Dixon, Castroneves battle for IndyCar title this weekend on NBCSN

By Oct 16, 2013, 11:30 AM EDT
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Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves battle for the 2013 IndyCar Championship in the final race of the season, the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Dixon holds a 25-point advantage in the standings over Castroneves, the only driver who can overtake Dixon to win the 2013 championship, after registering first- and second-place finishes at the Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader.

Dixon is a two-time IndyCar Series Champion (2003 & 2008); Castroneves, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 13-year veteran of the IndyCar Series, hopes to clinch his first career season-series title.

NBCSN’s coverage of the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships begins on Friday with qualifying at 7 p.m. ET. Live race coverage of the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships begins on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage of the Lefty’s Kids Club 100, part of IndyCar’s Indy Lights developmental series, will precede the IndyCar World Championships on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

In addition to NBCSN’s coverage, NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will present live coverage of the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships on Saturday night.

This week’s motorsports coverage begins with NBCSN’s IndyCar Championship Preview on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. In addition to episodes of TRANSLOGIC and Auctions America, NBCSN will also air a one-hour special featuring the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Series.

Date  Coverage  Network  Time (ET)
Thu., Oct. 17  IndyCar Championship Preview  NBCSN  8 p.m.
 Auctions America  NBCSN 10:30 p.m.
 TRANSLOGIC  NBCSN  11 p.m.
 TRANSLOGIC  NBCSN 11:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 18  USF 2000  NBCSN  1:30 a.m.
 TRANSLOGIC  NBCSN  2:30 a.m.
 IndyCar World Championships – Qualifying  NBCSN  7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19  Indy Lights – Lefty’s Kids Clup 100  NBCSN  7 p.m.
 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships  NBCSN  8 p.m

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group’s IndyCar and Formula One play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey will call the IndyCar World Championships at Fontana. Diffey will be joined in the booth this week by former drivers Townsend Bell and Wally Dallenbach. Reporters Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider and Robin Miller will manage the pits. Mike King, Davey Hamilton and Jake Query will have the call of the Indy Lights Fontana race.

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 the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships on Saturday. Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD 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 NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC 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.

Click here for the participating cable/satellite/telco companies offering NBC Sports Live Extra.

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”