Shaq vs Dale Jr. Episode Kicks Off ABC's New Season

“Shaq VS” is a reality competition series starring NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal. In the second season, Shaq will not only use his athletic prowess to challenge high-profile athletes, but also his energy and charisma to compete beyond the athletic arena in non-sports challenges. Season Two of “Shaq VS” will debut TUESDAY, AUGUST 3 (9:01- 10:01 p.m. ET) on the ABC Television Network.

In the premiere episode, “Shaq VS Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal will race head to head at Concord Speedway in North Carolina against Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver and recent winner of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway and more than 40 NASCAR-sanctioned races.

Shaq has swapped his size-23 basketball shoes for racing Velcro; traded his breezy, cool basketball jersey for a heavy, fire-retardant driver’s suit; forgone the familiarity of basketball hardwood for the cramped quarters of a stock-car cockpit – all 7-foot-1-inch, 325 pounds of him.

SLIDESHOW:Big Shaq Meets Little Dale Before The Challenge

In this episode he also travels to the nation’s capital to take on the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, 15-year old Kavya Shivashankar, and enlists the help of this year’s finalists, along with Kavya's 8-year old sister, Vanya.

Mike Goldberg will host, while Kit Hoover will serve as co-host and sideline reporter.

The series closely follows Shaq and his adversaries throughout the rigorous training process and the pre-game hype leading up to every challenge. Each week, Shaq will compete in an athletic challenge or a non-sports competition, with some episodes featuring Shaq taking on two challengers. To level the playing field, he will negotiate a handicap with his opponent and train with a coach prior to the challenge.