NBC Sports Network presents 19 hours of coverage surrounding the Indianapolis 500, including live qualifying, Carb Day, Indy Lights, an IndyCar 36 episode, and the Indy 500 Parade. Live qualifying coverage begins this Saturday, May 18 at 11 a.m. ET, continues through Saturday, and returns on Sunday, May 19 at noon ET. Qualifying coverage is highlighted by the NBC Sports Network broadcast debut of former IndyCar driver and 2003 Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran. Thoughts from de Ferran on his win and on new IndyCar President of Competition/Operations Derrick Walker can be found on MotorSportsTalk.
In addition, NBC Sports Network presents live coverage of Carb Day, the last practice before the race, with the return of renowned motorsports voice Bob Jenkins. Coverage begins on Friday, May 24, at 11 a.m. ET, continues with Indy Lights at noon ET, and is followed by more Carb Day coverage. The premier of IndyCar 36 featuring driver Simona de Silvestro airs at 10:30 p.m. ET that night.
NBC Sports Network concludes its coverage on Saturday, May 25, with the Indy 500 Parade live at 5 p.m. ET.
NBC Sports Network’s Indy 500 Qualifying Coverage (subject to change, all times ET):
| Date | Coverage | Time | Commentators |
| Sat., May 18 | Qualifying | 11 a.m. | Leigh Diffey, Gil de Ferran, Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Robin Miller, Will Buxton |
| Sat., May 18 | Qualifying | 4:30 p.m. | Leigh Diffey, Gil de Ferran, Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Robin Miller, Will Buxton |
| Sun., May 19 | Qualifying | Noon | Leigh Diffey, Gil de Ferran, Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Robin Miller, Will Buxton |
| Fri., May 24 | Carb Day | 11 a.m. | Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Wally Dallenbach, Kevin Lee, Martin Snider, Robin Miller |
| Fri., May 24 | Indy Lights | Noon | Mike King, Jake Query |
| Fri., May 24 | Carb Day | 1 p.m. | Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Wally Dallenbach, Kevin Lee, Martin Snider, Robin Miller |
| Fri., May 24 | IndyCar 36: Simona de Silvestro | 10:30 p.m. | |
| Sat., May 25 | Indy 500 Parade | 5 p.m. | Bob Jenkins, Diane Willis, Kevin Lee |
QUALIFYING COMMENTATORS: Former IndyCar driver Gil de Ferran joins NBC Sports Network’s team as an analyst this weekend 10 years after his Indy 500 win. de Ferran is filling in for NBC Sports Network IndyCar analyst Townsend Bell, who is attempting to qualify for his seventh Indy 500. In 2009, Bell finished fourth in the race.
Sharing the booth with de Ferran includes play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey and analyst Jon Beekhuis. Diffey is working IndyCar this weekend, but will travel abroad next week to call the Monaco Grand Prix. Veterans Kevin Lee and Marty Snider manage the pits, and are joined by reporters Robin Miller and Will Buxton, the Formula One reporter who is making his inaugural trip to the Brickyard.
Coverage on Sunday will feature Bell driving first-timer Buxton around the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a two-seater.
CARB DAY COMMENTATORS: Legendary motorsports voice Bob Jenkins returns to the booth for Carb Day on Friday, May 24, filling in for Diffey, who will be at Monaco. Jenkins will be joined byBeekhuis and race analyst and former NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Veterans Lee,Snider and Miller will manage the pits.
Mike King will call Indy Lights on Friday, May 24, alongside Jake Query.
Jenkins, Diane Willis and Lee will host Indy 500 Parade coverage on Saturday, May 25 at 5 p.m. ET.
DIFFEY ON INDY 500 QUALIFYING: “The way this year’s IZOD IndyCar Series has gone, who can’t be excited about the Indy 500 Pole Day? This time last year, Penske Racing had dominated all four opening rounds of the series and led the championship. This year they haven’t won a race, nor has defending Indy 500 winner Chip Ganassi Racing, and there have been two first-time winners from the first four races. It’s a season of surprise.”
INDYCAR 36: NBC Sports Network offers motorsports fans another episode of the all-access series IndyCar 36. This week the cameras follow driver Simona de Silvestro, who made history by becoming the first woman to earn a podium spot at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2006.
The NBC Sports Network 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 will 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 also includes NHL 36, Fight Night 36 and F1 36.
INDYCAR ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will live stream Indy 500 qualifying on Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19, Carb Day and Indy Lights on Friday, May 24, and the Indy 500 Parade on Saturday, May 25. Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.
Coverage airing on NBC Sports Network will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets throughNBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.
INDYCAR ON MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on the IZOD IndyCar Series, Formula One™, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and all other motorsports racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBC Sports Network productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.
MotorSportsTalk’s content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:
- Tony DiZinno (@TonyDiZinno), who has written for RACER Magazine and has covered IndyCar and NASCAR since 2006;
- Writer Christopher Estrada (@estradawriting) who has written for the Boston Globe, FoxSports.com, created the Indy Racing Revolution blog and is a contributor to IndyCar’s IndyCar Nation blog.
