Houston IndyCar, Motocross Tennessee highlight this weekend on NBC Sports Group networks

By Jun 25, 2014, 2:05 PM EDT
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Verizon IndyCar Series and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross coverage take the lead this weekend on the NBC Sports Group networks, with streaming also offered via NBC Sports Live Extra:

GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON – SATURDAY & SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN’s presentation of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series from Houston begins Saturday at 2 p.m. ET with qualifying, leading into live coverage of Race 1 at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage of Race 2 from Houston will air on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Two weeks ago, Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing) held off Will Power (Team Penske) to win the Firestone 600 in Texas, after Power was penalized for speeding on pit lane with 35 laps remaining. IndyCar returned to Houston last year for the first time since 2007, with the new street circuit incorporating Houston landmarks including Reliant Stadium, Reliant Astrodome and Reliant Arena, with Power and Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) earning victories in the doubleheader.

NBC Sports Group’s lead IndyCar and Formula One play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey will call the Grand Prix of Houston on-site, alongside former IndyCar driver Paul Tracy and IndyCar and F1 analyst Steve Matchett. Reporters Jon Beekhuis, Kelli Stavast, Kevin Lee and Robin Miller will report from the pits.

LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS TENNESSEE NATIONAL – SATURDAY

NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra will combine to present six hours of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Tennessee National coverage from Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tenn. on Saturday. Coverage starts on Live Extra at 10:30 a.m. ET with practice, followed by the pre-race show at 12:15 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on Live Extra with 1st Motos, followed by NBC’s live presentation of the 450 Class of Moto 2 at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the 250 Class of Moto 2 airs at 4 p.m. ET on Live Extra, with an encore presentation at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Two weeks ago, James Stewart swept the 450 Class in Moto 2 at High Point, while Blake Baggett won in the 250 Class for wins in back-to-back events.

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 Tennessee National on Saturday.

Motorsports Coverage This Week on NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra:

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Wed., June 25 NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
Thu., June 26 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross: High Point (Encore) 7 a.m. NBCSN
/DRIVE on NBC Sports (Encore) 5 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America 6 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., June 27 Mecum Auctions: Kansas City (Encore) 7 a.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour 4 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., June 28 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Tennessee: Practice 10:30 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Tennessee: Pre-Show 12:15 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Tennessee: 1stMotos 1 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
IndyCar Grand Prix of Houston: Qualifying 2 p.m. NBCSN
IndyCar Grand Prix of Houston: Race 1 3 p.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Tennessee: 2nd Motos 3 p.m. NBC
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Tennessee: 2ndMotos 4 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Tennessee: 2ndMotos 6 p.m. NBCSN
Rally America 8 p.m. NBCSN
Off The Grid: Barcelona 9 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., June 29 IndyCar Grand Prix of Houston: Race 2 3 p.m. NBCSN
KURT BUSCH: 36 6 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Houston (Encore) 7 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Indianapolis (Encore) 9:30 p.m. NBCSN

After New York whirlwind, Josef Newgarden makes special trip to simulator before Detroit

By Jun 2, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
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DETROIT – There’s no rest for the weary as an Indy 500 winner, but Josef Newgarden discovered there are plenty of extra laps.

The reigning Indy 500 champion added an extra trip Wednesday night back to Concord, N.C., for one last session on the GM Racing simulator before Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

After a 30-year run on the Belle Isle course, the race has been moved to a nine-turn, 1.7-mile layout downtown, so two extra hours on the simulator were worth it for Newgarden.

INDYCAR IN DETROIT: Entry list, schedule, TV info for this weekend

JOSEF’S FAMILY TIES: Newgarden wins Indy 500 with wisdom of father, wife

“I really wanted to do it,” he told NBC Sports at a Thursday media luncheon. “If there’s any time that the sim is most useful, it’s in this situation when no one has ever been on a track, and we’re able to simulate it as best as we can. We want to get some seat time.

“It’s extra important coming off the Indy 500 because you’ve been out of rhythm for a road or street course-type environment, so I really wanted some laps. I was really appreciative to Chevy. There was a few guys that just came in and stayed late for me so I could get those laps before coming up here. I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference, but I feel like it’s going to help for me.”

After a whirlwind tour of New York for two days, Newgarden arrived at the simulator (which is at the GM Racing Technical Center adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports) in time for a two hour session that started at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He stayed overnight in Charlotte and then was up for an early commercial flight to Detroit, where he had more media obligations.

Newgarden joked that if he had a jet, he would have made a quick stop in Nashville, Tennessee, but a few more days away from home (where he has yet to return in weeks) is a worthy tradeoff for winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – though the nonstop interviews can take a toll.

“It’s the hardest part of the gig for me is all this fanfare and celebration,” Newgarden said. “I love doing it because I’m so passionate about the Indy 500 and that racetrack and what that race represents. I feel honored to be able to speak about it. It’s been really natural and easy for me to enjoy it because I’ve been there for so many years.

“Speaking about this win has been almost the easiest job I’ve ever had for postrace celebrations. But it’s still for me a lot of work. I get worn out pretty easily. I’m very introverted. So to do this for three days straight, it’s been a lot.”

Though he is terrified of heights, touring the top of the Empire State Building for the first time was a major highlight (and produced the tour’s most viral moment).

“I was scared to get to the very top level,” Newgarden said. “That thing was swaying. No one else thought it was swaying. I’m pretty sure it was. I really impressed by the facility. I’d never seen it before. It’s one of those bucket list things. If you go to New York, it’s really special to do that. So to be there with the wreath and the whole setup, it just felt like an honor to be in that moment.”

Now the attention shifts to Detroit and an inaugural circuit that’s expected to be challenging. Along with a Jefferson Avenue straightaway that’s 0.9 miles long, the track has several low-speed corners and a “split” pit lane (teams will stop on both sides of a rectangular area) with a narrow exit that blends just before a 90-degree lefthand turn into Turn 1.

Newgarden thinks the track is most similar to the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

“It’s really hard to predict with this stuff until we actually run,” he said. “Maybe we go super smooth and have no issues. Typically when you have a new event, you’re going to have some teething issues. That’s understandable. We’ve always got to massage the event to get it where we want it, but this team has worked pretty hard. They’ve tried to get feedback constantly on what are we doing right, what do we need to look out for. They’ve done a ton of grinding to make sure this surface is in as good of shape as possible.

“There’s been no expense spared, but you can’t foresee everything. I have no idea how it’s going to race. I think typically when you look at a circuit that seems simple on paper, people tend to think it’s not going to be an exciting race, or challenging. I find the opposite always happens when we think that way. Watch it be the most exciting, chaotic, entertaining race.

Newgarden won the last two pole positions at Belle Isle’s 2.35-mile layout and hopes to continue the momentum while avoiding any post-Brickyard letdown.

“I love this is an opportunity for us to get something right quicker than anyone else,” he said. “A new track is always exciting from that standpoint. I feel I’m in a different spot. I’m pretty run down. I’m really trying to refocus and gain some energy back for tomorrow. Which I’ll have time to today, which is great.

“I don’t want that Indy 500 hangover. People always talk about it. They’ve always observed it. That doesn’t mean we have to win this weekend, but I’d like to leave here feeling like we had a really complete event, did a good job and had a solid finish leading into the summer. I want to win everywhere I go, but if we come out of here with a solid result and no mistakes, then probably everyone will be happy with it.”