Eight years ago ESPN lost out in a record NASCAR deal putting FOX, NBC and TNT in place as the broadcasters for the series.

But times have changed and while FOX and TNT are still part of NASCAR the NEXTEL Cup races are back at ESPN/ABC where they were when no one wanted them.

This week the NEXTEL boys will be off with the Trucks and the Busch boys racing in the St. Louis area next week ESPN/ABC will roar back into the Cup business.

(We all know that they have been home to the Busch Series this year.)

But next week at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway the network that had NASCAR before it was cool returns to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series to ESPN with the running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, July 29. The race telecast will begin at 1 p.m. ET.

ESPN, which has televised more NASCAR Cup races than any other network, will air its first Cup event since 2000. ESPN and ESPN on ABC will have live coverage of the final 17 races of the 2007 season, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup on ESPN on ABC.

ESPN Ultimate NASCAR, which is building up to the launch of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing on ESPN with 11 hours of programming on NASCAR history, will have five prime-time special documentaries in the week leading up to the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The specials begin with The Explosion, which airs at 8 p.m. ET Monday, July 23, at 8 p.m. ET. The opening documentary takes a look at how NASCAR became the immensely popular sport it is today.

The Dirt will air at 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 24, on ESPN, while The Cars will air at 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 25. Speed and Danger will air at 9 p.m. Thursday, July 26, and the series will conclude with The Families at 8 p.m. Friday, July 27.

Since April, ESPN viewers have been watching “100 Defining Moments,” a series of 30-second vignettes that kicked off ESPN’s Ultimate NASCAR initiative and are featured on SportsCenter, NASCAR Now and other ESPN programming. ESPN is counting down the 100 most defining moments in NASCAR history as selected by a special panel of historians and media.