FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019

NBC SPORTS SHOWCASES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY – AS ROUND OF 8 BEGINS SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Racing from Martinsville – Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Dale Jr. Download with Richard Petty: The King – Tonight at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBC Sports’ NASCAR Coverage from Kansas Delivers 20% Viewership Increase; Largest Since Current Rights Agreement Began in 2015

NASCAR America Motormouths Wednesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN; Aric Almirola on Wednesday, David Hoots and Ty Dillon on Thursday

  Virginia Native and Kansas Winner Denny Hamlin will be Featured in this week’s Behind the Driver During Sunday Pre-Race

STAMFORD, Conn.October 22, 2019 – Following last Sunday’s thrilling double-overtime finish at Kansas Speedway, NBC Sports’ travels to Martinsville Speedway this weekend for the first race of the Round of 8 in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with charged-up live coverage this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

The Round of 8 is set for Martinsville after Denny Hamlin’s win and a nail-biting second-place finish by Chase Elliott in Kansas that kept his title hopes alive. Kyle Busch leads all Playoff drivers with 4,046 points, followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. (4,042) and Denny Hamlin (4,037). Reigning Cup Series Champion Joey Logano is fourth (4,030). Kevin Harvick leads the group of four drivers currently under the Championship cut line (4,028). Martinsville will give the Playoff drivers a chance to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami with a win.

2019 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFF DRIVERS & STANDINGS:

 

Position Driver Points +/-
1 Kyle Busch 4,046 +18
2 Martin Truex Jr. 4,042 +14
3 Denny Hamlin 4,037 +9
4 Joey Logano 4,030 +2
CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE
5 Kevin Harvick 4,028 -2
6 Chase Elliott 4,024 -6
7 Kyle Larson 4,011 -19
8 Ryan Blaney 4,009 -21

 

NASCAR CUP SERIES RACING FROM MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY – SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports kicks off its NASCAR coverage from Martinsville this Saturday at 9 a.m. ET with the first practice on CNBC. Final practice will begin at 12 p.m. ET on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app and will be joined by NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. ET. Cup Series coverage resumes later that afternoon with qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Sunday’s race-day coverage from Martinsville on NBCSN begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR America Pre-Race show and Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ET from the Peacock Pit Box on NBCSN. Live coverage of the First Data 500 follows at 3 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports’ lead race announcer Rick Allen will call the action alongside Daytona 500 winning crew chief Steve Letarte. 21-time Cup Series winner Jeff Burton and two-time Daytona 500 Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr will provide commentary from a second booth.

NBC Sports’ NASCAR pre-race host Krista Voda, auto racing icon Kyle Petty, and NBC analyst and Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett will host NASCAR America Pre-Race and Countdown to Green as well as post-race coverage. Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns, Marty Snider, Parker Kligerman and Rutledge Wood will provide commentary and interviews from pit-road and grandstands. Coverage will continue with the post-race show at 6:45 p.m. Victory Lap will close out race-day coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET hosted by Danielle Trotta with AJ Allmendinger.

THE KING JOINS TONIGHT’S THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD AT 5 P.M. AND 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Today’s episode of The Dale Jr. Download will feature an interview with “The King,” Richard Petty, and will air at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Petty will discuss his illustrious career, the origins of the iconic “Petty Blue” color, his first encounter with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, and much more. Click here to watch a preview of today’s episode.

Produced on-site at Dirty Mo Media Studios in Mooresville, N.C., The Dale Jr. Download on NBCSN takes viewers couch-side for the taping of the motorsports icon’s weekly podcast, featuring unparalleled perspective, candid commentary, and insight that fans have come to expect from Dale Jr.

NBC SPORTS’ NASCAR COVERAGE FROM KANSAS DELIVERS 20% VIEWERSHIP INCREASE; LARGEST SINCE CURRENT RIGHTS AGREEMENT BEGAN IN 2015

NBC Sports’ coverage of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on NBC averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 3.322 million viewers – up 20% vs. 2018 – delivering NBC Sports’ largest NASCAR year-over-year viewership increase since its current rights agreement began in 2015, according to Fast National data by the Nielsen Company and streaming data by Adobe Analytics.

The 20% year-over-year viewership increase for Sunday’s race on NBC also marks the largest viewership increase for a NASCAR Cup Series race in eight years*, when ESPN’s coverage of the 2011 Championship race at Homestead was up 21% vs 2010. Excluding this year’s weather-impacted races at Daytona and Talladega, NBC Sports’ 2019 NASCAR Cup Series coverage has averaged a TAD of 2.545 million viewers, up 4% vs. the comparable races in 2018 (2.457 million). Click here for more info.

