FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 15th, 2018
KYLE BUSCH, KEVIN HARVICK, JOEY LOGANO & MARTIN TRUEX JR. RACE FOR THE NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SUNDAY, NOV. 18 AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBC
NBCSN’s NASCAR Hot Pass Telecast Complements NBC’s Broadcast of Championship Race with Spotlight Coverage of Championship Four Drivers
XFINITY Series Championship Race – Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Mike Tirico Interviews Dale Earnhardt Jr. In Latest Episode of “The Mike Tirico Podcast”
Transcript of NBC Sports 2018 NASCAR Championship Media Conference Call
STAMFORD, Conn. – November 15, 2018 – NBC Sports Group surrounds the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series Championships, with more than 20 hours of trackside coverage from Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Fla. Race coverage from “The Sunshine State” begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with the Xfinity Series Championship, and culminates with Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
Following a thrilling Cup Series Playoff performance by NASCAR’s “Big Three”, Kyle Busch, and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, clinched a spot in the Championship Four last Sunday winning the checkered flag at ISM Raceway. In addition, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. secured the final two spots in the 2018 Championship Race, based on points. They join Joey Logano in the Championship Four, who clinched his spot with a win at Martinsville Speedway on October 28.
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP RACE FROM MIAMI – SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBC
NBC Sports Group kicks off its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship coverage from Homestead-Miami Speedway this Friday at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with first practice, followed by qualifying at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Saturday’s coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN with second practice, followed by NASCAR America at 1:30 p.m. ET. Final practice wraps up the day at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Sunday’s race day coverage begins with NASCAR America at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage shifts over to NBC at 1:30 for NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET. Before the green flag falls, all four Championship contenders will join NBC Sports Group’s pre-race coverage for an interview before climbing into their cars.
Pre-race coverage includes a special feature on one of NASCAR’s all-time greats David Pearson, voiced by legendary radio and television broadcaster Ken Squier. Pearson passed away on Monday at the age 83. In addition pre-race coverage will also be highlighted by a preview of this week’s episode of “Coffee with Kyle,” which features a heartfelt conversation between auto racing icon Kyle Petty and his father “The King” Richard Petty, about the legacy of Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus.
Coverage of the 2018 Championship race begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Live on-site post-race coverage celebrates the 2018 Champion on NBC. NBCSN wraps up coverage at 7 p.m. ET with an extended on-site post-race show.
Lead NASCAR on NBC race announcer Rick Allen (@Rickallenracing) will call this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series action, alongside Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte (@steveletarte), from NBC Sports’ traditional broadcast booth above the start/finish line. NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) will be teamed with 21-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton (@Jeffburton) in NBC’s “Drivers Booth.”
Krista Voda (@KristaVoda) will host pre-race coverage alongside Kyle Petty (@KylePetty), and Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett (@DaleJarrett). Marty Snider (@HeyMartysnider), Kelli Stavast (@KelliStavast), Dave Burns (@tvdaveburns) and Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) will report from pit road alongside features reporter Rutledge Wood (@RutledgeWood).
NBCSN’S NASCAR HOT PASS PRESENTS SPOTLIGHT SIMULCAST COVERAGE OF THE 2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR CONTENDERS
NBC Sports Group will once again deliver multi-network coverage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship, this Sunday, November 18 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
As a complement to NBC’s primary broadcast of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race from Homestead-Miami Speedway, NBCSN’s NASCAR Hot Pass telecast will offer simultaneous live coverage dedicated to each of the Championship Four drivers.
The full release is available here.
XFINITY SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE FROM HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY – SATURDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Xfinity Series coverage from Miami begins Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with first practice followed by final practice at 5 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s race day coverage kicks off with Xfinity Series qualifying at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by pre-race Countdown to Green coverage at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Live race coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
NBC SPORTS NAMES 2018 “PIT CREW ALL-STAR TEAM”
NBC Sports will honor its 2018 “Pit Crew All-Star Team” this Sunday in advance of the Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Led by Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte, “Pit Crew All-Stars” recognizes crew members who have made a significant difference in their driver’s season-to-date success. This year’s 10 honorees come from various race teams, and each hold different roles that are crucial to their driver and team’s success.
