FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 28th, 2014

2014 VERIZON INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE AWARDED ON NBCSN THIS SATURDAY NIGHT IN PRIMETIME

Will Power Leads Team Penske Teammate Helio Castroneves Heading Into MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN

 “Castroneves’ championship is 17 years in the making and long overdue, while Power is striving to erase the demons of three lost opportunities at a title.” – Paul Tracy

Saturday’s Coverage Includes Tracy Sit-Down Interview with Roger Penske

Viewership for 2014 IndyCar Season Up 35% vs. 2013 Heading Into Fontana

2015 NBC Sports Group NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series Schedules Announced

NBCSN Presents Auctions America: Auburn Coverage Beginning Thursday

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 28, 2014 – Team Penske teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves lead a group of championship hopefuls this weekend aiming for the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series title at the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships, the final race of the 2014 season, on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Saturday’s MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships.

NBC Sports Group’s motorsports coverage this week also includes more than 10 hours of Auctions America action from its flagship Auburn auction, as well as encore presentations of Mecum Dealmakers and /DRIVE on NBC Sports.

MAVTV 500 INDYCAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – SATURDAY AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN’s coverage of the MAVTV 500 begins Friday evening at 7 p.m. ET with qualifying, followed by live race coverage on Saturday in primetime at 9 p.m. ET. Power leads Castroneves by 51 points heading into the 2014 IndyCar season finale, followed by Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, 81 points behind). Both Power and Castroneves are looking to secure their first career IndyCar titles, and both drivers have finished second in the final standings on three separate occasions.

This weekend’s race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. is worth double points, meaning a potential 100-point swing in the standings, keeping Pageneaud’s slim title hopes alive. Click here for full championship possible outcomes: http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/documents/2014-08-25/2014%20VICS%20points%20possibilities.pdf

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES POINTS STANDINGS

Rank Driver (Team) Points Behind Wins Top 10
1 Will Power (Penske) 626 3 14
2 Helio Castroneves (Penske) 575 51 1 10
3 Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt Peterson) 545 81 2 12

 

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Following are quotes from NBC Sports Group lead IndyCar and F1 play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey and analyst Paul Tracy on the 2014 IndyCar Season.

Tracy on 2014 IndyCar season: “There’s been some great competition with some completely unpredictable outcomes, coming down to one final race with four drivers that can win.”

Diffey on 2014 IndyCar season: “It’s been extraordinary…10 different race winners so far this year…we’ve been treated to what we now come to expect from the Verizon IndyCar Series. This is going to be the most intense race of the year…the season could not finish in a better way.”

Tracy on title favorites and teammates Power and Castroneves: “Castroneves’ championship is 17 years in the making and long overdue, while Power is striving to erase the demons of three lost opportunities at a title.”

Diffey on Castroneves: “Whether it be now, 10 years ago, or in 10 years’ time, he’ll always be thought of as a stalwart of IndyCar, and to be a three-time Indy 500 winner is the icing on the cake…if he were to retire not having won a championship, I think it would leave a very hollow feeling.”

Diffey on Power: “Can you imagine being a four-time runner-up, and losing all four times at the last race? For both of these guys, it’s now or never.”

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Power has recorded three IndyCar victories this season (St. Petersburg, Detroit, Milwaukee), and seven podium finishes, while Castroneves has earned one victory, in the second race of the Detroit doubleheader, and six overall podiums. Last year, Power took the checkered flag at Fontana for his first career victory at Auto Club Speedway.

Pre-race coverage will also feature an exclusive one-on-one interview between analyst and former Team Penske driver Paul Tracy and team owner Roger Penske, who is primed to win his first IndyCar team title since 2006.

NBC Sports Group’s lead IndyCar and Formula One play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey will call the MAVTV 500 on-site, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Reporters Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Kevin Lee and Robin Miller will report from the pits.

