FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 12th, 2020
NBC SPORTS PRESENTS FIRST-EVER NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE AT DAYTONA ROAD COURSE THIS SUNDAY ON NBC
Sunday’s Coverage Begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN With NASCAR America Pre-Race Show Followed by Countdown to Green
NASCAR Xfinity Series Racing at Daytona Road Course – Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Indianapolis 500 Qualifying – Saturday and Sunday Afternoon on NBC
Starting Today – Nearly 40 Hours of Live Practice, Qualifying and Race Coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway This Week on NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 12, 2020 – The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season heads to Daytona International Speedway for the Cup Series’ first-ever race on Daytona’s 3.61-mile road course this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Sunday’s pre-race coverage begins on NBCSN with the NASCAR America Pre-Race Show at 2 p.m. ET followed by Countdown to Green. Coverage of Cup Series racing switches to NBC for the Go Bowling 235 at 3 p.m. ET. The NASCAR America Post Race Show will air following the checkered flag on NBCSN at 6 p.m.
This is the first of two pivotal Cup Series weekends this month at Daytona, whose 2.5-mile superspeedway oval hosts the regular season finale Sat., Aug. 29 on NBC. After back-to-back wins last weekend in Michigan, Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick (series-best 6 wins, 916 points) heads to Daytona in top form as the Playoffs draw closer. Brad Keselowski (3 wins, 779 points), Denny Hamlin (5 wins, 776 points), Ryan Blaney (1 win, 741 points), and Chase Elliott (1 win, 721 points) round out the top 5 in points.
Host Krista Voda, NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee and 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett, and analyst Brad Daugherty will provide pre-race and post-race studio coverage.
NBC Sports’ lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen, 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, two-time Daytona 500 Champion and recent NASCAR Hall of Fame selection Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will call this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series races from the broadcast booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman and Dillon Welch will serve as pit reporters on-site from Daytona.
XFINITY SERIES RACING FROM DAYTONA – SATURDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
NBC Sports’ Xfinity Series coverage from Daytona begins Saturday with a 30-minute edition of Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ET leading into live Xfinity Series racing at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coming off a victory at Road America last weekend, Austin Cindric leads in the standings with 4 wins and 771 points, ahead of Chase Briscoe (series-high 5 wins, 760 points) and third-place Ross Chastain (0 wins, 708 points).
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE AND JEFF DICKERSON JOIN DALE JR. DOWNLOAD – SATURDAY AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
NTT INDYCAR Series driver and NBC Sports INDYCAR analyst James Hinchcliffe and Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson are this week’s guests on the Dale Jr. Download airing Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, following Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. Hinchcliffe is set to make his eighth career Indianapolis 500 start, while Spire recently made news with its purchase of Leavine Family Racing in preparations for expanding its NASCAR Cup Series program in 2021.
Produced on-site at Dirty Mo Media Studios in Mooresville, N.C., the Dale Jr. Download on NBCSN takes viewers couch-side for the taping of the motorsports icon’s weekly podcast, featuring unparalleled perspective, candid commentary, and insight that fans have come to expect from Dale Jr.
INDY 500 – PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING ON NBC & NBC SPORTS GOLD
Live coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway continues tomorrow with seven hours of live Indy 500 practice from 11 a.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold.
Saturday’s coverage from IMS begins with an hour-long practice session at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by seven hours of Day 1 Qualifying coverage starting at 11 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold. NBC will begin presenting Qualifying coverage at 3 p.m. ET
NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR broadcast team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst), and Paul Tracy (analyst) will have the call for weekend coverage of qualifying alongside Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Kevin Lee providing reports from the pits.
On Sunday, coverage of practice begins at 11 a.m. ET exclusively on NBC Sports Gold. Day 2 of Qualifying, highlighted by the Fast Nine Shootout for the Indy 500 pole position, will be presented on NBC at 1 p.m. ET. A 2.5-hour practice session from IMS will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET, concluding the week’s INDYCAR coverage.
LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS LORETTA LYNN’S NATIONAL – MOTO 2 ON SATURDAY AT 12 A.M. ET ON NBCSN; MOTO 2 450 ON SUNDAY AT 12 P.M. ET ON NBC
The 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship season will begin with the inaugural Loretta Lynn’s National in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. Saturday’s coverage of the Moto2 on NBCSN begins at 12 a.m. ET and NBC will present the Moto2 450 Sunday at 12 p.m. ET. The Loretta Lynn’s Ranch track has played host to many amateur Motocross events, but this will mark the first time that the track has appeared on the professional schedule.
Veteran play-by-play voice Jason Weigandt, analyst and two-time AMA Pro Motocross Champion Grant Langston, and pit reporter Will Christien will call the season opener.
MOTOGP AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 7:30 A.M. ET ON NBCSN
The 2020 MotoGP season continues on Sunday with a live presentation of the Austrian Grand Prix from Red Bull Ring – Spielberg at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo currently leads the points standings after three races. Brad Binder, who earned the first MotoGP win for himself and manufacturer KTM last week in the Czech Republic, sits fifth in the standings as the series heads to KTM’s home country.
Todd Harris (play-by-play) and former professional motorcycle racer Ben Bostrom (analyst) will anchor coverage.
Following is this week’s motorsports programming across NBC Sports:
| DATE | COVERAGE | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| Saturday, Aug. 15 | Indianapolis 500 Practice | 8:30 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold |
| IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge | 10 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Indianapolis 500 Qualifying | 11 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold | |
| Indianapolis 500 Qualifying | 3 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series – Daytona Road Course | 3 p.m. | NBCSN | |
|
|
NASCAR America Post-Race Show | 5:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Dale Jr. Download – James Hinchcliffe | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Lucas Oil Pro Motocross – Loretta Lynn | 12 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sunday, Aug. 16 | MotoGP – Austrian Grand Prix | 7:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Indianapolis 500 Practice | 11 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold | |
| Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Moto2 450 – Loretta Lynn | 12 p.m. | NBC | |
| Indianapolis 500 Qualifying | 1 p.m. | NBC | |
| NASCAR America Pre-Race Show | 2 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Race – Daytona | 3 p.m. | NBC | |
| Indianapolis 500 Practice | 3:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR America Post-Race Show | 6 p.m. | NBCSN |
–NBC SPORTS–
