Talladega Marks First of Six Consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Races on NBC to Conclude 2023 Season – Race Coverage Gets Underway Sunday at 2 p.m. ET
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 28, 2023 – The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 drives on this Sunday from Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, marking the first of six consecutive Cup Series Playoff races to conclude the season on the broadcast network. A victory by a playoff driver at Talladega will automatically clinch them a spot in the Round of 8.
2023 NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS ROUND OF 12
| Driver | Points |
| William Byron | 3083 |
| Denny Hamlin | 3074 |
| Chris Buescher | 3059 |
| Christopher Bell | 3057 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 3056 |
| Ross Chastain | 3049 |
| Brad Keselowski | 3045 |
| Kyle Larson | 3039 |
| Bubba Wallace | 3037 |
| Tyler Reddick | 3036 |
| Ryan Blaney | 3028 |
| Kyle Busch | 3022 |
NASCAR: CUP SERIES YELLAWOOD 500
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 continues this Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway with a berth in the Round of 8 available with a win by a playoff driver. William Byron leads the playoff standings after a first-place finish in the Round of 12 opener at Texas Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin narrowly trails him in playoff standings after a fifth-place finish in Texas last weekend.
Beginning a stretch of six consecutive Cup Series Playoff races on NBC to conclude the season, coverage of the YellaWood 500 at Talladega will be presented Sunday at 2 p.m. ET with an hour-long edition of Countdown to Green beginning pre-race coverage at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. NASCAR America post-race coverage will immediately follow the checkered flag on Peacock.
Two-time Daytona 500 Champion, six-time winner at Talladega 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 race from Talladega Superspeedway with lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen.
Marty Snider, Dave Burns and Kim Coon will serve as pit reporters on Sunday.
Snider will anchor pre- and post-race studio coverage with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett, JTG Daugherty Racing team owner Brad Daugherty, and Steve Letarte this weekend from the Peacock Pit Box.
Earnhardt Jr. is a six-time Cup Series winner at Talladega.
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 2023 across NBC, Peacock and USA Network, culminating with the Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 4-5.
BROADCAST TEAM
- Analysts: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
- Play by Play: Rick Allen
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Dave Burns, Kim Coon
STUDIO COVERAGE TEAM
- Host: Marty Snider
- Analysts: Dale Jarrett, Brad Daugherty, Steve Letarte (pre-race only)
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBC, USA Network
- Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Platform | Time (ET) |
| Sat., Sept. 30 | NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying | USA Network | 4:30 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 1 | Countdown to Green – NASCAR Cup Series | NBC | 1 p.m. |
| NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 | NBC | 2 p.m. | |
| NASCAR America Post-Race – NASCAR Cup Series | Peacock | 6 p.m. |
2023 NASCAR RATINGS
Through its 14 Cup Series races of the 2023 season so far, NBC Sports is averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.49 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and NBC Sports Digital, up 6% vs. comparable coverage in 2022 (2.34 million). Last Sunday’s Texas race on USA Network delivered a TAD of 2.03 million viewers, up 5% compared to last year’s race, and was also the most-watched cable sports program of the day. For the Xfinity Series, NBC Sports is averaging a TAD of 1.09 million viewers this season, up 25% vs. last year and its best average for the series at this point in the year since 2017 (1.12 million).
MOTOGP: MOTUL GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
MotoGP returns to Mobility Resort Motegi for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on CNBC. 13 points separate Franceso Bagnaia (292 pts) and Jorge Martin (279 pts) in the chase for the championship, while Marco Bezzecchi (248 pts), who won last week’s Grand Prix of India, sits in third place. Martin has cut 49 points into Bagnaia’s points lead over the last three race weekends; the reigning champion crashed out of the Grand Prix of Japan at last year’s race.
WORLD SUPERBIKE: PIRELLI PORTUGUESE ROUND
With only two more race weekends remaining on the schedule, World Superbike travels to Portugal this week for the Pirelli Portuguese Round from Autódromo Internacional do Algarve Sitio do Escampadinho this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CNBC. Alvaro Bautista currently leads the standings (504 points), followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (457 pts) and Jonathan Rea (328 pts). Bautista could potentially clinch his second consecutive World Superbike title if he leaves this weekend with a 62-point lead over Razgatlioglu.
--NBC SPORTS--
