Canadian GP, IndyCar on NBCSN highlight 40+ hours of weekend coverage

By Jun 4, 2014, 3:11 PM EDT
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NBC Sports Group will present more than 40 hours of motorsports coverage this weekend, highlighted by live coverage of the IndyCar Firestone 600 on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will provide streaming coverage of both the Firestone 600 and Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. Additional motorsports coverage this week includes the debut of KURT BUSCH: 36 on NBC, and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross coverage from the Thunder Valley National on Saturday on NBCSN.

INDYCAR FIRESTONE 600 – SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Beginning this weekend, NBCSN will provide exclusive coverage of the final 11 races of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season, culminating with the MAVTV 500 in Fontana, Calif. on August 30 on NBCSN.

Coverage of the Firestone 600 begins on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET with qualifying, followed by live race coverage Saturday on NBCSN at 8 p.m. ET. Brian Till (play-by-play) will call the action alongside former drivers Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Reporters Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Jon Beekhuis and Kevin Lee will report from the pits.

FORMULA ONE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 2 P.M. ET ON NBC

NBC’s Formula One coverage continues with the Canadian Grand Prix live from Montreal. Coverage begins Friday on NBC Sports Live Extra at 10 a.m. ET with Practice 1, followed by NBCSN’s coverage of Practice 2 at 2 p.m. ET. Live Extra will stream coverage of Practice 3 on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET, prior to NBCSN’s live coverage of qualifying at 1 p.m. ET. F1 Extra, NBC Sports Group’s pre-race show, will air Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, leading into live race coverage of the Canadian Grand Prix at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. As usual, Leigh Diffey (play-by-play) will be joined by analysts David Hobbs and Steve Matchett, with F1 insider and pit reporter Will Buxton joining the trio on site in Montreal.

KURT BUSCH: 36 – SUNDAY AT 4:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

KURT BUSCH: 36, an all-access look into the intense preparation, 200+ MPH competition and extreme logistics surrounding Kurt Busch’s racing in IndyCar’s famed Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day just two weeks ago, will debut this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC. NBC Sports’ Emmy Award-winning NASCAR production team, led by Executive Producer Sam Flood, teams with the Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Productions to create KURT BUSCH: 36, featuring in-depth interviews, on-track footage, team communications and a seat right next to Busch throughout his races against drivers from IndyCar and NASCAR.

A 60-minute “director’s cut” of KURT BUSCH: 36 will air the following day, Monday, June 9, at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

In addition, NBCSN will present episodes of NASCAR AMERICA, NBC Sports Group’s new 30-minute daily show dedicated to speed and stock car racing, today and tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET.

LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS THUNDER VALLEY NATIONAL – SATURDAY AT 5 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra will present six hours of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships coverage this weekend from the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colo. in the third round of the 12-race championship series. Coverage begins on NBC Sports Live Extra with practice at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by pre-race coverage on Live Extra at2:30 p.m. ET. 1st Motos coverage begins live from Thunder Valley at 3 p.m. ET on Live Extra, followed by 2nd Motos on NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET.

Veteran play-by-play voice Jason Weigandt, analyst and two-time AMA Pro Motocross Champion Grant Langston, and pit reporter Georgia Lindsay will call the action from Thunder Valley on Saturday.

Following is this week’s motorsports coverage schedule on NBCSN:

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Wed., June 4 Off The Grid: Barcelona (Encore) 4:30 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR: The List 6:30 p.m. NBCSN
Auctions America: Auburn (Encore) 8 p.m. NBCSN
Auctions America: Auburn (Encore) 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Thu., June 5 NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Kansas City (Encore) 6:30 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Houston (Encore) 8:30 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Indianapolis (Encore) 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., June 6 F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Practice 1 10 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Practice 2 2 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Indianapolis (Encore) 3:30 p.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Firestone 600 – Qualifying 6:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., June 7 F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Practice 2 (Encore) 2 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Practice 3 10 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
AMA Motocross Thunder Valley – Practice 12:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Qualifying 1 p.m. NBCSN
AMA Motocross Thunder Valley – Pre-Race 2:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
AMA Motocross Thunder Valley – 1st Motos 3 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
AMA Motocross Thunder Valley – 2nd Motos 5 p.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Firestone 600 8 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., June 8 F1 Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying 1:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Canadian Grand Prix 2 p.m. NBC
Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour 4 p.m. NBCSN
RACER TV 5 p.m. NBCSN
TORC: Las Vegas 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Encore 7 p.m. NBCSN
“1” – F1 Documentary 9:30 p.m. NBCSN

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.”