FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 6th, 2016
NASCAR SPRINT CUP RACING RETURNS TO NBC IN PRIMETIME – SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. ET
Charlotte Motor Speedway Hosts First Sprint Cup Race in the Round of 12
NBCSN Presents the First XFINITY Series Chase Elimination Race Friday at 8 p.m. ET
Kids Talk NASCAR in the Cutest Social Web Experiment NBC Has Conducted
NBCSN’s Sprint Cup Race Coverage Nets Sunday’s Most Watched Cable Sports Telecast
Jay Howard Joins Nate Ryan on This Week’s NASCAR on NBC Podcast
STAMFORD, Conn. – October 6, 2016 – NBC Sports heads to the “Queens City” for back-to-back primetime NASCAR races from Charlotte Motor Speedway. NBC Sports resets the playoff field Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC with the first race of the Sprint Cup Round of 12. Back on a level playing field, the Chase drivers will battle it out on NASCAR’s home track to ensure a spot in Martinsville. NBCSN presents the first elimination race of the inaugural XFINITY Chase Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
NBC PRESENTS THE FIRST SPRINT CUP RACE IN THE ROUND OF 12 SATURDAY AT 7 PM ET
NBC Sports returns to NASCAR’s home track this weekend for the first race in the playoff Round of 12. Coverage from Charlotte Motor Speedway begins this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Sprint Cup practice, followed by NASCAR America at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Today’s on-site coverage wraps up with qualifying at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Friday’s coverage from Charlotte begins at 3:30 p.m. ET with practice followed by an on-site edition of NASCAR America at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Race day begins at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a special Saturday edition of NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at 6 p.m. ET. Coverage shifts over to NBC at 7 p.m. ET for complete race coverage of the Bank of America 500.
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, Kelli Stavast and Parker Kligerman report from pit road. Rutledge Wood contributes to NBCSN’s coverage today and Friday.
NBCSN PRESENTS THE FIRST XFINITY SERIES ELIMINATION RACE FRIDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET
NBC Sports’ XFINITY coverage from Charlotte Motor Speedway begins today with practice at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by final practice at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Friday’s race day coverage begins with qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Countdown to Green kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and flows into coverage of the pivotal XFINITY Series Round of 12 elimination race at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
KIDS TALK NASCAR IN THE CUTEST SOCIAL WEB EXPERIMENT NBC HAS CONDUCTED
In a social web video released on the NASCAR on NBC Facebook page and twitter accounts, Rutledge Wood joins a group of kids for an adorable discussion about the biggest names in NASCAR. As the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup heats up, kids share the secrets to any great Champion’s success, ham sandwiches, big cars and winning. Check out the full video here.
NBCSN’S SPRINT CUP RACE COVERAGE NETS SUNDAY’S MOST WATCHED CABLE SPORTS TELECAST
NBCSN’s presentation of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Dover International Speedway marked Sunday’s most watched cable sports telecast, with 2.6 million viewers, and was the second most watched cable sports telecast of the weekend behind only ESPN’s primetime Alabama vs. Kentucky college football matchup. Sunday’s NASCAR race also drove NBCSN to be the No. 1 cable network during the race window between 2:30-5:30 p.m. ET. Viewership peaked as Martin Truex Jr. won his second playoff race and prevented another Chase driver from punching their ticket into the Round of 12, with at 3.3 million viewers and a 1.93 HH rating. NBC Sports’ 30-minute special, Kyle & Rut’s Racing Roots featuring Kevin Harvick, drew 327,000 viewers Sunday evening and stands as a top 5 NASCAR special among average viewers for NBCSN.
JAY HOWARD JOINS NATE RYAN ON THIS WEEK’S NASCAR ON NBC PODCAST
Founder and president of JHE Production, Jay Howard, joins Nate Ryan on this week’s NASCAR on NBC podcast for a discussion about NASCAR’s elaborate pre-race festivities and the lessons he has learned in his 30 years of event production. 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 major stars and personalities.
NASCAR Talk highlights Dover race winner Daniel Suarez in this week’s XFINITY Series spotlight article. Coming off of his second XFINITY career win this past weekend, Suarez shares the story of his humble beginnings in Mexico, and discusses how he repaid his father for the opportunity to pursue his racing dream.
UPCOMING NASCAR PROGRAMMING
| Date | Coverage | Time (ET) | Network |
| Thurs., Oct. 6 | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice – Charlotte | 1:30 PM | NBCSN |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice – Charlotte | 3:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – Dover | 4:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 5:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice – Charlotte | 5:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Charlotte | 7:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| Fri., Oct. 7 | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice – Charlotte | 3:30 PM | NBCSN |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Qualifying – Charlotte | 4:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 6:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – Charlotte | 6:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green | 7:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Racing – Charlotte | 8:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race | 10:30 PM | NBCSN | |
| Sat., Oct. 8 | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Charlotte (Encore) | 3:30 PM | NBCSN |
| NASCAR America | 5:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Countdown to Green | 6:00 PM | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing – Charlotte | 7:00 PM | NBC | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show | 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. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku.
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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