FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 30th, 2018

INDYCAR RETURNS TO PORTLAND AS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE HEATS UP THIS SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland Coverage Begins with IndyCar Live Presented by Verizon on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Four-Time Series Champion Scott Dixon Leads Standings Ahead of 2016 Indy 500 Champ Alexander Rossi and 2018 Indy 500 Champ Will Power

NBC Sports Celebrates NASCAR’s Throwback Weekend and Seven Decades of Racing at Darlington This Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 30, 2018 – The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series returns to Portland International Raceway in Portland, Ore., this weekend for the first time in more than a decade, as NBC Sports presents coverage of the Grand Prix of Portland this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Pre-race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with IndyCar Live Presented by Verizon.

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 the IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland.

NBC Sports’ motorsports coverage this weekend will also include NASCAR’s throwback weekend, with more than 17 hours of trackside coverage from Darlington Raceway, in Darlington, S.C. Race coverage begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, with Xfinity Series racing, and culminates Sunday night at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND – SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The 2018 IndyCar championship chase is in full swing heading into this weekend’s race at Portland International Raceway, the penultimate race of the 2018 campaign. 2018 Indy 500 champion Will Power (Team Penske) won last weekend’s race at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis to move into the championship conversation.

Power now sits in third place in the driver standings (500 points), trailing 2016 Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport; 542 points) and four-time series champion Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing; 568 points). Despite trailing Dixon by 68 points, Power’s hopes for a championship are still within reach with the season finale at Sonoma worth double points. This marks the series’ first race in Portland since 2007, which was won by Sebastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing).

Coverage from Portland International Raceway begins Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with qualifying, prior to pre-race coverage on IndyCar Live Presented by Verizon on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET and live race coverage at 3 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage will take an in-depth look at the championship chase with just two races remaining, as Power has re-entered the conversation and Rossi continues to chip away at Dixon’s advantage.

NBC Sports’ lead IndyCar play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey will call this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portland alongside analysts and former drivers Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell. Robin Miller, Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, and Katie Hargitt will report from the pits.

In addition, NBCSN will air the Indy Lights championship race from Portland on Monday at 6 p.m. ET, with Kevin Lee, Anders Krohn, and Katie Hargitt on the call. Patricio O’Ward (Andretti Autosport) holds a 25-point edge over Colton Herta (Andretti-Steinbrenner) in Indy Lights. At stake is a scholarship valued at $1 million to guarantee entry into at least three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2019, including the 103rd Indianapolis 500.

NBC Sports is the exclusive television home of the Verizon IndyCar Series in the United States. Following the final nine races of this season on NBCSN, NBC Sports will present all present all IndyCar races, qualifying, practices, and Indy Lights races across its platforms beginning in 2019, including the Indianapolis 500 and an additional seven races on NBC.

Following is this weekend’s IndyCar coverage schedule on NBCSN:

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Sat., Sept. 1 IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland – Qualifying* NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 2 IndyCar Live Presented by Verizon NBCSN 2:30 p.m.
IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland NBCSN 3 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 3 Indy Lights – Portland* NBCSN 6 p.m.

*delayed coverage

NBC SPORTS CELEBRATES NASCAR’S THROWBACK WEEKEND AND SEVEN DECADES OF RACING AT DARLINGTON THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports kicks off its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series coverage from Darlington Raceway, this Friday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Final practice begins at 4 p.m. ET, followed by a special “fans edition” of NASCAR America. Friday’s NASCAR America will be hosted by Krista Voda, who will be joined by analysts Earnhardt and Jarrett, as well as Kyle Busch, driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota, Joey Logano, driver of Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford, and David Ragan, driver of Front Row Motorsports’ No. 38 Ford. Saturday’s coverage includes an on-site edition of NASCAR America at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by qualifying at 2 p.m. ET. Click here for more info.


VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES 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 the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to 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.

-NBC SPORTS-