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, featuring the top teams from NASCAR's Grand National and Elite divisions at famed Irwindale Speedway in California. Qualifying airs at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 29 and race coverage begins at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 30.