FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 1st, 2016
NBCSN PRESENTS INDYCAR GRAND PRIX AT THE GLEN AND FORMULA ONE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX THIS WEEKEND
IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen – Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Formula One Italian Grand Prix – Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN
NBC Sports Group On Pace To Deliver Its Most-Watched IndyCar Season On Record
Best of Mecum Monterey Auction – Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC
NBC Sports Is Throwin’ It Back This Labor Day Weekend With NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series Racing From Darlington on NBC
STAMFORD, Conn. – September 1, 2016 – This weekend’s motorsports coverage on NBCSN includes a live presentation of the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen, the penultimate race of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series, this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, as well as live coverage of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET.
In addition, NBC will showcase the highlights of Mecum Auctions’ Monterey event with a one-hour special airing on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. NBCSN also presents two hours of Mecum Top Ten countdown shows to kick off the Thursday night motorsports block, which begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
INDYCAR GRAND PRIX AT THE GLEN – SUNDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series heads to iconic Watkins Glen International this weekend with championship implications at stake, with just the season finale at Sonoma on Sept. 18 remaining on the schedule. Simon Pageanud (Penske) continues to lead the standings over teammate Will Power, in what has turned into a two-driver race for the championship. Pagenaud (529 points) is 28 points ahead of Power (501 points), and 113 points clear of Tony Kanaan (Chip Ganassi Racing), who sits in third. This marks the first IndyCar race at Watkins Glen since the 2010 season, when Power drove to victory. Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) is a three-time winner at Watkins Glen (2008-10).
NBC Sports Group is currently on pace to deliver its most-watched IndyCar season on record, averaging 487,000 viewers across eight races, up 18% vs. 2015 through the same number of races (412,000), excluding rain-impacted races.
Coverage begins tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET on NBCSN with practice, followed by qualifying on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage on Sunday begins at 2 p.m. ET, followed by the Grand Prix at the Glen at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN will also present the Indy Lights series on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Brian Till (play-by-play) will call the action alongside analysts and drivers Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell. Reporters Kevin Lee, Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will report from the pits. Lee, Anders Krohn (analyst), and Hargitt will the Indy Lights race.
FORMULA ONE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 7:30 A.M. ET ON NBCSN
F1 makes its annual trip to Monza this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix, as Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) looks to build off of his win in Belgium last weekend and gain ground on teammate and rival Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton had won seven consecutive races prior to last weekend, and now leads Rosberg by just nine points following Rosberg’s win in the Belgian Grand Prix. Hamilton is a three-time winner at Monza, including the past two seasons.
Live coverage begins exclusively on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app on Friday morning at 4 a.m. ET with Practice 1, followed by NBCSN’s live coverage of Practice 2 at 8 a.m. ET. Streaming coverage on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app continues Saturday at 5 a.m. ET with Practice 3 and live qualifying at 8 a.m. ET on NBCSN.
Live Italian Grand Prix coverage begins Sunday morning at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN with F1 Countdown, and is followed by F1 Extra at 10 a.m. ET.
Lead F1 announcer Leigh Diffey will call this weekend’s action, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the team’s on-site reporter from Monza.
BEST OF MECUM MONTEREY AUCTION – SUNDAY AT 2 P.M. ET ON NBC
NBC showcases the biggest highlights from Mecum Auctions’ iconic Monterey event with a one-hour special this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. The auction, which was held on August 18-21 in Monterey, produced more than $50 million in sales, and six vehicles which sold for at least $1 million, including a 211-mile 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari that sold for $4.7 million, and a 2003 Ferrari Enzo that fetched $3 million.
Scott Hoke hosts NBC Sports Group’s Mecum Auctions coverage from Monterey, alongside analysts John Kraman, Stephen Cox, Bill Stephens, and Steve Matchett. Mecum Auctions is led by Dana Mecum, Founder and President of Mecum Auctions for the past 28 years.
