FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 21st, 2020
NASCAR PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 8 CONTINUES AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY THIS SUNDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Sunday’s Cup Series Coverage Begins at 2:30 p.m. ET With NASCAR America Pre-Race Show on NBCSN; Green Flag at 3:30 p.m. ET
Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden Battle for 2020 INDYCAR Championship in Streets of St. Petersburg – Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 8 in Texas – Coverage Begins Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN
MotoGP Teruel Grand Prix – Presented Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 21, 2020 – The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 continues at Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET with the NASCAR America Pre-Race Show on NBCSN. Pre-race coverage will continue with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET, leading into the green flag waving shortly after 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
The 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship will be decided on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, as five-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon battles reigning champion Josef Newgarden for the season title at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 continues at Texas on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with Chase Briscoe having secured a spot in the Championship 4 after his win at Kansas Speedway last weekend.
Joey Logano earned a spot in the Cup Series Championship 4 following his victory in Kansas on Sunday. A win by any of the seven remaining contenders over the upcoming pair of races at Texas and Martinsville earns them an automatic berth in the Championship race at Phoenix (Sun., Nov. 8 on NBC).
2020 NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS – ROUND OF 8
| Drivers | Points |
| Joey Logano | 1 win |
| Kevin Harvick | 4115 |
| Denny Hamlin | 4094 |
| Brad Keselowski | 4082 |
| Chase Elliott | 4074 |
| Alex Bowman | 4055 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 4051 |
| Kurt Busch | 4009 |
NASCAR CUP SERIES RACING FROM TEXAS – SUNDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Host Krista Voda, NASCAR on NBC analyst Brad Daugherty and auto racing icon Kyle Petty will provide pre- and post-race studio coverage.
NBC Sports’ lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen will call the Cup Series race this weekend from Texas Motor Speedway alongside Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte, 21-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton and two-time Daytona 500 Champion and recent NASCAR Hall of Fame selection Dale Earnhardt Jr. NBC Sports’ booth commentators will be on-site to call the remaining three races of the NASCAR season.
Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters on-site from Texas.
XFINITY SERIES RACING FROM TEXAS – SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The Xfinity Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 rolls on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, with coverage on NBCSN beginning with Countdown to Green at 4 p.m. ET leading into Xfinity Series racing at 4:30 p.m. ET. Playoff contender Austin Cindric won at Texas in July on his way to capturing the regular season championship.
2020 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS – ROUND OF 8
| Drivers | Points |
| Chase Briscoe | 1 win |
| Justin Allgaier | 3068 |
| Brandon Jones | 3066 |
| Austin Cindric | 3059 |
| Justin Haley | 3057 |
| Ross Chastain | 3047 |
| Ryan Sieg | 3042 |
| Noah Gragson | 3026 |
Allen, Letarte and Burton will call the race. Stavast, Burns and Kligerman will provide reports from pit road.
2020 PIT CREW ALL-STARS TO BE RECOGNIZED DURING NASCAR PLAYOFFS
During the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, NBC Sports will salute this year’s Pit Crew All-Stars. This group of unsung heroes – 16 in all, matching the 16 Playoff drivers – comes from the ranks of over-the-wall crew members, engineers, shop employees, hauler drivers, and/or team officials. Throughout the Playoffs, NBC will showcase the All-Stars’ stories, and what makes them and their abilities so special.
2020 INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP – SUNDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBC
The 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship will be decided at the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Five-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon and reigning INDYCAR champion Josef Newgarden will battle for the title on a 1.8-mile street circuit in the heart of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Trailing Dixon by only 32 points, Newgarden has an opportunity to win the title over Dixon if he finishes second or better and Dixon finishes 23rd or worse. Dixon, on the other hand, will clinch the championship with a finish of ninth or better, regardless of what Newgarden does.
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 Championship race. Marty Snider and Kevin Lee will provide reports from pit road.
CHASE BRISCOE JOINS DALE JR. DOWNLOAD – TONIGHT AT 5 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and Championship 4 contender Chase Briscoe is this week’s guest on the Dale Jr. Download that airs tonight at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Earlier this week, it was announced that Briscoe will take over the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford car in the NASCAR Cup Series next season.
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.
MOTOGP TERUEL GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 4:30 P.M. ET ON NBC; ENCORE SUNDAY AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The 2020 MotoGP season continues Sunday in Spain with the Teruel Grand Prix from MotorLand Aragón at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Suzuki Ecstar rider Joan Mir leads the points standings after a third-place finish in last week’s Aragón Grand Prix. An encore of the race will be presented Sunday evening at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Following is this week’s motorsports programming across NBC Sports:
| DATE | COVERAGE | TIME (ET) | NETWORK/PLATFORM |
| Wed., Oct. 21 | Dale Jr. Download – Chase Briscoe | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Practice | 10:55 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold |
| INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Qualifying | 3 p.m. | NBC Sports Gold | |
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Xfinity Series – Countdown to Green | 4 p.m. | NBCSN |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Texas | 4:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Xfinity Series – Post Race | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Qualifying* | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Warmup | 10:40 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold |
| INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | |
| Cup Series – NASCAR America Pre-Race Show | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Cup Series – Countdown to Green | 3 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Race – Texas | 3:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| MotoGP – Teruel Grand Prix* | 4:30 p.m. | NBC | |
| Cup Series Post-Race | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| MotoGP – Teruel Grand Prix (encore) | 9 p.m. | NBCSN |
*same-day delay
NBC SPORTS’ NASCAR COVERAGE
NBC Sports is the official home of the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs, covering the race for the NASCAR Cup Series & NASCAR Xfinity Series championships. NBC Sports’ NASCAR programming also includes NBCSN’s daily motorsports show, NASCAR America; races from NASCAR’s regional touring series; annual events such as the NASCAR Cup Series Awards and NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony; and original programming specials.
–NBC SPORTS–