 

 

VIEWERSHIP OF 2014 VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES UP 35% VS. 2013 HEADING INTO FONTANA

Viewership of NBCSN’s coverage of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series is up 35% vs. 2013, heading into this weekend’s season finale. NBCSN’s coverage in 2014 has averaged 390,000 viewers through 11 races, compared to 288,000 average viewers through 11 races on NBCSN in 2013, and is on pace to deliver the second-highest average viewership on NBCSN/VERSUS since VERSUS acquired IndyCar rights in 2006.

In addition, last Sunday’s coverage of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on NBCSN (7:30-9:38 a.m. ET), averaged 435,000 viewers, up 70% from the same race on 2013 on NBCSN (256,000). Through 12 races, NBC Sports Group’s 2014 F1 coverage has drawn 481,000 average viewers, up 41% from the 2013 season through 12 races (340,000).

 

2015 NBC SPORTS GROUP NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES AND NATIONWIDE SERIES SCHEDULES ANNOUNCED

NASCAR returns to NBC Sports Group in 2015 with 39 combined Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series races across NBC and NBCSN, beginning on Fourth of July weekend from historic Daytona International Speedway. The schedule is highlighted by exclusive coverage of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 22, on NBC.

Click here for the full press release featuring the 2015 NBC Sports Group NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series schedules: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/08/26/2015-nbc-sports-group-nascar-sprint-cup-and-nationwide-series-schedules-announced/

 

 

NBCSN PRESENTS AUCTIONS AMERICA: AUBURN BEGINNING THURSDAY

 

NBCSN will present 10 hours of Auctions America coverage this week from its flagship Auburn auction in Auburn, Ind. The action begins tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET, followed by coverage Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN’s presentation of Auctions America: Auburn continues Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, with the final installation airing Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

More than 1,200 classic cars, muscle cars, hot rods and more are expected to cross auction block in Auburn, including a 1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Saloon, and a 1964 Chevrolet Impala Convertible.

Veteran broadcaster Bill Patrick will host NBCSN’s Auctions America coverage this week, alongside NBCSN F1 analyst and former race mechanic for the Benneton F1 team Steve Matchett, and motorsports reporter Georgia Lindsay.

 

Motorsports Coverage This Week on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra (subject to change):

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Thurs., August 28 Auctions America: Auburn 3 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Utah National (Encore) 8 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Dealmakers: Seattle 9 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Dealmakers: Kissimmee 10 p.m. NBCSN
/DRIVE on NBC Sports (Encore) 11 p.m. NBCSN
/DRIVE on NBC Sports (Encore) 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., August 29 Motocross Highlight Series 12 a.m. NBCSN
NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN
IndyCar MAVTV 500 Qualifying 7 p.m. NBCSN
Auctions America: Auburn 10:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., August 30 Pirelli World Challenge: Sonoma 12:30 p.m. NBCSN
Auctions America: Auburn 3 p.m. NBCSN
MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships 9 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., August 31 Auctions America: Auburn 6 p.m. NBCSN

 

MOTORSPORTS ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will provide live streaming coverage of this week’s IndyCar and Auctions America coverage. The majority of coverage will be provided via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at http://www.nbcsports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Races airing on:

  • NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;
  • NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

 

MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on the Formula One, Verizon IndyCar Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and all other motorsports racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.

MotorSportsTalk’s content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:

  • Luke Smith is creator and editor at Richland F1, which begins its second season this year. He’s on Twitter at @LukeSmithF1, primarily handling the F1 scene from Europe in great detail.
  • Tony DiZinno has most recently served as web editor for RACER Magazine and has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.
  • Chris Estrada has written for NBCSports.com’s MotorsportsTalk since its inception in 2013, and has been a contributor for various outlets, including the Boston Globe, IndyCar Nation and FoxSports.com. Follow him at @estradawriting.
  • Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran NASCAR reporter with more than 30 years of experience. He has contributed to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports and other websites over the course of his career. Follow him on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.

To explore the site, please visit MotorSportsTalk.com.nbcsports.com or www.NBCSports.com.

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