FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 13th, 2021
NBC SPORTS TO PRESENT NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ GMR GRAND PRIX AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY THIS SATURDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBC
Pre-Race Coverage from Historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway Begins Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC
Peacock to Present Exclusive Live Coverage of Practice, Qualifying and Warmup Sessions at IMS Tomorrow and Saturday
IMSA from Mid-Ohio – Sunday Live at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Dale Earnhardt’s Former Crew Chief Andy Petree Joins the Dale Jr. Download Tonight at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 13, 2021 – The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season’s “Month of May” in Indianapolis begins with NBC Sports’ comprehensive live coverage of the GMR Grand Prix from historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Pre-race coverage gets underway at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
Friday’s all-day live coverage of qualifying and practice sessions from IMS will stream exclusively on Peacock, which will also present exclusive race-day warmup coverage on Saturday. For more information about INDYCAR on Peacock and how to sign up, click here.
The series’ biggest stars will be in action on the IMS road course, including reigning and six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon, two-time INDYCAR champion Josef Newgarden, 2019 Indianapolis 500 champion Simon Pagenaud, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former Formula One racer Romain Grosjean, and two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya, among others. Last year on the IMS road course, Dixon won the GMR Grand Prix on the 4th of July, while Newgarden and Will Power split wins in October’s INDYCAR Harvest GP doubleheader.
Dixon and Pato O’Ward were victorious at the Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader two weekends ago. O’Ward’s victory marked his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win and the first by a Mexican driver since Adrian Fernandez in 2004. Dixon (153 pts) currently leads the points standings, followed by O’Ward (131 pts) and Alex Palou (127 pts), who won at Barber Motorsports Park in the first race of the season. There have been four different winners in the first four races of the season.
The GMR Grand Prix will be called by NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and Paul Tracy (analyst). Marty Snider and Kevin Lee will serve as pit reporters.
NBC Sports’ coverage of the first four races of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES set viewership milestones, averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 719,000 viewers, marking the best spring start to a season in four years (799,000 viewers; ABC/NBCSN; 2017); the best spring start in NBC Sports history; and up 6% vs. the first four races in 2019, excluding the Indy 500. Comparisons exclude the 2020 season, which began in June due to the global pandemic. Click here for more information.
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play by Play: Leigh Diffey
- Analysts: Townsend Bell, Paul Tracy
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kevin Lee
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBC, NBCSN
- Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, and NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Network/Streaming | Time (ET) |
| Fri., May 14 | GMR Grand Prix – Practice 1 | Peacock | 9:30 a.m. |
| GMR Grand Prix – Practice 2 | Peacock | 1 p.m. | |
| Indy Lights 1 | Peacock | 2 p.m. | |
| GMR Grand Prix – Qualifying | Peacock | 4:30 p.m. | |
| GMR Grand Prix – Qualifying (Encore) | NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 6 p.m. | |
| Sat., May 15 | GMR Grand Prix – Warmup | Peacock | 10:45 a.m. |
| Indy Lights 2 | Peacock | 12:35 p.m. | |
| GMR Grand Prix – Pre-Race | NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 2 p.m. | |
| GMR Grand Prix | NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 2:30 p.m. | |
| GMR Grand Prix – Post-Race | NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 4:30 p.m. |
IMSA WEATHERTECH CHAMPIONSHIP: MID-OHIO
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play by Play: Dave Burns
- Analysts: Calvin Fish, Steve Letarte
- Reporters: Dillon Welch, Parker Kligerman
The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns this Sunday with the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course live at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Three classes will be in action — Daytona Prototype International (DPi), GT Daytona (GTD) and Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3). Live streaming coverage of all races throughout the weekend will be available exclusively on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.
MOTOGP FRENCH GRAND PRIX
The 2021 MotoGP season continues Sunday with the French Grand Prix from Le Mans at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia currently leads the points standings after finishing second behind teammate Jack Miller in the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month.
DALE JR. DOWNLOAD
Andy Petree, former crew chief of Dale Earnhardt, as well as former NASCAR driver, team owner and broadcaster, joins this week’s Dale Jr. Download episode that airs tonight at 6 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, IMSA and MotoGP are part of NBC Sports’ “Home of Motorsports” programming throughout 2021, spanning NASCAR, Monster Energy Supercross, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Mecum Auctions, American Flat Track, Dakar Rally, and more.
SPORTS ON PEACOCK
Peacock Premium currently features live sports content from Premier League, US Speed Skating, Figure Skating, Rugby, Supercross, Skiing, and Snowboarding. Upcoming sports coverage on Peacock will include games from the 2021 NFL Season, INDYCAR, Olympics, and Paralympics. Highlights of Peacock’s previous live sports offerings include a Sunday NFL Wild Card playoff game, U.S. Open golf, U.S. Women’s Open golf, and upcoming events include Olympics and Paralympics coverage. Peacock Originals available on demand include Lost Speedways, hosted by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and In Deep with Ryan Lochte. Peacock offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel which streams Peacock Original Brother from Another, as well as The Dan Patrick Show, PFT Live, and The Rich Eisen Show.
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, PlayStation 4 Pro, and PlayStation5; and VIZIO SmartCast™ TVs and LG Smart TVs. Peacock Premium is included at no additional cost for Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers.
All NBC and NBCSN coverage also streams on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
–NBC SPORTS–
