FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 31st, 2017

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS INDYCAR GRAND PRIX AT THE GLEN AND F1 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX, PART OF SUNDAY MOTORSPORTS TRIPLEHEADER ON NBCSN

Transcript – Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs, Paul Tracy, and Jeff Burton Preview F1/IndyCar/NASCAR Sunday Tripleheader on NBCSN

F1 Italian Grand Prix – 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN

IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen – Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Diffey to Perform Broadcasting Doubleheader, Calling Both F1 and IndyCar Races on Sunday

NBC Sports Jets Back to the 1980’s with Righteous Retro Coverage of Darlington Raceway’s NASCAR Cup Series Race Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBCSN Overdrive – Thursday Primetime Motorsports Block – Continues Tonight, Including American Flat Track Racing

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 31, 2017 – NBC Sports presents a motorsports tripleheader from the world’s top racing series this Sunday all on NBCSN, beginning this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET with the iconic Formula One Italian Grand Prix from Monza. Coverage continues on NBCSN at 1:30 p.m. ET with the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen, and concludes with the NASCAR Cup Series Race from Darlington Raceway, which will feature retro graphics and logos to pay homage to this weekend’s throwback celebration at the track.

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Sun., September 3 F1 Italian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Darlington Race 6 p.m. NBCSN

 

This week’s coverage also includes NBCSN Overdrive, the network’s Thursday night primetime motorsports block, highlighted by American Flat Track racing from Lima, Ohio, tonight at 10 p.m. ET.


LEIGH DIFFEY TO PERFORM BROADCASTING DOUBLEHEADER, CALLING F1/INDYCAR RACES SUNDAY

Lead F1 and IndyCar play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey is slated to perform a rare broadcasting feat this Sunday. Diffey will call the F1 Italian Grand Prix on Sunday morning from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., then take a flight to Watkins Glen in upstate New York in time to handle play-by-play duties for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen.

LEIGH DIFFEY, DAVID HOBBS, PAUL TRACY, AND JEFF BURTON PREVIEW SUNDAY MOTORSPORTS TRIPLEHEADER ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group’s lead Formula One and IndyCar play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey, F1 analyst David Hobbs, IndyCar analyst Paul Tracy, and NASCAR analyst Jeff Burton previewed Sunday’s motorsports tripleheader on NBCSN on a media conference call earlier today. Below are highlights of the call. Click here for a full transcript.

Diffey on doing the double: “This is the second opportunity for me to do this, to do the double…it’s a pretty long day, considering that our morning start for F1 is at 3 a.m. when the wake-up call goes off…but it’s a really enjoyable day, and I feel really fortunate and really excited to be honest to be doing it again…I’ve worked on all three series this year, and I watch a lot of motorsports, because it’s not my job, it’s my passion.”

Hobbs on the battle in F1 between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel: “Sebastian Vettel is normally the coolest, calmest and most collected guy that you could possibly find, but unfortunately in Baku, his dark side came out. Behind the caution car, he actually turned in to Hamilton’s car, which is not the sort of thing you see very often in Formula 1. And it displayed a chink in his armor, which I think that Hamilton will exploit as the fight continues down to the championship at the end of the year.”

Tracy on IndyCar series points leader Josef Newgarden: “He’s the whole deal. He’s American, he’s good-looking, he’s fast, he’s brave as hell, he gets all the sponsors in, he goes to all the sponsor events and loves doing it. He moved down to the shop. He’s in the shop every day with the guys. He’s with his engineers at dinner. He’s everything that you would want as a driver, and Roger (Penske) completely agreed with me. He goes, ‘I haven’t had a guy in a long time that has integrated himself into our team as quickly as Josef has done in six months.’”

Burton on the throwback at Darlington: “This is always one of my favorite weekends… winning the Southern 500 was one of the highlights of my career…it’s brought a tremendous amount of energy to an already historic race… I told them I could just dig a Van Halen shirt out of my drawer, and that’s all you’ve got to do, a pair of jeans and Van Halen shirt and I’d fit right in, but they wanted Miami Vice, so that’s what we’re doing.”

F1 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 7:30 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

The 2017 F1 season continues this weekend with iconic Italian Grand Prix from Monza, as Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) continue their battle atop the driver standings. Hamilton (213 points) narrowed his deficit to Vettel (220 points) with a victory at the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend. Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have combined to put Mercedes (392 points) ahead of Ferrari (348 points) by a healthy margin in the constructor standings. Prior to last year’s win by Nico Rosberg at Monza, Hamilton (2012, 2014 & 2015) and Vettel (2011 & 2013) accounted for the previous five victories.