THURSDAY NIGHT MOTORSPORTS BLOCK BEGINS TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET WITH MECUM TOP 10
NBCSN’s Thursday night motorsports block begins at 8 p.m. ET, with a quartet of Mecum Top 10s, looking at the Top 10 muscle cars, 1950s classics, Ford and Shelby vehicles, and General Motors cars.
Tonight’s block also features the next episode of Journey to the Hammers at 11 p.m. ET. The series profiles the ULTRA4 racing series, which combines high-speed off-road racing and rock crawling, and culminates with the iconic “King of the Hammers,” one of the toughest one-day off-road races on the planet.
NBC SPORTS IS THROWIN’ IT BACK THIS LABOR DAY WEEKEND WITH NASCAR SPRINT CUP AND XFINITY SERIES RACING FROM DARLINGTON ON NBC
NBC Sports gears up for a throwback weekend of racing from Darlington highlighted by the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Bojangles Southern 500 Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on NBC and the XFINITY Series race Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
NBC Sports joins Darlington Raceway in celebrating the sights and sounds of the 1975-1984 era with throwback themes integrated into this weekend’s coverage. Click here for more information.
Following is this week’s NBC Sports Group motorsports coverage schedule:
| Date | Coverage | Time (ET) | Network |
| Thurs., Sept. 1 | NASCAR Whelen Modified Series – Riverhead | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Mecum Top 10 – American Muscle | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Mecum Top 10 – The 50s | 8:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Mecum Top 10 – Ford and Shelby | 9 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Mecum Top 10 – General Motors | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Nitro Circus | 10 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Journey to the Hammers | 11 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Fri., Sept. 2 | Nitro Circus | 10 p.m. | NBCSN |
| F1 Italian Grand Prix – Practice 1 | 4 a.m. | Streaming | |
| F1 Italian Grand Prix – Practice 2 | 8 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Off The Grid – Monza | 9:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Southern Speed – Legend of Darlington | 10 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen – Practice | 11 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice – Darlington | Noon | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice – Darlington | 1:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice – Darlington | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – Darlington | 3:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – Douglas County | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sat., Sept. 3 | F1 Italian Grand Prix – Practice 3 | 5 a.m. | Streaming |
| F1 Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying | 8 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Qualifying – Darlington | 11:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 1 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying – Darlington | 1:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Countdown to Green | 3 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Racing – Darlington | 3:30 p.m. | NBC | |
| IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen – Qualifying** | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., Sept. 4 | GP2 Series – Italy** | 6 a.m. | NBCSN |
| F1 Countdown | 7 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Italian Grand Prix | 7:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Extra | 10 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Indy Lights – Watkins Glen** | 1 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Best of Mecum Auctions Monterey | 2 p.m. | NBC | |
| IndyCar Countdown | 2 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| IndyCar Post-Race | 4:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Countdown to Green | 5:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing – Darlington | 6 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR Victory Lap | 11 p.m. | NBCSN |
**denotes delayed coverage
MOTORSPORTS ON NBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP: NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will provide live streaming coverage of this weekend’s motorsports content via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
NASCAR TALK: NASCAR TALK provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date NASCAR coverage, including Sprint Cup, XFINITY, and Camping World Truck Series. The site also promotes videos from NBCSN’s NASCAR AMERICA. Fans can follow @NASCARTalkNBC on Twitter.
MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on Formula One, the Verizon IndyCar Series, and other open-wheel and off-road racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.
SOCIAL: NBC Sports Group will continue to provide comprehensive motorsports social coverage across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. On Twitter, fans can follow @MotorsportsTalk for all-encompassing content across NBC Sports Group’s motorsports properties. @NASCARonNBC and@NASCARTalkNBC share the latest NASCAR content, @F1onNBCSports provides the latest news in Formula One, and @IndyCaronNBCSN delivers up-to-the-minute information on the Verizon IndyCar Series.
In addition, the NASCAR on NBC Facebook page will provide users with videos, interactive content and much more. Fans should also “like” NBC Sports on Facebook for the most up-to-date news, videos and commentary about NBC Sports Group’s motorsports properties.
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 –
