FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 23rd, 2021
2021 INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE DECIDED AT ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH THIS SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion to Be Crowned at Season Finale For 16th Consecutive Season
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 Begins From Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Race Coverage Sunday in Primetime at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN; Pre-Race Coverage Begins at 6 p.m. ET
NBC Sports Presents Eight Consecutive Hours of INDYCAR and NASCAR Coverage Sunday on NBCSN & 7.5 Straight Hours of Motorsports Coverage Saturday on NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 23, 2021 – The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship will be decided at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on the California street circuit this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Alex Palou, currently leading the points standings, will aim to earn his first series title and hold off Pato O’Ward and two-time INDYCAR champion Josef Newgarden in the Championship race. This will mark the 16th consecutive season in which the INDYCAR title will be decided at the final race of the season.
Palou will capture the title if he finishes 11th or better at Long Beach, as well as other scenarios. Heading into the season finale, O’Ward trails Palou by 35 points and Newgarden is 48 points back.
Pre-race coverage begins Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, kicking off eight consecutive hours of INDYCAR and NASCAR coverage on NBCSN. The green flag for the Championship race will wave shortly after 3:30 p.m. ET. INDYCAR coverage from Long Beach begins with practice Friday at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock.
NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and Paul Tracy (analyst) will call the season finale. Marty Snider and Kevin Lee will serve as pit reporters, with Rutledge Wood contributing special reports from around the street circuit.
As part of 7.5 straight hours of motorsports coverage Saturday on NBCSN, Rutledge Wood will interview Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Rai Benjamin during INDYCAR qualifying coverage Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Benjamin, who was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x400m relay team at the Tokyo Olympics, is serving as grand marshal of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Long Beach, which will be presented Saturday live at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
NBC Sports will present a special free-to-play contest, Checkered Flag Pick ‘Em, featuring the INDYCAR Championship race. Checkered Flag Pick ‘Em is available to play now within the NBC Sports Predictor app powered by PointsBet (available in the App Store and Google Play Store).
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play by Play: Leigh Diffey
- Analysts: Townsend Bell, Paul Tracy
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kevin Lee
- Specialty Reporter: Rutledge Wood
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBCSN
- Streaming – Peacock (qualifying and practice), NBCSports.com, and NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Network/Streaming | Time (ET) |
| Fri., Sept. 24 | Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – Practice | Peacock | 6 p.m. |
| Sat., Sept. 25 | Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – Practice 2 | Peacock | Noon |
| Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – Qualifying | NBCSN, Peacock | 3 p.m. | |
| Sun., Sept. 26 | Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – Warmup | Peacock | Noon |
| Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Pre-Race | NBCSN | 3 p.m. | |
| Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | NBCSN | 3:30 p.m. | |
| Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Post-Race | NBCSN | 5:30 p.m. |
NASCAR: LAS VEGAS
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 begins in primetime this Sunday, Sept. 26, from Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. An hour-long edition of Countdown to Green pre-race coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
The Xfinity Series Playoff Round of 12 field is set ahead of this weekend in Las Vegas. Countdown to Green pre-race coverage will begin in primetime Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, leading into race coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET.
NBC Sports’ lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen will call the Cup Series race this weekend from Las Vegas alongside Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte, 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, and two-time Daytona 500 Champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame selection Dale Earnhardt Jr. Allen will call the Xfinity Series race with Burton and Brad Daugherty.
Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns will contribute coverage from pit road during the weekend’s pair of Playoff races from Las Vegas.
All studio coverage will take place from the Peacock Pit Box, beginning Saturday which will be anchored by Stavast alongside Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett.
Sunday’s pre-race coverage will feature Letarte with Jarrett and Daugherty. The 30-minute NASCAR America post-race show will also include analysis from Jarrett and Daugherty.
The Round of 12 is finalized heading into Las Vegas, with Kyle Larson continuing to lead the standings following his thrilling win at Bristol last weekend. AJ Allmendinger won the Xfinity Series race at Bristol in overtime, securing the regular season championship over Austin Cindric.
2021 NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS ROUND OF 12
| Drivers | Points |
| Kyle Larson | 3059 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 3029 |
| Denny Hamlin | 3024 |
| Ryan Blaney | 3024 |
| Kyle Busch | 3022 |
| Chase Elliott | 3021 |
| Alex Bowman | 3015 |
| William Byron | 3014 |
| Joey Logano | 3013 |
| Brad Keselowski | 3008 |
| Christopher Bell | 3005 |
| Kevin Harvick | 3002 |
The official home of the NASCAR Championship and Playoffs, NBC Sports will once again present the final 20 NASCAR Cup Series races and 19 NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2021, culminating with the Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6-7. Click here for more information on NBC Sports’ 2021 NASCAR coverage.
NASCAR Pick ‘Em: NBC Sports’ free-to-play game, NASCAR Pick ‘Em, features a weekly contest for each NASCAR Cup Series race. NASCAR Pick ‘Em is available for download now on the NBC Sports Predictor app powered by PointsBet (available in the App Store and Google Play Store) and at nbcsports.com/predictor.
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play by Play: Rick Allen
- Analysts: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte (Sunday), Brad Daugherty (Saturday)
- Pit Reporters: Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns
STUDIO COVERAGE TEAM
- Hosts: Steve Letarte (Sunday), Kelli Stavast (Saturday)
- Analysts: Dale Jarrett, Brad Daugherty, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Saturday)
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBCSN
- Streaming – NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) |
| Sat., Sept. 25 | Countdown to Green – NASCAR Xfinity Series | NBCSN | 7 p.m. |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Post Race | NBCSN | 10 p.m. | |
| Sun., Sept. 26 | Countdown to Green – NASCAR Cup Series | NBCSN | 6 p.m. |
| NASCAR Cup Series Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| NASCAR Cup Series Post Race | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. |
IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP: LONG BEACH
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play by Play: Leigh Diffey
- Analyst: Calvin Fish
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kevin Lee
Live coverage of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Long Beach will be presented Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The series will return to the California street circuit for the first time in nearly two and a half years.
Three WeatherTech Championship car classes will race at Long Beach, including Daytona Prototype International (DPi), GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD). Live streaming coverage of all races and qualifying throughout the weekend will also be available on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.
DALE JR. DOWNLOAD
Danny Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s uncle and the brother of Dale Earnhardt Sr., is the guest on this week’s episode of the Dale Jr. Download 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.
–NBC SPORTS–
