Sunday’s Cup Series Coverage Begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green on NBC; Green Flag at 2 p.m. ET
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 8 in Martinsville – Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC
Kyle Larson Joins The Dale Jr. Download – Tonight at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca – Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 29, 2020 – The “Championship 4” Drivers in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series Playoffs will be decided at Martinsville Speedway this weekend on NBC, headlined by Cup Series racing Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. Sunday’s pre-race coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green.
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch earned his first win of the season last night at Texas Motor Speedway in a rain-delayed race that took three days to complete. Joey Logano has earned a spot in the Cup Series Championship 4 following his victory in Kansas earlier this month. A win by any of the seven remaining contenders at 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 | +42 |
| Denny Hamlin | +27 |
| Brad Keselowski | +25 |
| Alex Bowman | -25 |
| Chase Elliott | -25 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | -36 |
| Kurt Busch | -81 |
NASCAR CUP SERIES RACING FROM MARTINSVILLE – SUNDAY AT 1:30 P.M. ET ON NBC
Host Krista Voda, NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee and 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett 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 Martinsville 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 two races of the NASCAR season.
Marty Snider, Dave Burns and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters on-site from Martinsville.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACING FROM MARTINSVILLE – SATURDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBC
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 will come to a finish at Martinsville on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Last weekend, Harrison Burton passed Noah Gragson on the final corner of the final lap to win at Texas and prevent Gragson from clinching a spot in the Championship 4. Chase Briscoe secured a spot in the Championship 4 after his win at Kansas Speedway earlier this month.
2020 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS – ROUND OF 8
| Drivers | Points |
| Chase Briscoe | 1 win |
| Austin Cindric | +14 |
| Justin Allgaier | +9 |
| Justin Haley | +4 |
| Brandon Jones | -4 |
| Ross Chastain | -15 |
| Noah Gragson | -24 |
| Ryan Sieg | -43 |
Allen, Letarte, Burton and Earnhardt Jr. will call the race. Snider, 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.
IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP AT WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA – SUNDAY AT 6:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The two-hour and forty-minute Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will be presented on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. All four classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will compete on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit in Monterey, Calif. INDYCAR on NBC analyst Townsend Bell will compete for the No. 12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus team in the GT Daytona class.
Live streaming coverage of the event will air at 4 p.m. ET on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.
Leigh Diffey will handle play-by-play duties alongside analysts AJ Allmendinger and Calvin Fish. Kelli Stavast and Kevin Lee will provide reports on-site from pit road.
KYLE LARSON JOINS THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD – TONIGHT AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Professional stock car racer Kyle Larson is this week’s guest on The Dale Jr. Download that airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Earnhardt Jr. and Larson discuss Larson’s NASCAR reinstatement and his path back from a suspension for his use of a racial slur. Yesterday, it was announced that Larson will drive the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports 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.
Highlighted quotes from the episode are below:
Larson on accountability following his suspension: “(What) goes the furthest are actions and actually doing things rather than talking…it’s definitely going to take a lot longer than these six months to really get people to forgive me and get to see who I really am. That’s important to me and I know it is going to take a long time.”
Larson on how he plans to continue to educate himself and others: “As you educate yourself more, it definitely continues to change you. I don’t plan on stopping what I’ve been doing…everything that I’ve been doing, and coming up with ideas of things to do, I’ve never wanted it to be a ‘check the box’ thing. I’ve wanted to be authentic, genuine through it all…I plan to do more…and be part of the solution.”
MECUM AUCTIONS INDIANAPOLIS – COVERAGE BEGINS TODAY AT 11 A.M. ET ON NBCSN
Over 10 hours of live Mecum Auctions ‘Indy Fall Special’ coverage from the Indiana State Fairgrounds will be presented this week, beginning today at 11 a.m. ET with a five-hour window on NBCSN. Featured cars that will cross the auction block can be viewed here.
Scott Hoke will host coverage on-site in Indianapolis, alongside analysts John Kraman and Stephen Cox, and reporters Bill Stephens and Katie Osborne.
Following is this week’s motorsports programming across NBC Sports:
| DATE | COVERAGE | TIME (ET) | NETWORK/PLATFORM |
| Thurs., Oct. 29 | Mecum Auctions – Indianapolis | 11 a.m. | NBCSN |
| The Dale Jr. Download – Kyle Larson | 9 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Mecum Auctions – Indianapolis | 11 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Martinsville | 3:30 p.m. | NBC |
| Mecum Auctions – Indianapolis* | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Cup Series – Countdown to Green | 1:30 p.m. | NBC |
| NASCAR Cup Series Race – Martinsville | 2 p.m. | NBC | |
| IMSA WeatherTech Series – Laguna Seca | 4 p.m. | TrackPass | |
| Cup Series Post-Race | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| IMSA WeatherTech Series – Laguna Seca* | 6:30 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--
