AVONDALE, Ariz. - Coverage of the fourth round of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season, the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix, takes place today starting at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com (stream link here). The coverage comes after an encore presentation of Phoenix qualifying, which begins at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Rick Allen will be in the booth with Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will be in pit lane.
Coverage will run from 6 to 9 p.m. PT and local time, so 9 p.m. to midnight ET.
Each of the top three drivers on the grid, Helio Castroneves, Will Power and JR Hildebrand, seek their first wins of the year. The first three race winners start fourth (Josef Newgarden), 10th (points leader Sebastien Bourdais) and 11th (James Hinchcliffe).
Track position is expected to be key for the 250-lap race, the first oval event of the season, with passing projected to be difficult - albeit not impossible.
Beyond the top three, some of the other story lines to watch include these:
- On the inside of Row 3, is Simon Pagenaud positioned to secure his first oval victory?
- Will any of the Hondas be able to make significant inroads on the Chevrolets?
- Is anyone going to be able to make enough gains on pit road to move up the order?
The starting lineup is below:
Qualifying results for the #DesertDiamondPGP @PhoenixRaceway #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/vh2yaE9kCv
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 29, 2017