Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin All Have a Chance to Win 2022 INDYCAR Championship in Season Finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Continue at Kansas Speedway on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network; Countdown to Green Pre-Race Coverage Begins at 2 p.m. ET
New Episode of Race for the Championship Docuseries Premieres Tonight at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 8, 2022 – The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion will be crowned at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and Universo. Five drivers -- Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin -- are eligible to win the Astor Challenge Cup, marking the most drivers with a chance to win the title in the season finale since 2017. Pre-race coverage on Sunday will get underway at 2:40 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will continue this Sunday from Kansas Speedway at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, as the 16 Playoff drivers look to earn a spot in the Round of 12 with a victory ahead of the cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend.
INDYCAR: FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY
Points standings leader Will Power can clinch his second career INDYCAR title by finishing third or better at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Scott Dixon, currently tied for second-place in the standings with two-time champion Josef Newgarden, ranks second all-time with 53 series wins and is looking to earn a record-tying seventh INDYCAR championship with A.J. Foyt.
2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson trails Power by only 39 points and Scott McLaughlin, winner of last Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland, has a 41-point deficit to round out the five championship contenders.
DRIVERS ELIGIBLE TO WIN 2022 INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
| Driver | Points |
| Will Power | 523 |
| Josef Newgarden | 503 |
| Scott Dixon | 503 |
| Marcus Ericsson | 484 |
| Scott McLaughlin | 482 |
Live coverage of qualifying, practice, warmup sessions and Indy Lights races from Laguna Seca will stream exclusively on Peacock Friday-Sunday. For more information about INDYCAR on Peacock and how to sign up, click here.
Last Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.011 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 49% vs. last year’s race on NBC and up 6% vs. NBC’s 2021 race average, excluding the Indianapolis 500. The 2022 INDYCAR season is the most-watched through 15 races since 2008 with a TAD of 1.357 million viewers (1.738 million viewers; ABC/ESPN/ESPN2).
The lead INDYCAR commentary team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and James Hinchcliffe (analyst) will call the season finale. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Dillon Welch will provide reports from pit road. Nate Ryan will serve as a reporter throughout the race.
Telemundo Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage of the final race of the season for the first time this Sunday. Emmy-award winning associate producer and network host Omar Amador will join race announcer Sergio Rodriguez to provide live commentary of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Universo and streaming on TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo Deportes app.
NBC Sports’ free-to-play game, INDYCAR Pick ‘Em, features a weekly contest for each race throughout the season with a $25,000 jackpot. INDYCAR 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).
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play by Play: Leigh Diffey
- Analysts: Townsend Bell, James Hinchcliffe
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Dillon Welch
- Reporter: Nate Ryan
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBC, Universo
- Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Platform | Time (ET) |
| Fri., Sept. 9 | Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Practice | Peacock | 5:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Sept. 10 | Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Practice 2 | Peacock | 1:15 p.m. |
| Indy Lights Race 1 | Peacock | 3:20 p.m. | |
| Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Qualifying | Peacock | 5:05 p.m. | |
| Sun., Sept. 11 | Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Warmup | Peacock | Noon |
| Indy Lights Race 2 | Peacock | 12:55 p.m. | |
| Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Pre-Race | NBC, Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 2:40 p.m. | |
| Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey | NBC, Peacock, Universo, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 3 p.m. | |
| Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Post-Race | NBC, Peacock, Universo, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 5:30 p.m. |
NASCAR: CUP SERIES HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400 & XFINITY SERIES KANSAS LOTTERY 300
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues this Sunday at Kansas Speedway with the second of three races in the Round of 16. Erik Jones became the first non-Playoff driver to win a Playoff race in series history last weekend in Darlington. A victory by a playoff driver at Kansas will automatically clinch them a spot in the Round of 12.
Coverage of the Hollywood Casino 400 in Kansas will be presented Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network with an hour-long edition of Countdown to Green beginning pre-race coverage at 2 p.m. ET. NASCAR America post-race coverage will immediately follow the checkered flag at 6:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
With only two races remaining in the Xfinity Series regular season, coverage of the Kansas Lottery 300 begins Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, with Countdown to Green getting underway at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Two-time Daytona 500 Champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will serve as analysts for the Cup Series and Xfinity Series from Kansas Speedway with lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen.
Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters throughout the weekend.
Letarte will anchor pre- and post-race studio coverage with NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett and JTG Daugherty Racing team owner Brad Daugherty from the Peacock Pit Box on Saturday and Sunday.
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 2022 across NBC, Peacock and USA Network, culminating with the Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 5-6. Click here for more information on NBC Sports’ 2022 NASCAR coverage.
NASCAR Pick ‘Em: NBC Sports’ free-to-play game, NASCAR Pick ‘Em, features a weekly contest for each NASCAR Cup Series race throughout the season. 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).
A new episode of Race for the Championship premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network. The one-hour unscripted docuseries will take viewers inside the lives of NASCAR’s top drivers and teams on and off the track. Across ten thrilling episodes, the all-access series will chronicle the sport’s best as they balance their personal lives with the passion, pressure and perils of racing, all for a chance to make history.
BROADCAST TEAM
- Analysts: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
- Play by Play: Rick Allen
- Pit Reporters: Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman
STUDIO COVERAGE TEAM
- Host: Steve Letarte
- Analysts: Dale Jarrett, Brad Daugherty
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – USA Network
- Streaming – NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Platform | Time (ET) |
| Fri., Sept. 9 | NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice & Qualifying | USA Network | 5 p.m. |
| Sat., Sept. 10 | NASCAR Cup Series Practice & Qualifying | USA Network | Noon |
| Countdown to Green – NASCAR Xfinity Series | USA Network | 2:30 p.m. | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 | USA Network | 3 p.m. | |
| NASCAR America Post-Race – NASCAR Xfinity Series | USA Network | 6 p.m. | |
| Sun., Sept. 11 | Countdown to Green – NASCAR Cup Series | USA Network | 2 p.m. |
| NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 | USA Network | 3 p.m. | |
| NASCAR America Post-Race – NASCAR Cup Series | USA Network | 6:30 p.m. |
THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Jimmy Blewett joins this week’s The Dale Jr. Download episode streaming tonight at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock. Weekly and on-demand episodes of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast will stream exclusively on the platform, taking viewers table-side for unparalleled perspective, candid commentary, and insight from Dale Jr.
--NBC SPORTS--
