FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 21st, 2020

104TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESENTED THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, ON NBC AT 1 P.M. ET

104th Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge – Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC

Carb Day Coverage Begins Today at 11 a.m. ET on NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold

Pre-Race Features and Interviews with Pole Sitter Marco Andretti and 1969 Indy 500 Champion Mario Andretti, 2019 Indy 500 Champion Simon Pagenaud and 2016 Indy 500 Champion Alexander Rossi

“It’s going to be a piece of history. There’s never been a 500 like this – ever.” – Mike Tirico on This Year’s Indy 500

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 21, 2020 – NBC Sports presents the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge this Sunday, August 23, with coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. Marco Andretti won the pole position and will lead the field to the green flag for the Indy 500, the first time an Andretti has won the pole since Mario Andretti did so in 1987.

Today’s Carb Day coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway begins on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold at 11 a.m. ET. The lead Indy 500 commentary team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and Paul Tracy (analyst) will have the call along with Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Kevin Lee providing reports from the pits.

On Wednesday, NBC Sports’ Indy 500 host Mike Tirico, Indy 500 studio analyst and former INDYCAR driver Danica Patrick, Diffey, Bell and Tracy, as well as executive producer Sam Flood, previewed this Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 on a media conference call. Click here for a transcript of the call.

Following are highlights of NBC Sports’ comprehensive Indianapolis 500 coverage.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 – PRE-RACE COVERAGE BEGINS AT 1 P.M. ET ON NBC

NBC Sports will present five hours of live coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race day – Sunday, August 23 – beginning with pre-race coverage on NBC at 1 p.m. ET with the green flag slated to wave at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET. Sunday’s broadcast of the Indy 500 on NBC will mark the first time the race will be held in August.

NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR commentary team of Diffey, Bell, and Tracy will call the 104th Indianapolis 500 alongside Snider, Stavast and Lee reporting from the pits.

Bell and Tracy have combined to make 17 career Indy 500 starts. Tracy was the runner-up in the 2002 Indy 500, while Bell registered a career-best fourth-place Indy 500 finish in 2009. Diffey will call his second consecutive Indy 500 and has additionally called many of motorsports’ most prestigious events, including the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

NBC Sports’ comprehensive Indy 500 commentary team includes host Mike Tirico and analyst and former INDYCAR driver Danica Patrick, who made eight Indy 500 starts in her career (best finish of third in 2009) and was the first woman to lead laps in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’ NBC Sports’ motorsports reporter Rutledge Wood will provide on-site reports from in and around Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Pre-race coverage on NBC will be highlighted by:

  • Feature stories and interviews surrounding pole-sitter Marco Andretti and racing legend and 1969 Indy 500 champion Mario Andretti;
  • Interviews with 2019 Indy 500 champion Simon Pagenaud and 2016 Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi;
  • A live interview with NBC Sports analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. from Charlotte;
  • The singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by the “Singing Surgeons,” former Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgery residents Dr. Elvis Francois and William Robinson;
  • And the singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana” by Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer Jim Cornelison.

Yesterday, NBC Sports launched “Message In A Milk Bottle,” a time capsule activation that captured drivers’ thoughts and sentiments at Media Day before Sunday’s race and will be opened next year around the 105th Indianapolis 500. Beginning today through the green flag on Sunday on NBC, fans can submit their messages to be included in the time capsule via social media using #MessageInAMilkBottle. Select fan messages will be included and the “Message In A Milk Bottle” time capsule will remain on-site at IMS until next year.

Following is this weekend’s Indianapolis 500 coverage across NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold:

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Fri., Aug. 21 Indianapolis 500 Carb Day NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold 11 a.m.
Sun., Aug. 23 Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge Pre-Race NBC 1 p.m.
  104th Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge NBC 2:30 p.m.
  Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge Post-Race NBC 5:30 p.m.

 

–NBC SPORTS–