In addition, NBC Sports wrapped up its inaugural season as the exclusive home of IMSA with significant viewership gains. NBC Sports tallied 199,000 viewers across its 16 IMSA races this season, up 55% from last year’s coverage across FOX Sports networks (FOX/FS1/FS2; 128,000 viewers). Coverage on NBCSN and CNBC averaged 173,000 viewers, up 84% vs. last year’s IMSA coverage on FS1/FS2 (94,000 viewers). Coverage on NBCSN delivered 187,000 viewers, up +35% from FS1’s coverage last year (139,000 viewers) and up +99% from FS1/FS2’s average (94,000 viewers).

NASCAR AMERICA MOTORMOUTHS – WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AT 5 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports will present a pair of NASCAR America Motormouths episodes this Wednesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, allowing fans to call in to the show, ask questions and share their thoughts on the latest stories in NASCAR.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing joins NASCAR America Motormouths tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET along with hosts Rutledge Wood and Kyle Petty. Former NASCAR race director David Hoots and Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 13 Chevy Camaro for Germain Racing, will join Thursday’s program with Marty Snider and AJ Allmendinger.

THREE WINNERS IN THE ‘PICK ‘EM’ JACKPOT IN KANSAS SPLITTING THE $20,000 PRIZE – RESETS TO $10,000 FOR MARTINSVILLE

A record 77,000 fans played the NASCAR Pick ‘Em free-to-play game on the NBC Sports Predictor app this past weekend at Kansas, and three fans recorded perfect scores for their picks to split the $20,000 jackpot. The jackpot will reset to $10,000 this weekend in Martinsville.

  • For each race stage, pick the driver that will have the best finish from a group of four drivers.
  • Then, out of the entire field, pick which drivers will finish the race in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place – in exact order.

NEARLY 15 HOURS OF MECUM AUCTIONS COVERAGE FROM CHICAGO THIS WEEKEND ON NBCSN

More than 1,000 vehicles will cross the auction block at this week’s Mecum Auto Auctions event at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL. Among the highlighted vehicles is the  1947 Delahaye 135, a design that earned the name of Narval, or “narwhal,” for its prominent front treatment like the whale that shares the same name.

Scott Hoke will host coverage on-site in Chicago, alongside analysts John Kraman and Stephen Cox, and reporters Bill Stephens and Katie Osborne.

Following is this week’s Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago schedule on NBCSN:

 

DATE COVERAGE TIME (ET) NETWORK
Thur., Oct 24 Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago 2 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., Oct 25 Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago 12 p.m. NBCSN

 

  Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago* 5:30 p.m. NBCSN

 

  Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago* 9:30 p.m. NBCSN

 

  Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago* 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., Oct 26 Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago* 3 p.m. NBCSN
  Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago* 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., Oct 27 Mecum Auto Auctions: Chicago* 9 p.m. NBCSN

*delayed coverage

Following is this week’s NASCAR programming across NBC Sports:

 

DATE COVERAGE TIME (ET) NETWORK
Tuesday, Oct.22 The Dale Jr. Download w/ Richard Petty 5 p.m. NBCSN
  The Dale Jr. Download w/ Richard Petty (Encore) 9 p.m. NBCSN
Wednesday, Oct. 23 NASCAR America Motormouths w/ Aric Almirola 5 p.m. NBCSN
Thursday, Oct. 24 NASCAR America Motormouths w/ Ty Dillon 5 p.m. NBCSN
Saturday, Oct. 26 NASCAR Cup Series First Practice – Martinsville 9 a.m. CNBC
  NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – Martinsville 12 p.m. Streaming
  NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – Martinsville 12:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Martinsville 4:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sunday, Oct. 27 NASCAR America Pre-Race 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
  NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green 2:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Martinsville 3 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show 6:45 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Victory Lap 7:30 p.m. NBCSN

 

NBC SPORTS’ NASCAR COVERAGE

The official home of the NASCAR Playoffs, NBC Sports will present the final 20 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, final 19 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, and select NASCAR Regional & Touring Series events in 2019. NBC Sports’ NASCAR programming also includes NBCSN’s daily motorsports show NASCAR America, coverage of NASCAR’s Awards Ceremonies, the annual NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony, as well as original programming specials.

–NBC SPORTS–