Coverage begins Friday on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app at 4 a.m. ET with Practice 1, followed by Practice 2 at 8 a.m. ET on NBCSN. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream Practice 3 on Saturday at 5 a.m. ET, prior to NBCSN’s live coverage of qualifying at 8 a.m. ET. F1 Countdown pre-race coverage on NBCSN starts Sunday at 7 a.m. ET, leading into live race coverage at 7:30 a.m. ET, and post-race analysis on F1 Extra at 10 a.m. ET.

Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett will call the action. F1 insider Will Buxton will report on-site from Monza.


INDYCAR GRAND PRIX AT THE GLEN – SUNDAY AT 1:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Verizon IndyCar Series rolls into Watkins Glen in upstate New York for the penultimate race of the 2017 campaign. Josef Newgarden (Penske; 547 points) is primed to win his first career championship, following his victory at Gateway Motorsports Park to move 31 points ahead of Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing; 516 points). Helio Castroneves (Penske; 505 points) remains in striking distance with two races remaining, along with last year’s series champion Simon Pagenaud (Penske; 504 points), and Will Power (Penske; 464 points).

NBCSN will televise qualifying on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, followed by pre-race coverage on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, race coverage at 1:30 p.m. ET, and post-race analysis following the checkered flag at 4 p.m. ET.

Leigh Diffey will call race alongside analysts Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell. Reporters Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt, Robin Miller and Kevin Lee will report from the pits.

NBC SPORTS JETS BACK TO THE 1980’S WITH RIGHTEOUS RETRO COVERAGE OF DARLINGTON RACEWAY’S NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE SUNDAY AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group celebrates Darlington Raceway’s throwback weekend of racing, with retro themes, graphics and style from the 1985-89 NASCAR era, integrated throughout 19 hours of trackside coverage from “The Track Too Tough to Tame,” in Darlington, South Carolina. Race coverage begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with XFINITY Series racing, and culminates Sunday night at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing. Click here for more information.

NBCSN OVERDRIVE THURSDAY MOTORSPORTS BLOCK CONTINUES THIS WEEK, INCLUDING AMERICAN FLAT TRACK RACING AT 10 P.M. ET

NBCSN Overdrive, the network’s Thursday night primetime motorsports block, continues this week, highlighted this week by American Flat Track racing from Lima, Ohio, at 10 p.m. ET.

The weekly primetime block will include six unique series and more than 40 hours of premiere programming, featuring new seasons of Grudge Race and Journey to the Hammers. American Flat Track, widely regarded as the most prestigious and competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing in the world, will be featured most Thursdays on Overdrive at 10 p.m. ET. Click here for more information.

Following is this week’s motorsports coverage schedule:

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Thur., August 31 Grudge Race Marathon 8 p.m. NBCSN
American Flat Track – Lima Half-Mile 10 p.m. NBCSN
Journey to the Hammers (Premiere) 11 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., September 1 F1 Italian Grand Prix – Practice 1 4 a.m. Streaming*
F1 Italian Grand Prix – Practice 2 8 a.m. NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Darlington – Practice 12 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Darlington – Practice 1 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Darlington – Final Practice 2:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Darlington – Final Practice 3:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., September 2 F1 Italian Grand Prix – Practice 3 5 a.m. Streaming*
F1 Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying 8 a.m. NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Darlington – Qualifying 12 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America 1 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Darlington – Qualifying 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green 3 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Darlington Race 3:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen – Qualifying** 7 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR K&N Series – Douglas County 8:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Whelen Series – Seekonk 9:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., September 3 F2 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
NASCAR Southern Speed: Legend of Darlington 10:30 a.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Darlington – Qualifying 11:30 a.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Countdown 1 p.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Post-Race 3:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America 4 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Darlington Race 6 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race 10:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Victory Lap 11 p.m. NBCSN

*NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app

**delayed coverage
NBC SPORTS GROUP STREAMING, DIGITAL AND SOCIAL CONTENT

NBC Sports Group will provide comprehensive streaming and digital coverage surrounding its motorsports properties via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – and NASCAR Talk and MotorSportsTalk, NBC Sports Group’s digital home for the latest motorsports news.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will provide season-long live streaming coverage of all Formula One practices, qualifying sessions and Grands Prix, including exclusive coverage of practices that will not air on NBC or NBCSN.  NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream NASCAR and IndyCar content that will air on NBC and NBCSN (race coverage and some practice and qualifying), as well as the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Red Bull Global RallyCross series, and Red Bull Air Race.


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 –