Long time coverage of NASCAR is Bob Pockrass who joins ESPN.com covering that stockcar series for the Bristol, Connecticut based sports network. (Credit: ESPN.com photo.)

By Lou Modestino

Award-winning motorsports writer Bob Pockrass has joined ESPN and will cover NASCAR for ESPN.com effective immediately. Given the fact that ESPN will have to credit most news about
about NASCAR to Fox and NBC, due to the fact that both networks own the NASCAR TV rights for several years. Bob, though, is pretty much plugged into NASCAR because of his connections to The Sporting News, Pockrass will no doubt write most of his own commentary because he’s a long time NASCAR watcher.

We also think that Bob Pockrass will be replacing the well known and respected Ed Hinton who covered NASCAR for the Orlando Sentinel and ESPN for many years. Hinton retired from ESPN recently.

Pockrass, who has been covering NASCAR since 1991, will produce news stories, features, analysis, columns, blogs and more for the NASCAR section of ESPN.com. The 2015 NASCAR season begins at Daytona International Speedway later this week.

Also, John Oreovicz, who has covered IndyCar, NHRA, NASCAR and other forms of motorsports for ESPN.com since 2004, has signed a contract with ESPN to continue his writing and reporting role. Oreovicz will join Pockrass in Florida to cover NASCAR Daytona Speedweeks for ESPN.com along with ESPN the Magazine senior writer Ryan McGee and ESPN bureau reporter Marty Smith.

Pockrass was most recently NASCAR writer for The Sporting News, a continuation of his previous position as associate editor for NASCAR Scene and SceneDaily.com that began in 2003. During those years he was twice named Writer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association (2009, 2013) and received numerous writing awards.

Pockrass, who was twice named to the SI.com “Twitter 100” of 100 sports personalities to follow on Twitter (2011, 2012), has also made dozens of television and radio appearances as a NASCAR expert.

Pockrass began his journalism career as a sports reporter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, covering Florida State football, college and high school sports and motorsports for the 100,000-circulation daily newspaper from 1991-2003.

He is a graduate of Indiana University with a major in Journalism.

“Adding an accomplished veteran in Bob Pockrass to ESPN.com’s editorial staff is another step in ESPN’s continuing to serve NASCAR’s passionate and dedicated fanbase going forward,” said Patrick Stiegman, ESPN vice president, editorial, digital and print media. “We look forward to having Bob’s work appearing on our platforms.”

Source: ESPN PR/Personal notes