Hungarian GP highlights 30+ hours of motorsports coverage across NBC, NBCSN and CNBC this weekend

By Jul 25, 2014, 6:00 AM EDT
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The final grand prix before the mid-season break in Formula 1 is set to highlight over 30 hours of motorsports coverage across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra this weekend.

The Hungarian Grand Prix is a favorite among the fans and the drivers in the sport, and will see Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg do battle once again for the lead of the drivers’ championship.

F1 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 7:30 A.M. ET ON CNBC

NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive coverage of the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix begins Friday at 4 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Live Extra with Practice 1, followed by Practice 2 at 8 a.m. ET, which NBCSN will present at Noon ET. Live Extra will carry Practice 3 on Saturday at 5 a.m. ET, followed by live qualifying coverage at 8 a.m. ET on CNBC.

CNBC’s live Hungarian Grand Prix coverage begins Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET, followed by F1 Extra at 10 a.m. ET. NBCSN will air an encore presentation of qualifying on Saturday at Noon ET, and an encore of the Hungarian Grand Prix at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. NBCSN will also air the GP2 race from Hungary on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.

Last week, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) ran away with the German Grand Prix for his fourth victory of the season to increase his lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton to 14 points, as Hamilton finished in third position. Hamilton will look to rebound at Hungaroring where he’s won four times in his F1 career, including the past two Hungarian Grands Prix.

Lead F1 announcer Leigh Diffey will call the Hungarian Grand Prix, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the team’s on-site reporter from Hungaroring in Mogyorod, Hungary, and will also call the GP2 race.

RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CHARLOTTE – SATURDAY AT 2 P.M. ET ON NBC

NBC’s coverage of the 2014 Red Bull Global RallyCross Championship continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET from Charlotte, N.C. Last week, Tanner Foust (Volkswagen Andretti) snapped a 12-race winless streak with a win in New York. Nelson Piquet Jr. (SH Racing) finished second in New York to maintain his 35-point lead over Scott Speed (Volkswagen Andretti) in the point standings.

Veteran motorsports play-by-play announcer Tes Sewell will call the action on Saturday on-site from The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway, joined by motorsports analystTownsend Bell and reporter Kristen Kenney.

RED BULL HARE SCRAMBLE – SATURDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

Following Red Bull Global RallyCross coverage on Saturday, NBC will present the Red Bull Hare Scramble, one of the world’s most difficult off-road motorcycle races, at 3:30 p.m. ET.Sal Masekela, the definitive voice in action sports, will call the event alongside Leigh Diffey, analyst and off-road driver Cameron Steele and reporter Tina Dixon.

MECUM AUCTIONS: HARRISBURG – THURSDAY-SATURDAY ON NBCSN

NBCSN’s Mecum Auctions coverage continues this week from their Harrisburg auction today at 5:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN will present its second day of Mecum Auctions: Harrisburg coverage on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by live coverage on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Scott Hoke will host NBCSN’s Mecum Auctions coverage on-site at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa., alongside analysts John Kraman,Stephen Cox, and Bill Stephens. Mecum Auctions is led by Dana Mecum, Founder and President of Mecum Auctions for the past 27 years.

LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS WASHOUGAL NATIONAL – SATURDAY AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra will combine to present five hours of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Washougal National coverage from Washougal, Wash. on Saturday. Coverage starts on Live Extra at 1:30 p.m.. ET with practice, followed by the pre-race show at 3:15 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET on Live Extra with 1st Motos, followed by live coverage of 2nd Motos at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Last weekend, Eli Tomac took the 450 Class at Spring Creek National for his first career win, while Millville native Jeremy Martin won the 250 Class for his fourth podium of the season.

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 Washougal National in Washougal, Wash.

Motorsports Coverage This Week on NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra (subject to change):

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Thurs., July 24 NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions – Harrisburg 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
Red Bull Global RallyCross New York (Encore) 11 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., July 25 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Practice 1 4 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Practice 2 8 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Fri., July 25 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Practice 2 (Encore) Noon NBCSN
NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions – Harrisburg 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
Motocross Highlight Series 11 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., July 26 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Practice 3 5 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Qualifying 8 a.m. CNBC
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Qualifying (Encore) Noon NBCSN
Mecum Auctions – Harrisburg 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Washougal – Practice 1:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Red Bull Global RallyCross Charlotte 2 p.m. NBC
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Washougal – Pre-Show 3:15 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Red Bull Hare Scramble 3:30 p.m. NBC
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Washougal – 1stMotos 4 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
GP2 Hungary 5 p.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Washougal – 2nd Motos 6 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., July 27 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. CNBC
F1 Extra 10 a.m. CNBC
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix (Encore) 2 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra (Encore) 4:30 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.”