FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 25th, 2016

NBC SPORTS FORMULA ONE, INDYCAR AND NASCAR ANALYSTS PREVIEW SUNDAY’S “BIGGEST DAY IN MOTORSPORTS”

“The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is like Christmas for a race fan.” – NASCAR on NBC Analyst Steve Letarte

“Monaco is the ultimate challenge to an F1 driver – magnificent to drive, mesmerizing to watch.” – F1 on NBC Analyst David Hobbs

“He’s definitely got a shot to win this race on Sunday.” – IndyCar on NBCSN Analyst Paul Tracy on Fellow Analyst Townsend Bell, Starting 4th in Indy 500

“Monaco has become the unequaled sparkling jewel in Formula One’s shining crown.” – F1 on NBC Analyst Steve Matchett

 

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 25, 2016 – NBC Sports Group’s Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR broadcast teams previewed Sunday’s “Biggest Day In Motorsports,” which begins with NBC’s live coverage of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at 7:30 a.m. ET. Sunday’s motorsports trifecta continues with the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 (ABC), where IndyCar on NBCSN analyst Townsend Bell qualified in fourth position, and concludes with NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 (FOX).

Following are quotes from:

 

  • NBC Sports Group’s F1 team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), and analysts David Hobbs and Steve Matchett;
  • IndyCar on NBCSN analyst and 2002 Indianapolis 500 runner-up Paul Tracy;
  • 2016 Indy 500 pole sitter James Hinchcliffe, who appeared on Tuesday’s episode of NASCAR America;
  • NASCAR on NBC analysts Dale Jarrett and Steve Letarte.

 

F1 MONACO GRAND PRIX

 

Leigh Diffey on the Monaco Grand Prix: “What more could we ask for? There’s Max Verstappen, the youngest-ever winner in the history of F1 coming to Monaco as the most recent winner; all eyes on the behavioral pattern of the Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg & Lewis Hamilton after their horrendous collision in Spain two weeks ago; and immense pressure mounting on Ferrari to produce a victory – just a few of the headlines of the grandest Grand Prix of them all.” 

Steve Matchett on Monaco: “From 1929, the year of the first grand prix to be run around the winding streets and harbor front of this tiny principality on the Cote d’Azur, this annual Monaco motor race has held a special fascination for all involved in the sport. Monaco has become the unequaled sparkling jewel in Formula 1’s shining crown.”

David Hobbs on Monaco: “Arriving in Monaco always gets the heart rate up. A magnificent setting, the mountains, the harbor with literally billions of dollars of floating palaces – but standing on the track at Monaco, you realize just how tight and twisty this course is – Monaco is the ultimate challenge to an F1 driver. No respite, no room, no runoff – magnificent to drive, mesmerizing to watch.”
INDIANAPOLIS 500

 

Indy 500 Pole Sitter James Hinchcliffe, who suffered a near-fatal injury in a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year, on NBCSN’s NASCAR America on Tuesday: “To get the No. 5 car on the pole for everyone on the team, for my family, everyone in Indy, Canada etc., it was just a great feeling…Fundamentally race drivers are just wired wrong. We are all stark raving mad and clinically insane. That is why there was never a doubt in my mind I would want to get back into a race car.”

Paul Tracy on NBCSN IndyCar analyst Townsend Bell, starting 4th in Indy 500: “He’s definitely got a shot to win this race on Sunday. He’s obviously got a great team with Andretti Autosport – all of their cars are running well. We’ve got our fingers crossed for him. But it’s hard to be up to speed when you’re racing one race a year against these guys who race week in and week out.”

Tracy on strategy to win Indy 500: “It’s different from when I raced. Guys don’t want to lead the race because you’ll burn too much fuel. Guys like Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan – they’re so good at being patient and playing the game. I had a difficult time doing that. I just wanted to get out front and go.”

Tracy on the “Biggest Day In Motorsports“: “The Daytona 500 is a huge race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a huge race…but to have the Monaco Grand Prix, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Indy 500 in the same day? That’s the ultimate for any racing fan.”

 


COCA-COLA 600

 

Steve Letarte on the Coca-Cola 600: “When you talk about a race of this length it is not just about the driver, it affects the crew itself too. One thing I noticed as a crew chief is, not only is the Coca-Cola 600 a long race but it is a long race in Charlotte. While everyone loves to be at home, home can be a major distraction.”

Dale Jarrett on the “Biggest Day In Motorsports”: “What an incredible day. It is one that you always look forward to as a competitor. When I was racing, I was watching those races before our Coca-Cola 600 started.”

Letarte on the “Biggest Day In Motorsports”: “The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is like Christmas for a race fan. Luckily it starts across the pond in Monaco so I can get up nice and early and get the day started off and then finish it here in Charlotte.”

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–