FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015

NBCSN PRESENTS INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA THIS SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET

NBCSN’s Presentation of Bahrain Grand Prix is Most-Watched Non-Domestic F1 Race on Cable in 8 Years

Mecum Auctions: Kansas City Coverage Begins Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Coverage Continues with Pittlite 125 from Bristol Friday at 12:30 a.m. ET

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 22, 2015 – NBCSN continues its extensive coverage of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series this weekend from Barber Motorsports Park with live coverage of the Grand Prix of Alabama this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

This week’s motorsports action on NBCSN will also feature Mecum Auctions coverage from Kansas City, and the Pittlite 125 from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Bristol Motor Speedway.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will provide comprehensive streaming coverage of this week’s IndyCar, Mecum Auctions and NASCAR K&N Series telecasts.
INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA – SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN’s presentation of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series continues this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET with the Grand Prix of Alabama. Last week, Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi) earned a long-awaited victory at Long Beach, taking the checkered flag for the first time in nine races. Dixon’s win at Long Beach was the 36th of his career, which broke a tie with Bobby Unser for fifth on the all-time list.

Helio Castroneves (Penske), Will Power (Penske) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) are the only three drivers to win at Barber in the race’s five-year existence, with Power (2011-12) and Hunter-Reay (2013-14) each winning in back-to-back years. Dixon has finished as a runner-up four of five times at Barber. NBCSN will televise qualifying coverage on Sunday morning at 2 a.m. ET.

NBC Sports Group lead IndyCar play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey will call the Grand Prix of Alabama, alongside F1 analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett, and current driver and analyst Townsend Bell, who recently announced he will be competing in his ninth-career Indianapolis 500 next month. Robin Miller, Marty Snider, Kevin Lee and Kelli Stavast will handle pit reporting duties.

In addition, NBCSN will provide coverage of the Indy Lights race from Alabama on Monday morning at 2 a.m. ET. Kevin Lee (play-by-play), Anders Krohn (analyst) and Katie Hargitt (reporter) will provide commentary.
NBCSN’S PRESENTATION OF BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX IS MOST-WATCHED NON-DOMESTIC F1 RACE ON CABLE IN 8 YEARS

Last Sunday’s F1 Bahrain Grand Prix (10:31 a.m.-12:49 p.m. ET) averaged 630,000 viewers, making it NBCSN’s most-watched F1 race since acquiring exclusive U.S. rights in 2013, and the most-watched non-domestic F1 race on cable in eight years, since the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix (662,000; SPEED). Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won the race, holding off a late charge from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

NBC Sports Group’s F1 coverage continues on Sunday, May 10 with live coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN.


MECUM AUCTIONS: KANSAS CITY – COVERAGE BEGINS THURSDAY AT 4:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group’s Mecum Auctions coverage this week with highlights from its Kansas City auction, beginning this Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage continues Friday on NBCSN at 4:30 p.m. ET, and airs Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.

Main attractions at this week’s auction include a 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Twister Special, a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, and more than 40 cars and trucks from the Ron Deffenbaugh Collection.

NBC Sports Group’s Mecum Auctions telecast team of Scott HokeJohn KramanStephen Cox, and reporter Bill Stephens will call the action. Rutledge Wood will also contribute to this week’s Mecum Auctions coverage.

 

NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES EAST – PITTLITE 125 – FRIDAY AT 12:30 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN continues its inaugural season of NASCAR K&N Pro Series East coverage with a presentation of the Pittlite 125 from Bristol Motor Speedway this Friday at 12:30 a.m. ET. The Pittlite 125 is the third race of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season, with Austin Hill and William Byron winning the first two races of the year at New Smyrna and Greenville-Pickens Speedways.

Rick Allen (play-by-play), Frank Stoddard (analyst) and Jason Weigandt (reporter) have the call.

Following is this week’s motorsports coverage schedule on NBCSN:

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Thur., April 22 Mecum Auctions: Kansas City* 4:30 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., April 23 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – Pittlite 125 12:30 a.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Kansas City 4 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., April 24 Mecum Auctions: Kansas City* 1 a.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Kansas City* 5 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., April 24 IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama – Qualifying* 2 a.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama 3 p.m. NBCSN
Mon., April 25 Indy Lights – Alabama 2 a.m. NBCSN

*denotes same-day delay


MOTORSPORTS ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA:
NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will stream this week’s IndyCar, Mecum Auctions and NASCAR K&N Series coverage on NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store.


MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on Formula One, the Verizon IndyCar Series, and other open-wheel and off-road 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 IndyCar content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:

  • Tony DiZinno, who has most recently served as web editor for RACER Magazineand provides open wheel coverage on MotorSportsTalk. DiZinno has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.

 

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

 

@INDYCARONNBCSN: @IndyCaronNBCSN provides up-to-the-minute IndyCar news and highlights, including video and articles from MotorSportsTalk on NBCSports.com.

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.

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