FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 16th, 2016

JIMMIE JOHNSON, KYLE BUSCH, CARL EDWARDS & JOEY LOGANO RACE FOR THE 2016 NASCAR SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY ON NBC AND NBCSN

NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Race Sun. at 2 pm ET on NBC

NBCSN’s Hot Pass Complements NBC’s Broadcast of Championship Race with Spotlight Coverage of Championship 4 Drivers

NASCAR Sprint Cup Race From Phoenix Marks NBC Sports Group’s Most Watched Race of 2016 Sprint Cup Chase

 

XFINITY Series Championship Race Sat. at 2 pm ET on NBCSN

 

STAMFORD, Conn.November 16, 2016 – NBC Sports presents NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series Championship coverage from Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. NBC presents the Sprint Cup Championship race Sunday at 2 p.m. ET and the XFINITY Series concludes its 2016 season Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Before the green flags fall on the final races of the 2016 NASCAR season, NBC Sports pre-race coverage surrounds the eight drivers competing for Championships.

 

The Sprint Cup Championship Four drivers, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano, join Krista Voda, Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett live Sunday, moments before they climb into their cars. Sunday’s coverage also includes a tribute piece honoring Tony Stewart, prior to his final Sprint Cup race. Legendary driver Richard Petty also joins the pre-race show live, to discuss the possibility of Johnson joining him and Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the Seven Champions club.

 

XFINITY Championship competitors Elliott Sadler, Daniel Suarez, Justin Allgaier and Erik Jones, join NBCSN’s pre-race set live Saturday to discuss expectations, nerves and strategy. Pre-race features also include an essay voiced by Ken Squier, vignettes on the four contenders, and an interview between Kyle Petty and his father “The King” to discuss Jimmie Johnson’s historic run.

 

In a conference call yesterday NASCAR on NBC’s on-air team of Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett and Rick Allen, as well as Executive Producer Sam Flood and VP of NASCAR Production Jeff Behnke previewed Sunday’s title coverage. A full transcript of the call is available here.

 

NBC PRESENTS NASCAR SPRINT CUP PLAYOFF RACING FROM MIAMI SUNDAY AT 2 P.M. ET

 

NBC Sports kicks off its final 2016 weekend of Sprint Cup coverage Friday with practice at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by qualifying at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Saturday’s coverage includes practice at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC, followed by NASCAR America at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and final practice at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN. A second edition of NASCAR America wraps up Saturday’s Sprint Cup coverage at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

 

Championship Sunday begins on NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET and green flag racing at 3 p.m. ET. The checkered flag is followed by an on-site post-race show on NBCSN, as well as Victory Lap beginning at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

 

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 Kelli Stavast report from pit road. Features reporter Rutledge Wood contributes on Saturday and Sunday.

 

NBCSN’S HOT PASS COMPLEMENTS NBC’S BROADCAST OF CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WITH SPOTLIGHT COVERAGE OF CHAMPIONSHIP 4 DRIVERS

 

NBCSN complements NBC’s live coverage of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship race from Homestead-Miami Speedway with Hot Pass Sunday November 20th at 2:30 p.m. ET. Utilizing multi-window displays and in-car cameras, Hot Pass provides viewers an in-depth look at Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch as they battle for the 2016 title. On-air graphics highlight the point differentials and field changes between the four drives while a pane of race facts and figures give viewers up to the minute statistics.

 

NBCSN’s Hot Pass provides continuous in-car audio, highlighting team communication, punctuated with commentary from race announcer Leigh Diffey and NASCAR on NBC reporter Parker Kligerman. A full release detailing Hot Pass is available here.

 

NASCAR SPRINT CUP RACE FROM PHOENIX MARKS NBC SPORTS GROUP’S MOST WATCHED RACE OF 2016 SPRINT CUP CHASE

 

Last Sunday’s penultimate NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the 2016 season earned 4.03 million viewers, making it the most watched playoff race of the season. In comparison to NBC’s Chase race from Kansas Speedway last month, which drew 3.45 million, Sunday’s race from Phoenix International Raceway was up 17% among average viewers. Viewership peaked between 5:45 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET with 6.02 million viewers watching Joey Logano secure the checkered flag. Season to date, consumption of NASCAR content via NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and connected devices has earned over 97 million minutes and 802,000 unique devise, up 56% & 54% respectively vs 2015.

 

NBCSN PRESENTS XFINITY SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP RACE SATURDAY AT 2 P.M. ET

 

Elliott Sadler, Daniel Suarez, Justin Allgaier and Erik Jones face off this weekend in the inaugural XFINITY Series Championship Chase race. NBC Sports’ Championship XFINITY coverage from Miami begins Friday with practice at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by final practice at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Race day Saturday begins with qualifying at 11 a.m. ET on CNBC. Race coverage kicks off with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN followed by green flag racing at 3:30 p.m. After the Champion is crowned, an on-site post-race show at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN wraps up the day.

 

FOUNDER OF MOTORSPORTS ANALYTICS, DAVID SMITH, JOINS NATE RYAN ON THIS WEEK’S NASCAR ON NBC PODCAST

 

David Smith, founder of Motorsports Analytics and NASCAR scout, joins Nate Ryan on the final NASCAR on NBC podcast of the season. Smith and Ryan deep dive into the statistical probability of each of the Championship 4 Drivers securing the title, and Smith shares his theory on why restarts are going to play a determining factor. 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.

 

UPCOMING NASCAR PROGRAMMING

 

Date Coverage Time (ET) Network
Wed., Nov 16 NASCAR America 5:30 PM NBCSN
Thurs., Nov 17 NASCAR America 6:00 PM NBCSN
Fri., Nov 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series First Practice – Miami 12:30 PM NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series First Practice – Miami 2:00 PM NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice – Miami 5:00 PM NBCSN
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – Miami 6:00 PM NBCSN
Sat., Nov 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Second Practice – Miami 10:00 AM CNBC
NASCAR XFINITY Series Qualifying – Miami 11:00 AM CNBC
NASCAR America 12:30 PM NBCSN
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – Miami 1:00 PM NBCSN
NASCAR America 2:00 PM NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green 3:00 PM NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Racing – Miami 3:30 PM NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race Show 6:30 PM NBCSN
Sun., Nov 20 NASCAR America 1:30 PM NBC
NASCAR Sprint Cup Countdown to Green 2:00 PM NBC
Hot Pass 2:30 PM NBCSN
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing – Miami 3:00 PM NBC
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show 7:00 PM NBCSN
NASCAR Victory Lap 8:00 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.

 

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

 

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