FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 12th, 2018

2018 VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE DECIDED ON NBCSN THIS SUNDAY AT 6:30 P.M. ET AT INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA

NBC Sports Presents Comprehensive Coverage of Practice, Qualifying, and Grand Prix of Sonoma on NBCSN Beginning Friday at 4 p.m. ET

Scott Dixon Battling Alexander Rossi For Fifth Series Championship to Rank Second All-Time in IndyCar History Behind A.J. Foyt

Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell to Call Friday’s Second Practice on NBCSN from Pit Road

Leigh Diffey and Townsend Bell Preview Grand Prix of Sonoma on NASCAR/IndyCar Media Conference Call Today at 4 p.m. ET

STAMFORD, Conn. – September 12, 2018 – The Verizon IndyCar Series championship will be decided this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as four-time series champion Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) attempts to further establish his place among IndyCar legends and hold off 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport) at the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma in Sonoma, Calif.

NBC Sports will present comprehensive coverage of the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma this weekend with practice, qualifying and grand prix coverage airing on NBCSN, beginning this Friday at 4 p.m. ET.

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 all IndyCar coverage this week from Sonoma.

LEIGH DIFFEY AND TOWNSEND BELL PREVIEW GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA ON NASCAR/INDYCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL TODAY AT 4 P.M. ET

NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. and NBC Sports’ lead IndyCar play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey and IndyCar analyst Townsend Bell will join NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood on a media conference call today – Wednesday, September 12, at 4 p.m. ET – to preview Sunday’s motorsports doubleheader on NBCSN that features live coverage of IndyCar’s season finale at Sonoma Raceway, and the first race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Media interested in participating should call 334-323-0509; passcode 5147244.

INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA – SUNDAY AT 6:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship will be awarded for the seventh consecutive year on NBCSN this Sunday, as Dixon battles with Rossi for the title. Dixon enters the season finale with 598 points and a 29-point lead over Rossi (569 points) in the driver standings. Dixon avoided a potentially disastrous day at the Grand Prix of Portland on Sept. 2, when he avoided damage in a first-lap, crash and managed to finish in fifth place to maintain his lead over Rossi, who finished in eighth.

There are multiple clinching scenarios for both Dixon and Rossi, as this weekend’s race awards double points for each position (100 points for first place instead of 50 points, etc.), but Rossi will need to finish near the front of the pack, regardless of Dixon’s finish, to overcome the 29-point deficit. Team Penske teammates Will Power and defending series champion Josef Newgarden remain in contention with 511 points each, but face extremely long mathematical odds to win the title. Dixon is a two-time winner at Sonoma, while Rossi’s has registered a best finish of eighth place in his two races at Sonoma Raceway.

Coverage from Sonoma Raceway begins Friday at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Practice 1, followed by live coverage of Practice 2 at 6 p.m. ET. Analysts Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell will call Practice 2 on Friday from pit lane. Qualifying will air Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, following live NASCAR Xfinity Cup racing from Las Vegas, and live race coverage on Sunday will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, immediately following Monster Energy Cup Series race coverage from Las Vegas. An encore presentation of the Grand Prix of Sonoma will air Monday at noon ET on NBCSN.

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

Following the conclusion of the 2018 season on Sunday, NBC Sports will 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)
Fri., Sept. 14 IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma – Practice 1* NBCSN 4 p.m.
IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma – Practice 2 NBCSN 6 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 15 IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma – Qualifying* NBCSN 8 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 16 IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma NBCSN 6:30 p.m.
IndyCar Post-Race NBCSN 9 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 17 IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma (Encore) NBCSN 12 p.m.

*delayed coverage


2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFS BEGIN THIS WEEKEND IN LAS VEGAS ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group surrounds the first race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, with more than 16 hours of trackside coverage from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in Las Vegas, Nev. NBC Sports’ race coverage begins Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with the final regular season race of the Xfinity Series, and culminates Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing. More information surrounding this weekend’s NASCAR coverage will be announced later today.


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-