FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 14th, 2021

NTT INDYCAR SERIES DRIVES INTO 2021 SEASON WITH HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA THIS SUNDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

Pre-Race Coverage from Barber Motorsports Park Begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBC

Peacock to Present Exclusive Live Coverage of Practice, Qualifying and Warmup Sessions Saturday and Sunday

“This is going to be a landmark season for INDYCAR.” – Leigh Diffey

Monster Energy Supercross from Atlanta – Saturday Live at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN and Peacock

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 14, 2021 – NBC Sports begins coverage of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with comprehensive live coverage of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Pre-race coverage gets underway from Barber Motorsports Park at 3 p.m. ET.

The series’ biggest stars will be on the grid, including reigning and six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon, two-time INDYCAR champion Josef Newgarden, 2019 Indianapolis 500 champion Simon Pagenaud, and 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi. Also set to compete are series newcomers Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, and former Formula One racer Romain Grosjean, among others.

Live coverage of qualifying, practice sessions and race-day warmups from Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday and Sunday will be on Peacock Premium. For more information about INDYCAR on Peacock and how to sign up, click here.

Broadcast Team

  • Play by Play: Leigh Diffey
  • Analysts: Townsend Bell, Paul Tracy
  • Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns

HOW TO WATCH

  • TV – NBC, NBCSN
  • Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, and NBC Sports app
Date Coverage Network/Streaming Time (ET)
Sat., April 17 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Practice Peacock 11 a.m.
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Practice 2 Peacock 2:40 p.m.
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Qualifying Peacock 5:55 p.m.
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Qualifying (Encore) NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app 10 p.m.
Sun., April 18 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Warmup Peacock 11:30 a.m.
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Pre-Race NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app 3 p.m.
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app 3:30 p.m.
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Post-Race NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app 5:30 p.m.

 

Ahead of the season opener, Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy previewed 2021 season storylines. Below are highlights:

Diffey on the 2021 season: “INDYCAR is in a great place right now. It’s as competitive as ever and is flourishing under the stewardship of Roger Penske. This is going to be a landmark season for INDYCAR.”

Tracy: “These are exciting times for INDYCAR. Coming out of the pandemic and with spectators returning, this is a great opportunity for the sport to show what it is all about and reach new eyeballs. You’ve got NASCAR fans who want to watch Jimmie Johnson and Formula One fans who want to watch Romain Grosjean. No one will have a massive advantage this season. It’s going to be a dog fight. For the first half of the season, the top 10 drivers will be in the race for the championship.”

Bell: “The overarching theme for this season is the incredible depth. The competition this year is tougher for sure than last year, and last year was already incredibly high, so we’re blessed with an insane amount of depth in the series.”

MONSTER ENERGY SUPERCROSS: ATLANTA

Broadcast Team

  • Host: Todd Harris
  • Analyst: Ricky Carmichael
  • Reporters: Will Christien, Daniel Blair

HOW TO WATCH

  • TV – NBCSN
  • Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, and NBC Sports app
Date Coverage Network/Streaming Time (ET)
Sat., April 17 Monster Energy Supercross – Qualifying (Live) Peacock 1 p.m.
Monster Energy Supercross – Event (Live) NBCSN, Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app 7 p.m.

 

BROADCAST NOTES

  • Event Headlines: Last night, Ken Roczen (300 pts) earned his fourth victory of the season and drew closer to 450SX Class standings leader Cooper Webb (313 pts). Defending champion Eli Tomac (278 pts) rounds out the current top three in the 450SX standings with only three races remaining this season. Justin Cooper won in the Western Regional 250SX Class, and sits atop the points standings, trailed narrowly by Cameron McAdoo and Hunter Lawrence.
  • Viewership: Saturday afternoon’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on NBC ranked as the most-watched live Supercross race of the season with an average Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 600,000 viewers. The race also totaled the highest reach for a Supercross telecast this season (1.76 million), surpassing this season’s other NBC broadcast (1.63 million, 1/31/21).
  • Peacock, the new streaming home of Supercross, provides live and commercial-free coverage of qualifiers and races as well as on-demand replays. Viewers can sign up for Peacock at com. Peacock is currently available on the Roku platform; Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD; Google platforms and devices including Android™, Android TV™ devices, Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices; Microsoft’s Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One S and Xbox One X; Sony PlayStation4 and PlayStation 4 Pro; and VIZIO SmartCast™ TVs and LG Smart TVs. Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers, as well as eligible Cox Contour customers, enjoy Peacock Premium included with their service at no additional cost.

MOTOGP PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX

The 2021 MotoGP season continues Sunday with the Portuguese Grand Prix from Algarve International Circuit at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Ducati rider Johann Zarco currently leads the points standings.

DALE JR. DOWNLOAD

After earning his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win this past weekend, JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry, joins this week’s Dale Jr. Download episode that airs tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

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.

INDYCAR, Monster Energy Supercross, and MotoGP are part of NBC Sports’ “Home of Motorsports” programming throughout 2021, spanning NASCAR, IMSA, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Mecum Auctions, American Flat Track, Dakar Rally, and more.

–NBC SPORTS–