FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 6th, 2016
“THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD” – NBC SPORTS GROUP PRESENTS NASCAR SPRINT CUP RACING FROM KENTUCKY SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. ET
NBC Sports Group Presents 22 Hours of Trackside Coverage from Kentucky
NBC’s Presentation of Coke Zero 400 Stands as Most Watched Summer Daytona Race Since 2011
Austin Dillon Stars in This Week’s “Phone a Fan” Social Web Video
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 6, 2016 – NBC Sports Group marches into its second week of NASCAR coverage this weekend with 22 trackside hours of coverage from Kentucky Speedway. Following up a successful race weekend in Daytona, NBCSN’s coverage from Kentucky Speedway kicks off this Friday with XFINITY Series racing at 8:30 p.m. ET, followed by Sprint Cup racing from Kentucky presented by KFC Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Highlighted by NBC Sports Group’s “This is Where It Gets Good” promo, NBCSN encircles Sparta, Ky., with three on-site editions of NASCAR America and complete trackside coverage of XFINITY and Sprint Cup racing action.
NBC’S PRESENTATION OF COKE ZERO 400 STANDS AS MOST WATCHED SUMMER DAYTONA RACE SINCE 2011
Nearly 5.7 million viewers tuned in last Saturday as Brad Keselowski held off the Busch brothers to secure his first win at Daytona International Speedway. Saturday’s race stands as the most watched July Daytona race since 2011, up +43% vs. the 2015 Coke Zero 400. Viewership peaked during the final minutes of the race from 10:45 -11 p.m. ET with a 3.9 HH rating and 6.5 million viewers. NBC’s presentation of the Sprint Cup race claimed the title as highest rated and most watched program of the evening, and saw an increase of +6% in HH rating (vs a 3.2) and +9% (vs 5.2 million viewers) in viewership compared to NBC’s 2015 Sprint Cup Race average. The Coke Zero 400 generated 2.9 million live minutes streamed via the NBC Sports App, an increase of +15% vs. the same event in 2015.
NBC SPORTS’ SPRINT CUP SERIES COVERAGE FROM KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
A special 30-minute addition of NASCAR America kicks off NBCSN’s on-site Sprint Cup coverage tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET. It is immediately followed by practice at 2:30 p.m. ET and an evening edition of NASCAR America derives from Sparta, Ky., beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Friday’s on-site coverage begins at 11 a.m. ET with Sprint Cup practice on the NBC Sports app. Coverage of Sprint Cup practice becomes available at 11:45 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Sprint Cup qualifying begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on the NBC Sports app followed by an updated presentation of 18 Rising Presented by Toyota at 11:30 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s race day coverage begins with an encore presentation of qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN which feeds directly into NASCAR America Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Countdown to Green begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Sprint Cup Series Racing from Kentucky Presented by KFC beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The Sprint Cup post-race show wraps up on-site coverage 11 p.m., with Victory Lap originating from Stamford, Conn., at 11:30 p.m. ET concluding NBCSN’s NASCAR coverage.
Race announcer Rick Allen calls this weekend’s action alongside analysts Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton. Pre- and post-race coverage is handled by host Krista Voda, and analysts Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett. Marty Snider, Mike Massaro, Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns report from pit road and present a new reoccurring “On The Wall” segment, available here. Features reporter Rutledge Wood brings viewers closer to the sights and sounds of the 1.5-mile tri-oval tracks, reporting the humorous and heartwarming on-site stories each day.
NBCSN’S XFINITY SERIES COVERAGE FROM SPARTA, KY.
NBCSN’s coverage from Kentucky Speedway begins tomorrow with a trifecta of XFINITY Series practice at 1 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET. Voda steps in as announcer for the first two XFINITY Series practices on Thursday afternoon. XFINITY Series qualifying begins Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by pre-race Countdown to Green coverage at 8 p.m. ET and race coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. A 30-minute post-race show wraps up on-site coverage at 11 p.m. ET.
AUSTIN DILLON STARS IN THIS WEEK’S “PHONE A FAN” SOCIAL WEB VIDEO
Austin Dillon stars in this week’s new NASCAR on NBC “Phone a Fan” web video, where unsuspecting fans receive calls from their favorite NASCAR drivers. In the video released today on the NASCAR on NBC Facebook page, Dillon catches his fan Jackson, by surprise, posing as a NASCAR market researcher to discuss the legendary No. 3 car, haircuts and girls. Check out the full promo available here.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Duchardt joins Nate Ryan on this week’s NASCAR on NBC podcast to discuss the intricacies of being a technology company in the entertainment business and specifically, in his words, “managing an adult daycare center.” Available on NASCAR Talk, iTunes, AudioBoom, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and podcasting apps, the NASCAR on NBC podcast discusses the latest NASCAR news each week with the major players in the sport.
UPCOMING NASCAR PROGRAMMING
| Date | Program | Time (ET) | Network |
| Wed. July 6 | NASCAR America | 6:00 PM | NBCSN |
| Thur. July 7 | XFINITY Series Practice – Kentucky | 1:00 PM | NBCSN |
| NASCAR America | 2:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sprint Cup Series Practice – Kentucky | 2:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Practice – Kentucky | 4:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 6:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Final Practice – Kentucky | 7:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| Fri. July 8 | Sprint Cup Series Practice – Kentucky | 11:00 AM | NBC Sports app |
| Sprint Cup Series Practice – Kentucky | 11:45 AM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – Columbus* | 12:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – Kentucky | 1:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Qualifying – Kentucky | 4:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Kentucky | 6:30 PM | NBC Sports app | |
| XFINITY Series Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show | 8:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Racing from Kentucky | 8:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Post-Race Show | 11:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| 18 Rising Presented by Toyota | 11:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sat. July 9 | NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – Columbus (Encore) | 2:00 AM | NBCSN |
| Building 43 (Encore) | 2:30 PM | NBC | |
| Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Kentucky (Encore) | 4:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America Saturday | 6:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sprint Cup Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show | 7:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sprint Cup Racing from Kentucky Presented by KFC | 7:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sprint Cup Post Race Show | 11:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| Victory Lap | 11:30 PM | NBCSN |
*taped
All of NBC Sports Group’s NASCAR coverage is available to stream on NBCSports.com and via the NBC Sports app. The NBC Sports app is powered by Playmaker Media, and is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
NASCARTalk on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on NASCAR drivers, teams and industry news. For all the latest NASCAR content socially, fans can follow @NASCARonNBC and @NASCARTalkNBC on twitter and like the NASCAR on NBC Facebook page.
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