FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 17th, 2016

NASCAR RETURNS TO NBCSN LIVE FROM “THUNDER VALLEY” SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET

NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing from The Last Great Colosseum Immediately Follows Saturday’s Men’s Soccer Gold Medal Match

 

Denny Hamlin Stars in this Week’s “Phone A Fan” Social Web Video

 

Tony Stewart Joins Nate Ryan on this Week’s NASCAR on NBC Podcast

 

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 17, 2016 – As NBC Sports Group’s presentation of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games winds down, the engines of NASCAR rev back into action with back-to-back races under the lights of Bristol Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series returns on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The stars of tomorrow take the wheel with XFINITY Series racing Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

 

Saturday’s pre-race coverage includes a closer look at the famous speedway that owes its heritage to Olympia. In a feature voiced by Ken Squier, NBC Sports draws comparisons between the Olympics, the greatest test of a man’s physical strength, and NASCAR racing, the greatest test of man and machine. Before the cars roll this weekend, NBC reporter Parker Kligerman ventures up to Colossus to get a closer look at the world’s largest outdoor center-hung four-sided video screen. NBC Sports continues to surround Jeff Gordon as he suits up for his fourth consecutive race in the No. 88 car as Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains sidelined with a concussion.

 

NBCSN PRESENTS SPRINT CUP RACING FROM THE WORLD’S FASTEST HALF-MILE SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET

 

NBC Sports kicks off its Sprint Cup coverage from Bristol on Friday with practice at 10 a.m. ET, available via live stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, as well as several NBC Sports Regional Networks. Final practice follows at 12:30 p.m. ET streaming on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Friday’s Sprint Cup coverage wraps up with NASCAR America at 5:15 p.m. ET on USA Network, followed by qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

 

Saturday’s race day coverage begins with Countdown to Green at 7:30 p.m. ET, immediately following the conclusion of the Olympic men’s soccer gold medal match on NBCSN. Race coverage from The Last Great Colosseum begins Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. An hour-long on-site post-race show wraps up NBCSN’s coverage at 11 p.m. ET.

 

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, Dave Burns and Kligerman report from pit road.

 

CATCH XFINITY SERIES RACING FROM “THUNDER VALLEY” FRIDAY AT 7 P.M. ET

 

XFINTIY Series racing from Bristol begins Thursday with practice at 1 p.m. ET and final practice at 3:30 p.m. ET, both available via live stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, as well as several NBC Sports Regional Networks.  Race day coverage begins Friday with qualifying at 3 p.m. ET streaming and available on select regional sports networks. Countdown to Green kicks into high gear at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network, followed by green flag racing at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. An on-site post-race show wraps up the evening at 9:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

 

DENNY HAMLIN STARS IN THIS WEEK’S “PHONE A FAN” SOCIAL WEB VIDEO

 

The most recent Sprint Cup race winner Denny Hamlin 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 and twitter accounts, Hamlin gets the inside scoop from multiple fans who describe him as the “boy next door” with a classy demeanor. Check out the full video here.

 

NASCAR racing legend and soon to be retired Sprint Cup driver Tony Stewart joins Nate Ryan on this week’s NASCAR on NBC podcast to discuss racing hard, playing hard, and what he will do with his newfound free time. 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
Thur., Aug. 18 NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice – Bristol 1:00 PM NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com, CSN Mid Atlantic, CSN Plus-Chicago, CSN Bay Area, CSN Northwest
NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice – Bristol 3:30 PM NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com, CSN Mid Atlantic, CSN Plus-Chicago, CSN Bay Area, CSN Northwest
Fri., Aug. 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice – Bristol 10:00 AM NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com,CSN New England, CSN Mid Atlantic, CSN Plus-Chicago, CSN Bay Area, CSN Northwest
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – Bristol 12:30 PM NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – Bristol 1:00 PM USA
NASCAR XFINITY Series Qualifying – Bristol 3 PM NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com, CSN Mid Atlantic, CSN Bay Area, CSN Northwest
NASCAR America 5:15 PM USA
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Bristol 5:30 PM USA
Countdown To Green 7:00 PM USA
NASCAR XFINITY Series Racing From Bristol 7:30 PM USA
NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race 9:30 PM USA
Sat., Aug. 19 Countdown To Green 7:30 PM NBCSN
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing From Bristol 8:00 PM NBCSN
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race 11:00 PM NBCSN

 

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.

 

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.

 

— NBC SPORTS GROUP —