MIKE TIRICO INTERVIEWS DALE EARNHARDT JR. IN LATEST EPISODE OF “THE MIKE TIRICO PODCAST”
As part of this week’s episode of the The Mike Tirico Podcast, host Mike Tirico interviews NASCAR on NBC’s newest analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. about his rookie season in the broadcast booth, being a part of the media, and the 2018 on-track action.
Following are highlights from this week’s episode:
Earnhardt on his early broadcast aspirations: “I dreamed about it when I was a little kid when I was racing Matchbox cars on the floor. I imagined I would broadcast my races, me and my friends would broadcast what we would hear on the radio and TV from the announcers. I never dreamed that I’d be able to do what I do.”
Earnhardt on being critical of his former peers: “When you see a friend or another driver do something that you know you have to call straight down the middle, know you have to be critical or say that this guy has made a mistake, you run into a giant roadblock. That’s not who I am, I don’t call people out, I don’t go out of my way to speak negatively about someone, but you have viewers of the race that depend on you to be honest and they themselves have an opinion on what they saw. They know when you are skirting the truth, or dancing around the bush, or avoiding the truth. So that’s a real challenge.”
The Mike Tirico Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and podcasting apps.
Burton: “We’ve seen incredible racing in every one of these finales, and with the four guys that we have in each of the series, I don’t see that changing. In the Cup Series you have three former champions and Joey Logano trying to get his first championship. That’s really the four heavyweights from the whole year. When you look at laps led, you look at number of times in the top 5, you have the wins, all those stats, these are the four guys that deserve to be here. So it’s going to be a great battle. The races that we’ve seen here in the finale have been phenomenal, and I expect nothing different come Saturday and Sunday.”
Letarte: “I’m expecting great things at Miami, and I think the biggest reason is the type of racing we’ve had. We’ve been very blessed to have great, great racing all season. Whether it was that great finish between Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch at Chicago, whether it was the baffling finish at the Roval, which was an unbelievable points battle and battle for the win, or Joey Logano moving Martin Truex at Martinsville. None of us could have predicted how some of these races were going to go, and that’s what makes Saturday and Sunday’s race even more exciting. I don’t think it’s possible at all to predict which one is a favorite, which one has momentum. I think we have without a doubt the four biggest heavyweights when you look at their stats, you look at the momentum, look at the playoffs, the regular season. You could even go back the last four years, these guys have won almost 50 percent of the races in the last four seasons, and I think they’re very deserving. I think it’s going to be an exciting weekend.”
Earnhardt: “The drivers have really stepped up and gave us everything they’ve had. I feel like we have really whittled this down to the best four teams, the best four drivers for this season, and there’s not really an underdog in this group. But there’s not a favorite either. All these guys sort of measure up, and I can see either one of them winning this Championship. That has me extremely impatient to get to Sunday and see what happens when the green flag finally drops.”
NBC SPORTS GROUP’S NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAMMING
| DATE | COVERAGE | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| Thursday, Nov. 15 | NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Dale Jr. Download | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Friday, Nov. 16 | Dale Jr. Download (Encore) | 12 p.m. | NBCSN |
| NASCAR Cup Series First Practice – Miami | 1 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series First Practice – Miami | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Final Practice – Miami | 5 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Miami | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Saturday, Nov. 17 | Proving Grounds | 6 a.m. | NBCSN |
| NASCAR Cup Series First Practice – Miami (Encore) | 6:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series First Practice – Miami (Encore) | 8 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Final Practice – Miami (Encore) | 9 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Miami (Encore) | 10 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Second Practice – Miami | 11:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying – Miami | 12:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America | 1:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – Miami | 2 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green | 3 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Miami | 3:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show | 6:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sunday, Nov. 18 | NASCAR America | 1 p.m. | NBCSN |
| NASCAR America | 1:30 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green | 2 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Race – Miami | 3 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Hot Pass | 3 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Proving Grounds | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| /DRIVE | 8:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
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