Live Practices from COTA Stream Exclusively on INDYCAR Pass Beginning Friday at 11:10 a.m. ET
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Delivers Best Season-Opening INDYCAR Audience in NBC Sports History
Danica Patrick to Join NBC Sports’ Coverage of 103rd Indianapolis 500
Monster Energy Supercross from Seattle – Saturday on NBC Sports Gold Supercross Pass and NBCSN
American Flat Track from Daytona – Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN Following INDYCAR Classic
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 21, 2019 – Coming off its most-watched INDYCAR season-opener ever, NBC Sports continues its first full season as the home of the NTT IndyCar Series this weekend with comprehensive live coverage of the inaugural INDYCAR Classic at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, which airs this Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Pre-race coverage on NBCSN begins Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) won the season-opening race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, on March 10 on NBCSN, holding off 2018 series champion Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing). Team Penske teammate and 2018 Indy 500 champion Will Power rounded out the podium with a third-place finish. Rookie Felix Rosenqvist, teammate of Scott Dixon, had an impressive debut at St. Pete, leading the second-most laps of the race before eventually finishing in fourth place.
This marks the first-ever INDYCAR race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. INDYCAR held testing at COTA in February, and 19-year-old rookie Colton Herta (Harding Steinbrenner Racing), who finished in eighth place at St. Pete, was the fastest driver in three of the four test sessions last month.
Live INDYCAR coverage from COTA begins tomorrow at 11:10 a.m. ET with Practice 1 exclusively on NBC Sports Gold’s INDYCAR Pass, which will provide live streaming coverage of all practices, qualifying, Indy Lights races and on-demand replays for the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series. This marks the first time that all NTT IndyCar Series qualifying and practice sessions will receive television-quality production, including timing and scoring. INDYCAR Pass is available for $54.99. Click here to purchase.
Live streaming coverage from Austin continues tomorrow at on INDYCAR Pass with Practice 2 on Friday at 3 p.m. ET and Practice 3 on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET. INDYCAR Pass and NBCSN will have live coverage of qualifying on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, leading into race coverage on NBCSN on Sunday.
NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR broadcast team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst), and Paul Tracy (analyst) will have the call of the INDYCAR Classic, including practices and qualifying on NBC Sports Gold’s INDYCAR Pass. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Kelli Stavast and Robin Miller will provide reports from the pits. Diffey, Bell and Tracy will host pre-race coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET from the grid at COTA leading into the race. Pre-race coverage will also feature Rutledge Wood’s interview with Felix Rosenqvist.
Following is this weekend’s INDYCAR coverage from COTA on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold:
| Date | Coverage | Network* | Time (ET) |
| Fri., March 22 | INDYCAR Classic – Practice 1 | NBC Sports Gold | 11:10 a.m. |
| INDYCAR Classic – Practice 2 | NBC Sports Gold | 3 p.m. | |
| Sat., March 23 | INDYCAR Classic – Practice 3 | NBC Sports Gold | 11 a.m. |
| INDYCAR Classic – Qualifying | NBC Sports Gold/NBCSN | 3 p.m. | |
| Sun., March 24 | INDYCAR Pre-Race | NBCSN | 1 p.m. |
| INDYCAR Classic | NBCSN | 1:30 p.m. | |
| INDYCAR Post-Race | NBCSN | 3:30 p.m. |
*all coverage on NBCSN streams on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG DELIVERS BEST SEASON-OPENING INDYCAR AUDIENCE IN NBC SPORTS HISTORY
NBC Sports’ coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10 (1:40-3:49 p.m. ET) averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 502,000 viewers across NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, making it the most-watched INDYCAR season opener in NBC Sports history.
The TAD of 502,000 viewers was up 94% compared to NBCSN’s first race last season in Phoenix (258,000 in primetime, 4/7/18) and up 42% vs. the 2018 average for NBCSN Sunday afternoon races last spring (353,000). The race peaked with 513,000 TV-only viewers in the final quarter-hour as Josef Newgarden took the checkered flag for Team Penske.
