IndyCar on NBC Sports schedule, TV times - MotorSportsTalk

A week after Formula One coverage begins, NBC Sports Network will start the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series on Sunday, March 24 in St. Petersburg, Fla. This year, the network will air a record 13 races live, the most in the channel’s four-year history as the cable home of IndyCar (up from nine in 2012). The increase is largely due to the innovative addition of two doubleheaders — in Toronto and Houston — which provide two races over two days from one location.

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Network’s coverage will feature a new look this year. Lead race announcer Leigh Diffey, in his first year covering the IndyCar Series, will be joined by returning race analyst and former NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach, Jr. (analyst), and newcomer to the booth, IndyCar driver Townsend Bell.

Jon Beekhuis, an analyst who has also served at the network since 2009, will now report from pit road. A former CART driver (1989-92) and 1988 Indy Lights Champion, Beekhuis will be inside the race action, reporting minute-to-minute on what happens on the track.

Veterans Marty Snider and Kevin Lee will return this season as pit reporters, and will be joined by Robin Miller, the network’s IndyCar reporter.

RACES: NBC Sports Network’s schedule includes 13 races in three different countries (U.S., Canada, and Brazil), the first and last races of the year, as well as the popular Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The season begins March 24 at Noon ET with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from St. Petersburg, Fla. Other race locations include: Barber, Ala., Long Beach, Calif., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Milwaukee, Wis., Mid-Ohio, Ohio, Sonoma, Calif., and Baltimore, Md.

QUALIFYING: NBC Sports Network will air 12 hours of Indianapolis 500 qualifying coverage. Also, on May 24 at 11 a.m. ET, NBC Sports Network will air five hours of live coverage of Carb Day, which includes the final practice for the Indy 500, the Indy Lights Freedom 100 and the Pit Stop Challenge.

The network will also air one-hour of qualifying coverage the day before each of its races. It will also replay race coverage the following day.

INDYCAR 36: NBC Sports Network will continue its all-access series IndyCar 36 in 2013. The first half-hour episode will feature Chip Ganassi driver Charlie Kimball on Saturday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The original series is produced by IMS Productions and gives viewers an all-access pass into the life of a world-class driver in the middle of race season.

The cameras follow a driver for 36 hours during a race weekend providing a behind-the-scenes look at the on- and off-track activities of the stars of the IndyCar Series. The all-access 36 series includes NHL 36, Fight Night 36, F1 36, and MLS 36.

FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS: NBC Sports Network will air 12 one-hour telecasts of Firestone Indy Lights beginning with the 1.8-mile street course St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 24 at 11 a.m. ET, on NBC Sports Network. Additionally, there will be two new venues added to the series; the 2.5-milie Pocono Raceway oval, and the 1.7-mile, 10-turn temporary street course at Reliant Park in Houston. All Indy Lights races will be featured on event weekends to run in conjunction with and complement the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Firestone Indy Lights is the premier ladder series for drivers and teams striving to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Primarily run in conjunction with the IZOD IndyCar Series, the Firestone Indy Lights schedule features races on road courses/street circuits and ovals, including the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

NBC SPORTS NETWORK’S SEASON OPENER COVERAGE FROM ST. PETERSBURG (subject to change, times ET):

Date	Coverage	Time
Sat., March 23	IndyCar Qualifying	2:30 p.m.
Sun., March 24	Indy Lights	11 a.m.
Sun., March 24	Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	Noon

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NBC SPORTS NETWORK’S 2013 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE (subject to change, times ET):

Date	Race	Location	Time
Sun., Mar. 24	Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Fla.	Noon
Sun., April 7	Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama	Birmingham, Ala.	3 p.m.
Sun., April 21	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Long Beach, Ca.	4 p.m.
Sun., May 5	Sao Paulo Indy 300	Sao Paulo, Brazil	11 a.m.
Sat., June 15	Milwaukee IndyFest	West Allis, Wis.	4 p.m.
Sat., July 13	Honda Indy Toronto-Race 1	Toronto, Canada	3 p.m.
Sun., July 14	Honda Indy Toronto-Race 2	Toronto, Canada	3 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 4	Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio	Lexington, Ohio	3 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 25	GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma	Sonoma, Ca.	4 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 1	Grand Prix of Baltimore	Baltimore, Md.	2 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 5	Grand Prix of Houston-Race 1	Houston, Texas	3 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 6	Grand Prix of Houston-Race 2	Houston, Texas	1 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19	MAVTV 500	Fontana, Ca.	8 p.m.

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NBC SPORTS NETWORK’S 2013 FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS SCHEDULE (subject to change, times ET):

Date	Race	Location	Time
Sun., March 24	Streets St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Fla.	11 a.m.
Sun., April 7	Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Ala.	2 p.m.
Sun., April 21	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, Ca.	3 p.m.
Fri., May 24	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Indianapolis, Ind.	12 p.m.
Sat., June 15	The Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wis.	3 p.m.
Fri., June 28	Iowa Speedway	Newton, Iowa	11 p.m.
Fri., July 12	Pocono International Raceway	Long Pond, Pa.	7 p.m.
Sun., July 14	Streets of Toronto	Toronto, Ontario	11 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 4	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	2 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 1	Streets of Baltimore	Baltimore, Md.	1 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 6	Reliant Park	Houston, Texas	12 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19	Auto Club Speedway	Fontana, Calif.	7 p.m.

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”