NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs From Watkins Glen, Indycar Season Finale, and Supermotocross Playoffs Round 2 Headline NBC Sports’ Mega-Motorsports Weekend Across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and CNBC - Speedway Digest

NBC Sports’ mega-motorsports coverage this weekend is headlined by the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 16 playoff race from Watkins Glen International on Sunday on USA Network, the INDYCAR season finale from Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday on NBC and Peacock, and the second round of the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs on Saturday on Peacock from Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR: CUP SERIES GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN & XFINITY SERIES MISSION 200 AT THE GLEN

Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y., hosts the second race in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 16 playoffs this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. A 30-minute Countdown to Green Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network leads into live race coverage.

Joey Logano won last week’s opening playoff race in Atlanta, solidifying his first-place spot in the current postseason standings. This will be the second of four Round of 16 playoff races, after which four drivers will be eliminated. Kyle Larson, who entered the playoffs atop the driver standings, is now in 10^th place and sits just 15 points above the Round of 12 cutoff after wrecking early in last weekend’s race in Atlanta.William Byron won last year’s Cup Series race in Watkins Glen.

2024 NASCAR CUP SERIES STANDINGS

NBC Sports’ signature fan-favorite “Radio Style” broadcast returns this weekend at Watkins Glen, with announcers positioned from vantage points around the track featuring high-paced, around-the-horn commentary at the following positions:

Main Broadcast Booth: Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte with lead NASCAR Cup Series race announcer Leigh Diffey, lead Xfinity Series race announcer Rick Allen, and 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton
“The Esses”: Veteran MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio announcer Mike Bagley
“Inner Loop” and “The Carousel”: NBC Sports pit reporter and MRN turn announcerDillon Welch

Coverage from Watkins Glen begins this Saturday on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app with Xfinity Series qualifying at 9:30 a.m. ET followed by Cup Series qualifying at 11:30 a.m. ET on NBCSports.com/NBC Sports app, before transitioning to USA Network at 12:30 p.m. ET.

A 30-minute Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ET will lead into live coverage of the Xfinity Series’ Mission 200 at the Glen at 3 p.m. ET, with both windows on USA Network.

NBC Sports coverage from Watkins Glen will feature members of its broadcast team embedded with the race teams of various drivers throughout the event, highlighting the teamwork and contributions at every level, from the driver to the crew chief, that are required to create a successful day at the racetrack during the intensity of a playoff race.

Marty Snider, Kim Coon, and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters.

Snider will host pre- and post-race coverage alongside Letarte and Burton.

HOW TO WATCH

TV – USA Network
Streaming – NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app

NTT INDYCAR SERIES: BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX

Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou is in position to earn back-to-back series titles this Sunday at the season finale of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES from Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Pre-race coverage of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will begin at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Palou (525 pts) can guarantee his second consecutive title and third in fourth years by finishing ninth or better. Will Power (-33) will need to finish in the top three to have any chance of overtaking Palou. Palou could become the first driver since Dario Franchitti to win consecutive INDYCAR championships (2009-2011) and only the fourth driver in history with three or more titles (Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Sam Hornish Jr.). This is the first race at Nashville Superspeedway since 2008.

Live coverage of qualifying and practice sessions from the course tomorrow and Saturday will stream exclusively on Peacock. For more information about Peacock’s comprehensive streaming coverage of the 2024 INDYCAR season and how to sign up, click here.

NBC Sports’ INDYCAR commentary team of Kevin Lee (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and James Hinchcliffe (analyst) will call this weekend’s races. Dave Burns and Georgia Henneberrywill provide reports from pit road.

BROADCAST TEAM

Play by Play: Kevin Lee
Analysts: Townsend Bell, James Hinchcliffe
Pit Reporters: Dave Burns, Georgia Henneberry

HOW TO WATCH

TV – NBC
Streaming – Peacock

SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: PLAYOFF 2

The second of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs starts this Saturday from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, at 2:30 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock, with an encore presentation on USA Network later that day at 6 p.m. ET.

Jett Lawrence dominated Round 1 of the Playoffs in Charlotte last weekend, winning the tiebreaker over Eli Tomac to take the overall win. 2024 Pro Motocross 450 Class champion Chase Sexton finished third overall, with Hunter Lawrence in fourth.

NBC Sports’ SuperMotocross analyst Ricky Carmichael, a 15-time AMA champion, and nine-time AMA Champion Ryan Villopoto recap the first round of the playoffs and look ahead to this weekend’s second round on the latest episode of the Title 24 podcast here.

Race Day Live qualifying coverage this Saturday from Texas Motor Speedway gets underway at 9:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. All live SuperMotocross coverage, including races and qualifying, plus on-demand replays, will be available on Peacock this season. Click here for more details.

BROADCAST TEAM