DANICA PATRICK TO JOIN NBC SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF 103RD INDIANAPOLIS 500
On Wednesday, NBC Sports announced that Danica Patrick, one of motorsports’ most popular figures, will join NBC Sports’ inaugural coverage of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge when drivers start their engines for the 103rd iteration of the race on Sunday, May 26. This year marks the first time that the Greatest Spectacle in Racing has been broadcast on NBC.
The former INDYCAR and NASCAR driver will serve as a studio analyst on race day, contributing to NBC Sports’ pre-race, in-race, and post-race coverage alongside host Mike Tirico. Patrick will also participate in NBC Sports’ coverage of Indy 500 Pole Day on Sunday, May 19.
NBC Sports hosted a media conference call with Patrick on Wednesday. Click here for a transcript.
MONSTER ENERGY SUPERCROSS FROM SEATTLE – SATURDAY ON NBC SPORTS GOLD SUPERCROSS PASS AND NBCSN
NBC Sports continues its coverage of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross season this weekend from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. Marvin Musquin won last weekend’s 450SX Class event in Indianapolis and now trails 450SX Class leader Cooper Webb by just 14 points in the season standings. Adam Cianciarulo currently leads the 250SX West standings with 140 points and has won his last three races.
Ralph Sheheen, five-time Supercross champion and seven-time Motocross champion Ricky Carmichael, host and former racer Daniel Blair, and reporter Will Christien will call the action.
| Date | Event | Coverage | Time (ET) |
| Sat., March 23 | Seattle – Qualifying Session 1 | NBC Sports Gold | 4 p.m. |
| Seattle – Studio Coverage | NBC Sports Gold | 5:30 p.m. | |
| Seattle – Qualifying Session 2 | NBC Sports Gold | 6:15 p.m. | |
| Seattle – Event | NBC Sports Gold/NBCSN | 10 p.m. |
AMERICAN FLAT TRACK FROM DAYTONA – SUNDAY AT 4 P.M. ET ON NBCSN FOLLOWING INDYCAR CLASSIC
NBC Sports begins its coverage of the 2019 American Flat Track, the most historic form of American motorcycle racing, this weekend at 4 p.m. ET with the season-opening race from Daytona International Speedway, which was held on March 10. This marks the first of 18 weekend premieres on NBCSN, which will be followed by weekday re-airs on NBCSN.
Featuring the world’s fastest motorcycle racers on dirt battling it out at speeds approaching 140 mph, American Flat Track is the most prestigious and most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing in the world. Jason Weigandt (play-by-play) and A.J. Allmendinger (analyst) will call the action. Allmendinger joined NBC Sports full time at the beginning of the year, made his debut on the IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona, and will work on various properties across NBC Sports’ unparalleled motorsports portfolio .Click here for more info.
2019 INDYCAR SEASON ON NBC AND NBCSN
NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series began earlier this month with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first of 17 races to air on NBC and NBCSN during the season.
The 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500, set for Sunday, May 26, 2019, will be the first ever on NBC. The Indy 500 will also be included in NBC Sports’ Championship Season marketing campaign, which touts numerous high-profile championship events that are presented across NBC Sports platforms from May to July, including the Triple Crown, The PLAYERS, Premier League Championship Sunday, French Open, Stanley Cup Final, Tour de France, and The Open Championship.
INDYCAR coverage on NBC will begin with the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday, May 11. Following the Indy 500, NBC will present the Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader on the weekend of June 1-2, followed by races at Road America on Sunday, June 23 and Mid-Ohio on Sunday, July 28. The 2019 NTT IndyCar Series championship will be decided on NBC, with the season’s penultimate race in Portland on Sunday, Sept. 1, followed by season finale at Laguna Seca on Sunday, Sept. 22. Click here for more information.
ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP
NBC Sports Group serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, INDYCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, and many more.
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