NBCSN’s Race Coverage begins Saturday at 8 p.m. ET with XFINITY Series Racing from Iowa Speedway, Followed by Sprint Cup Series Racing Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET from Pocono Raceway
Martin Truex Jr. Discusses His June Victory in Pocono and Reflects on an Impactful Year in Sunday’s Countdown to Green Feature
NASCAR Drives NBCSN to Most-Watched July in the Network’s History
NBC Sports Group Presents Verizon Indycar Series this Sunday with Live Coverage Of Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at 1:30 p.m. ET on CNBC
NBC Sports Teams with Quicken Loans to Launch the $16M Perfect Grid Challenge
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 30, 2015 –On the heels of last week’s Kyle Busch sweep at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NBCSN presents another weekend slate of NASCAR action with Sprint Cup racing from Pocono Raceway’s “Tricky Triangle” and XFINITY Series racing from Iowa Speedway. Saturday’s green flag drops in Iowa with the XFINITY Series US Cellular 250 at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The competition continues Sunday with Sprint Cup Racing from Pocono at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
NBCSN’s weekend NASCAR coverage begins with a full day of programming on Friday with Sprint Cup Series practice presented by DraftKings from Pocono at 11a.m. ET. At 4:30 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup qualifying presented by DraftKings airs on NBCSN while XFINITY Series practice from Iowa appears on NBC Sports Live Extra. NASCAR America broadcasts live from Pocono Raceway at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the final XFINITY Series practice in Iowa at 7 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s coverage kicks off bright and early with back-to-back Sprint Cup practice sessions presented by DraftKings at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. ET from Pocono Raceway on NBCSN. Coverage then heads west to “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet” with XFINITY Series qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET at Iowa Speedway, followed by Countdown to Green at 7:30 p.m. ET and the XFINITY Series US Cellular 250 at 8p.m. ET on NBCSN. Ralph Sheheen will handle play-by-play duties and Dale Jarrett will join him as the lead analyst. Reporters Jim Noble, Alex Hayden and Marty Snider add to Countdown to Green and race coverage.
Sunday’s racing coverage returns to the “Keystone State” at noon ET with a 60-minute edition of NASCAR America Sunday presented by presented by DraftKings followed by Countdown to Green, Served by Sonic pre-race show at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Krista Voda will anchor Sunday’s pre-race coverage alongside analyst Kyle Petty. Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns and Mike Massaro will patrol pit road. NBCSN analyst Jeff Burton and specialty reporter Rutledge Wood will also join in on the pre-race festivities.
The “Tricky Triangle’s” main event begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Sprint Cup Racing from Pocono. Rick Allen calls the action alongside Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte and 21-time Sprint Cup winning driver Burton. Post-race, NBCSN’s coverage of NASCAR continues with Voda, Petty, Burton, Letarte and the post-race show from Pocono at 5:30 p.m. ET. The weekend of race coverage concludes Sunday at 11 p.m. ET with NASCAR Victory Lap hosted by Carolyn Manno alongside analysts Parker Kligerman and Brian Vickers.
MARTIN TRUEX JR DISCUSSES HIS JUNE VICTORY AT POCONO AND REFLECTS ON AN IMPACTFUL YEAR
Sunday’s pre-race coverage will include a segment featuring Martin Truex Jr. and his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex. Together they will look back at Truex’s most recent Sprint Cup win at Pocono Raceway in June. Sunday’s race also comes almost a year since Pollex’ diagnosis with cancer. The couple looks back on the extreme highs and lows of this past year, and discusses some of the inspiring work they have done for children’s hospitals around the country.
JEFF BURTON AND RUTLEDGE WOOD EXPLORE POCONO RACEWAY’S UNIQUE FEATURES AND SURROUNDINGS
Sunday’s Countdown to Green will also feature NBCSN NASCAR analyst Burton delivering a look at the “Tricky Triangle” from behind the wheel of NBC Sports’ Toyota Camry On Track Car. In addition, features reporter Wood will report on the defining characteristics of Pocono’s three turns. Designed by driver and architect Rodger Ward, each turn is modeled after another storied raceway. Turn one was drawn from the now defunct Trenton Speedway “kidney bean” in New Jersey; turn two is banked nine degrees in an homage to Indianapolis Motor Speedway; and turn three takes its influence from the famed Milwaukee Mile.
