FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 5th, 2019

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS PENULTIMATE RACE OF 2019 NASCAR PLAYOFFS FROM PHOENIX THIS SUNDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

Dale Jr. Download w/ David Hobbs – Tonight at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Joins NASCAR America Motormouths on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBC Sports’ NASCAR Viewership Up 3% vs. 2018

NASCAR Pick ‘Em Jackpot Swells to $30,000 for Phoenix – No Winners for Texas Despite Nearly 100,000 Players

Cassadee Pope Announced as Co-Host for NASCAR Awards in Nashville

STAMFORD, Conn.November 5, 2019 – NBC Sports’ travels to ISM Raceway in Phoenix this weekend for penultimate race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with charged-up live coverage of the Bluegreen Vacations 500 this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Kevin Harvick secured his spot in the Championship 4 in Homestead with his victory at Texas on Sunday. Martin Truex Jr., who clinched his spot at Homestead with his win Martinsville, leads all Playoff drivers with 4,133 points, followed by Harvick (4,113), Kyle Busch (4,113), and reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano (4,111).  Denny Hamlin leads the group of four drivers currently under the Championship cut line (4,091). Phoenix will again give the remaining Playoff drivers a chance to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 in Homestead with a win.

2019 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFF DRIVERS & STANDINGS: 

Position Driver Points +/-
1 Martin Truex Jr 4,133 ADV
2 Kevin Harvick 4,113 ADV
3 Kyle Busch 4,113 +22
4 Joey Logano 4,111 +20

CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE

5 Denny Hamlin 4,091 -20
6 Ryan Blaney 4,088 -23
7 Kyle Larson 4,088 -23
8 Chase Elliott 4,033 -78

 

NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS FROM PHOENIX – SUNDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

NBC Sports kicks off its NASCAR coverage from Phoenix this Friday at 4 p.m. ET with streaming coverage of the first practice, which will be joined in progress on NBCSN at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by the final practice at 7 p.m. ET. Cup qualifying will air Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Sunday’s race-day coverage from ISM Raceway on NBC begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with the NASCAR America Pre-Race show and Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET from the Peacock Pit Box on pit road. Live coverage of the Bluegreen Vacations 500 follows at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Pre-race coverage will also feature the Toyota NBC Joy Ride with Jeff Burton and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer, as Burton takes Meyer on a hot lap around ISM Raceway prior to the green flag.

NBC Sports 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 5:45 p.m. ET and will shift to NBCSN for extended post-race coverage at 6 p.m. Victory Lap will close out race-day coverage at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, hosted by Danielle Trotta with AJ Allmendinger.

NBC SPORTS’ NASCAR VIEWERSHIP UP 3% VS. 2018

With just two races remaining, NBC Sports’ 2019 NASCAR viewership on NBC and NBCSN has averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 2.5 million viewers through 16 races, up 3% vs. the comparable races last year (2.426 million viewers). This excludes the rain-impacted races at Daytona and Talladega which were postponed to the following day.


DALE JR. DOWNLOAD AIRS TODAY AT 5 P.M ET WITH DAVID HOBBS

Today’s episode of The Dale Jr. Download at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN will feature an interview with racing legend and former NBC Sports’ motorsports commentator David Hobbs. Hobbs will discuss the ’79 Daytona 500, Big Hoss insults, Cup Racing overseas, and much more.

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.


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

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be this week’s special guest on NASCAR America MotorMouths on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Stenhouse Jr. will join Marty Snider and Kyle Petty to discuss the latest stories in NASCAR and take questions from fans and viewers as they call into the show.


XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFFS FROM PHOENIX – SATURDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

NBC Sports’ Xfinity Series Playoff racing from Phoenix begins Friday with streaming coverage of the first practice at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, followed by final practice at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Race day coverage begins with qualifying at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN followed by NASCAR America at 1:30 p.m. ET. Coverage shifts to NBC for Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET followed by the race at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Christopher Bell (3,166 points, and 8 wins) advanced to the Xfinity Series Championship 4 with his win last week at Texas. Justin Allgaier (3,101 points, 0 wins) currently holds the final Championship transfer spot by 18 points over Chase Briscoe (3,083 points, 1 win).


NASCAR PICK ‘EM JACKPOT SWELLS TO $30,000 FOR PHOENIX – NO WINNERS FOR TEXAS DESPITE NEARLY 100,000 PLAYERS

Nearly 100,000 fans played the NASCAR Pick ‘Em free-to-play game on the NBC Sports Predictor app for this past weekend’s race at Texas, but no one was able to record a perfect score. The jackpot will surge to $30,000 this weekend in Phoenix.

  • 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. 


CASSADEE POPE ANNOUNCED AS CO-HOST FOR NASCAR AWARDS IN NASHVILLE

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Cassadee Pope will serve as co-host for the event on December 5, 2019 – a fitting announcement given her roots in the city and long-time love for the sport of stock car racing. Pope had one of the most exciting Joy Rides this past weekend in Texas. You can view a clip here.

Pope is a Grammy-nominated, Platinum-certified singer-songwriter who has recently released her highly anticipated second solo album STAGES, featuring hit singles “Take You Home,” “One More Red Light,” and “If My Heart Had A Heart.” Pope will share hosting duties for the event with NBC Sports’ Rutledge Wood throughout the show.

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

 DATE COVERAGE TIME (ET) NETWORK
Tue., November 5 The Dale Jr. Download w/ David Hobbs 5 p.m. NBCSN
Wed., November. 6 NASCAR America Motormouths w/ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 5 p.m. NBCSN
Thur., November 7 NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., November 8 NASCAR Xfinity Series First Practice – Phoenix 3 p.m. Streaming
NASCAR Cup Series First Practice – Phoenix 4 p.m. Streaming
NSCAR Xfinity Series Final Practice – Phoenix 6 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice– Phoenix 7 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., November 9 NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying – Phoenix 12:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Phoenix 2 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green 3 p.m. NBC
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs – Phoenix 3:30 p.m. NBC
Sun., November 10 NASCAR America Pre-Race 1:30 p.m. NBC
NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green 2 p.m. NBC
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – Phoenix 2:30 p.m. NBC
NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show 6 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Victory Lap 6:30 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–