Here are your NBCSN TV times, weekend coverage plan for IndyCar's Sonoma season finale - MotorSportsTalk

The weekend coverage plans for the Verizon IndyCar Series on NBCSN from Sonoma Raceway are below. Here is the press release, distributed via the NBC Sports Group Press Box website. A full weekend preview is linked here.

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The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series will crown its champion this weekend on NBCSN, as Juan Pablo Montoya looks for his first IndyCar season championship at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. NBCSN’s coverage will also include IndyCar’s tributes to driver Justin Wilson, who passed away Monday after succumbing to injuries suffered in Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway.

This weekend’s race at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., is worth double points, meaning a potential 100-point swing in the standings. Montoya (Team Penske) currently holds a 34-point lead over Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan). Four other drivers still have a mathematical chance to win the title, including former series champions Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi) and Will Power (Team Penske), Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) and Josef Newgarden (CFH Racing).

Montoya will win the title if he finishes third or higher and Rahal does not win the race. Click here for full championship possible outcomes.

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES POINTS STANDINGS
Rank	Driver (Team)	Points	Behind	Wins	Top 10
1	Juan Pablo Montoya (Penske)	500	–	2	12
2	Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)	466	34	2	10
3	Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi)	453	47	2	11
4	Will Power (Penske)	439	61	1	9
5	Helio Castroneves (Penske)	423	77	0	9
6	Josef Newgarden (CFH Racing)	413	87	2	9

Live IndyCar coverage on NBCSN begins Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET with practice, followed by qualifying at 6 p.m. ET. Race coverage from Sonoma begins Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Lead IndyCar play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey will call the Grand Prix of Sonoma, alongside analyst and current driver Townsend Bell, and analyst and former IndyCar driver Paul Tracy. Robin Miller, Marty Snider, Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee and Katie Hargitt will patrol the pits.

RACING COMMUNITY MOURNS LOSS OF INDYCAR DRIVER JUSTIN WILSON

The IndyCar community and racing fans from around the world are mourning the loss of Andretti Autosport driver Justin Wilson, who passed away on Monday after succumbing to injuries suffered in Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway. Tributes to Wilson will be part of NBCSN’s coverage on Sunday.

This week’s episodes of NASCAR America included a tribute narrated by Leigh Diffey, as well interviews with IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves, NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger, and NBC Sports Group motorsports analyst Jon Beekhuis. Click here to watch those full interviews.

Following are excerpts from NASCAR America interviews on Wilson:

Allmendinger: “He was one of the most kind, most gentle, nicest people I had the pleasure to be around…to call a teammate, more importantly to call a friend…I always put him as one of the best race car drivers I’d ever seen or been around.”

Castroneves: “He was such a polite and nice guy that we chose him to be a spokesperson for the Drivers’ Association. We knew if anyone tried to attack the drivers, he’d be the best person to defend us in the nicest way…you talk to anybody in the paddock…you don’t hear anything negative.”

Kanaan: “It’s always been time to talk about safety. I want people to be aware that we are not talking about closing cockpits now – we’ve been talking about this for years. This has been an issue with the FIA and open-wheel racing forever…safety was Justin’s priority. His biggest concern was stuff flying into the stands to protect the fans.”

Diffey: “He was always one of the easiest guys to talk to, and you knew you were going to get a very genuine answer. One of the most beautiful things about Justin is that he had time for everybody…whether it was for media people or fans.”

Beekhuis: “Justin and I had a chance to travel a lot together. We were both based in Colorado… we would end up on a lot of the same flights…he was incredibly talented behind the wheel.”

In addition, click here to read a feature penned by MotorsportsTalk’s Tony DiZinno highlighting Wilson’s career on and off the track.

Date	Program	Time (ET)	Network
Sat., August 29	IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma – Practice	1:30 p.m.	NBCSN
	IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma – Qualifying	6 p.m.	NBCSN
	IndyCar Chronicles	7:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Sun., August 30	IndyCar Chronicles	3 p.m.	NBCSN
	IndyCar Chronicles	3:30 p.m.	NBCSN
	IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma	4 p.m.	NBCSN

Follow @TonyDiZinno

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

Here are your NBCSN TV times, weekend coverage plan for IndyCar’s Sonoma season finale

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

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