FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 11th, 2020
NBC SPORTS BEGINS COVERAGE OF 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES THIS WEEKEND WITH FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG SUNDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Pre-Race Coverage on NBCSN Begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green
James Hinchcliffe to Make NBC Sports’ INDYCAR Broadcast Debut This Weekend
Supercross Live from Indianapolis – Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Nearly 30 Hours of Mecum Auctions Coverage From Glendale This Week Begins Today at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 11, 2020 – NBC Sports begins coverage of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR Series this weekend with comprehensive live coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which airs this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Pre-race coverage on NBCSN begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green.
A field of 26 drivers are expected in St. Petersburg, led by Josef Newgarden (Team Penske), who won there last year to begin his successful run to a second NTT INDYCAR Series championship. The field also has six past Indianapolis 500 winners – including Newgarden’s teammate and 2019 ‘500’ winner Simon Pagenaud – and a talented group of young stars that’s spearheaded by 2019 INDYCAR rookie of the year Felix Rosenqvist (Chip Ganassi Racing) and American Colton Herta (Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport), who won twice in his own rookie campaign last year.
Live INDYCAR coverage from St. Pete begins this Friday with two practice sessions (11:15 a.m. ET and 2:50 p.m. ET) 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 2020 NTT IndyCar Series. INDYCAR Pass is available for $54.99. Click here to purchase.
Coverage continues Saturday on INDYCAR Pass with Practice 3 at 10:35 a.m. ET and Qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET. The qualifying session will be presented later in the evening at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR broadcast team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), 2003 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner Paul Tracy (analyst), and Townsend Bell (analyst) will have the call of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, including practices and qualifying on NBC Sports Gold’s INDYCAR Pass.
INDYCAR fan favorite and 2013 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner James Hinchcliffe will make his NBC Sports debut this weekend, serving as a driver analyst and pre-race host at the Peacock Pit Box on Saturday and Sunday alongside Krista Voda.
Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Kevin Lee will provide reports from the pits. Pre-race coverage will include a feature on 2019 INDYCAR champion Josef Newgarden and an essay by Robin Miller on new INDYCAR Series head Roger Penske. Diffey, Bell and Tracy will host pre-race coverage on Countdown to Green on Sunday from the NBC Peacock Pit Box alongside pit lane.
Following is this weekend’s INDYCAR coverage from St. Pete on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold:
| Date | Coverage | Network* | Time (ET) |
| Fri., March 13 | Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Practice 1 | NBC Sports Gold | 11:15 a.m. |
| Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Practice 2 | NBC Sports Gold | 2:50 p.m. | |
| Sat., March 14 | Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Practice 3 | NBC Sports Gold | 10:35 a.m. |
| Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Indy Lights 1 | NBC Sports Gold | 1:20 p.m. | |
| Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Qualifying | NBC Sports Gold | 2:30 p.m. | |
| Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Qualifying^ | NBCSN | 10 p.m. | |
| Sun., March 15 | Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Warm-Up | NBC Sports Gold | 11 a.m. |
| Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Indy Lights 2 | NBC Sports Gold | 1:05 p.m. | |
| Countdown to Green | NBCSN | 2:30 p.m. | |
| Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | NBCSN | 3:30 p.m. | |
| INDYCAR Post-Race | NBCSN | 5:30 p.m. |
*all coverage on NBCSN streams on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app
^same-day delay
2020 INDYCAR SEASON ON NBC AND NBCSN
NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES begins on Sunday, March 15, on NBCSN with live coverage of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first of 17 races to air on NBC and NBCSN during the season.
The 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500, set for Sunday, May 24, 2020, will mark the second appearance ever on NBC. Last year, NBC Sports’ inaugural presentation of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on NBC, averaged a TAD of 5.475 million viewers, up 11% vs. the 2018 race (TV-only 4.913 million, ABC).
INDYCAR coverage on NBC will begin with the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday, May 9. Following the Indy 500, NBC will present the Detroit Dual races from the Raceway at Belle Isle Park on the weekend of May 30-31, followed by races at Road America in Kohler, Wis., on Sunday, June 21, and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Sunday, August 16. The season’s penultimate race in Portland, Ore., will be on NBC on Sunday, Sept. 6, followed by the INDYCAR championship and season finale at iconic Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 20. Click here for more information.
MONSTER ENERGY SUPERCROSS INDIANAPOLIS – SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
NBC Sports continues its coverage of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross season this weekend from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Eli Tomac won last weekend’s 450SX Class event in Daytona, his fifth win of the season and fourth career victory at Daytona, while Garrett Marchbanks won in the 250SX Class for his first career win.
Veteran play-by-play commentator 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 14 | Indianapolis – Qualifying | NBC Sports Gold | 1 p.m. |
| Indianapolis – Event | NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold | 7 p.m. |
NEARLY 30 HOURS OF MECUM AUCTIONS COVERAGE FROM GLENDALE, ARIZONA, BEGINS TODAY AT 1 P.M. ET LIVE ON NBCSN
More than 1,500 vehicles will cross the auction block at this week’s Mecum Auto Auctions event at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The highlighted vehicles include a 2017 Ford GT Competition Series, owned by Le Mans GTE Class Winner Sebastien Bourdais, a 2019 McLaren Senna, and a 1969 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Mulliner Park Ward Limousine.
Scott Hoke will host coverage on-site in Glendale, alongside analysts John Kraman and Stephen Cox, and reporters Bill Stephens and Katie Osborne.
Following is this week’s Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale schedule on NBCSN:
| DATE | COVERAGE | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| Wed., March 11 | Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale | 1 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale* | 11:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Thurs., March 12 | Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale* | 11 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sat., March 14 | Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale | 4:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale* | 12:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., March 15 | Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale* | 6 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Wed., March 18 | Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale* | 1 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Thurs., March 19 | Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale* | 11 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Fri., March 20 | Mecum Auto Auctions: Glendale* | 11 a.m. | NBCSN |
*delayed coverage
2020 NASCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES CONTINUES SATURDAY LIVE ON TRACKPASS ON NBC SPORTS GOLD AT 8 P.M. ET
The second race of the 2020 NASCAR ARCA Menards Series East season, the Pensacola 200 presented by Inspectra Thermal Solutions from 5 Flags Speedway, will be presented this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. All ARCA Menards Series East races are available live and on-demand TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. For more information and to purchase, click here.
In addition, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold will present Saturday coverage of the 79th Daytona 200 (11 a.m. ET) and American Flat Track Daytona TT (4 p.m. ET), live from Daytona International Speedway. An encore presentation of the Daytona TT will air later in the evening at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
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, and a direct-to-consumer product NBC Sports Gold. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of media rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic and Paralympic 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.
–NBC SPORTS–
