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NASCAR, IndyCar getting ready for big weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Rod Mullins
auto racing
(© EwaStudio – stock.adobe.com)

NASCAR and IndyCar are gearing up for a historic weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The IndyCar GMR Grand Prix on the IMS road course kicks off the racing weekend on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET on NBC, followed by the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 on the IMS road course.

The NASCAR Cup Series takes center stage from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, as NBC Sports kicks off its 2020 NASCAR Cup Series coverage with the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records.

The weekend will mark the first time in history that NASCAR Cup and Xfinity and IndyCar Series races will be held at the same track on the same weekend.

“When you think about this, 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, heck, five years ago, were we even talking about doing something like this where you have three series at the same racetrack on the same weekend, the premier series in North America on two different racetracks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?” NBC NASCAR commentator Jeff Burton said.

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. will also be in the virtual booth for the call on NBC.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the two top forms of motorsports in America today here in the same venue, not only for the fans, but for the people in the industry,” Earnhardt said. “There’s so much respect, I think, going back and forth from open wheel to stock car over the decades. There’s been a lot of great circumstances and opportunities where drivers have drove — IndyCar drivers have raced in stock cars with success and stock car racers have ran at Indy in IndyCars with success, as well.”

Countdown to Crossover

The second episode of Countdown to Crossover, NBC Sports’ week-long digital series on NBCSports.com and the Motorsports on NBC YouTube channel, features NASCAR on NBC reporter Kelli Stavast, current IndyCar driver and NBC Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe and current NASCAR driver and NBC Sports motorsports analyst A.J. Allmendinger.

The crew discuss the history of crossover between open-wheel and stock car racing and Hinchcliffe and Allmendinger share what it will be like to compete during the weekend.

Additional guests slated to appear on Countdown to Crossover throughout the week include Kurt Busch, Josef Newgarden, and Scott Dixon.

Following is this week’s racing coverage across NBC Sports:

DATE COVERAGE TIME (ET) NETWORK
Thursday, July 2 Countdown to Crossover 12 p.m. Digital*
Friday, July 3 Countdown to Crossover 12 p.m. Digital*
IndyCar Practice 1 11:30 a.m. NBC Sports Gold
NASCAR Xfinity Series First Practice 1:30 p.m. TrackPass & NBC Sports app
NASCAR Xfinity Series Final Practice 3 p.m. TrackPass & NBC Sports app
IndyCar Qualifying 4:30 p.m. NBCSN
Saturday, July 4 IndyCar Warmup 9 a.m. NBC Sports Gold
IndyCar GMR Grand Prix 12 p.m. NBC
Countdown to Green 2 p.m. NBC
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Indianapolis 3 p.m. NBC
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – Daytona 6 p.m. NBCSN
Sunday, July 5 NASCAR America 3 p.m. NBCSN
Countdown to Green 3:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Indianapolis 4 p.m. NBC
NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show 8 p.m. NBCSN

*Episodes are available on NBCSports.com and the Motorsports on NBC YouTube channel

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Rod Mullins

Rod Mullins

Rod Mullins covers NASCAR for Augusta Free Press. Rod is the co-host of the “Street Knowledge” podcasts focusing on NASCAR with AFP editor Chris Graham, and is the editor of Dickenson Media. A graduate of UVA-Wise, Rod began his career in journalism as a reporter for The Cumberland Times, later became the program director/news director/on-air morning show host for WNVA in Norton, Va., and in the early 1990s served as the sports information director at UVA-Wise and was the radio “Voice of the Highland Cavaliers” for football and basketball for seven seasons. In 1995, Rod transitioned to public education, where he has worked as a high school English, literature, and creative writing teacher.

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