NASCAR DRIVES NBCSN TO MOST-WATCHED JULY IN THE NETWORK’S HISTORY
NASCAR and NBC Sports Group kicked off their 10-year partnership in July with more than 100 hours of trackside coverage, which fueled the best July Total Day and Primetime viewership in NBCSN history. In addition, NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the network’s most-watched telecast ever, averaging 4.7 million viewers. Click here for more information.
NBC SPORTS GROUP PRESENTS VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES THIS SUNDAY WITH LIVE COVERAGE OF HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO AT 1:30 P.M. ET ON CNBC
NBC Sports Group continues its presentation of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series this Sunday, August 2, with live coverage of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at 1:30 p.m. ET on CNBC. Coverage begins this Saturday, August 1, at 3 p.m. ET with qualifying on NBCSN. A more detailed press release surrounding this weekend’s Verizon IndyCar coverage will be distributed later today.
| Date | Program | Time (ET) | Network |
| Fri., July 31 | Sprint Cup Series Frist Practice - Pocono | 11 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Sprint Cup Series Qualifying - Pocono | 4:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Practice - Iowa | 4:30 p.m. | NBC Sports Live Extra | |
| NASCAR America | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Final Practice - Iowa | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sat., August 1 | Sprint Cup Series Second Practice - Pocono | 9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Sprint Cup Series Final Practice - Pocono | 11:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Indy Car Series Qualifying - Mid-Ohio | 3 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Qualifying – Iowa | 4:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| XFINITY Series Race – Iowa | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., August 2 | NASCAR America Sunday | 12 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sprint Cup Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show | 1 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sprint Cup Series Race – Pocono | 1:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Indy Car Series Race – Mid-Ohio | 1:30 p.m. | CNBC | |
| Sprint Cup Series Post Race – Pocono | 5:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Indy Car Series Race – Mid-Ohio (Encore)* | 6 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| NASCAR Victory Lap | 11 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Mon., August 3 | NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
*denotes same-day delay
**tape delay
NBC SPORTS GROUP CELEBRATES THE CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP WITH THE QUICKEN LOANS $16M PERFECT GRID CHALLENGE
To celebrate the debut of NBC Sports Group’s 10-year chapter as the home of NASCAR’s championship run and Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NBC Sports Group has teamed up with Quicken Loans, the nation’s third largest mortgage lender, to provide fans with the Quicken Loans $16M Perfect Grid Challenge.
Fans can register at NBCSports.com/GridChallenge to fill out a NASCAR Grid from the round of 16 drivers who qualified for Chase and predicting how they will advance through each round of The Chase through the final race. The lucky fan with a perfect bracket at the end of the season will win a 16 million dollar prize, one million to represent each of the 16 drivers in the Chase. Fans will be able to make their picks following the Federated Auto Parts 400 Sprint Cup Series race on September 12 on NBCSN from Richmond International Raceway, and will have until the 15 minutes prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup September Chicagoland Race the following Sunday, September 20, to submit their grids and get ready to cheer on their picks.
In addition to the $16 Million Perfect Grid Challenge, fans will also have the opportunity to compete in the Weekly Playoff Grid Challenge. Each week participating fans are entered to win great prizes including a Roku streaming player and NBC Sports prize packs. At the end of the 10 weeks the fan with the most points will receive a free mortgage for a year from Quicken Loans.
MOTORSPORTS ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA
NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will stream this week’s NASCAR and IndyCar coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV.
NASCAR COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.com and NASCARTALK
NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of NASCAR, including contributions from on-air commentators.
To explore the site, please visit NBCSports.com/NASCAR and NASCARTalk.NBCSports.com/
@NBCSportsPR: @NBCSportsPR Publicity group Twitter account for NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, 11 NBC Sports Regionals, NBC Sports Radio & all NBC Sports digital properties.
@NASCARonNBC: @NASCARonNBC The official Twitter account of NASCAR coverage on NBC and NBCSN provides exclusive access to drivers, NBC Sports NASCAR experts and behind-the-scenes content, as well up-to-the-minute news and highlights, including video and articles from MotorSportsTalk on NBCSports.com.
For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.
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