IMSA Petit Le Mans Road Atlanta: start times, TV, schedule

Start times, TV schedule: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will conclude the 2021 season this weekend at Michelin Road Atlanta as the Motul Petit Le Mans is held under an unusually longer shroud of darkness.

Normally held in late September, pandemic schedule disruptions have pushed the prestigious 10-hour season finale to Nov. 13, which means roughly half of the endurance race will be held at night on a 2.54-mile road course with sparse track lighting.

“The more of the race at night time, the more the chances that contact can happen,” said Filipe Albuquerque of Wayne Taylor Racing. “Going through Sector 1, you dive into that little chicane, and that’s when bad luck happens, that opens more to that contact. You can’t have it. If you’re a a lap down, you’re done. It’s hard to get laps back, and it’s a small lap as well, if you need to come in to replace the nose, you can easily lose a lap. You need to (be) sharp to (avoid) a mistake.”

Albuquerque and co-drivers Ricky Taylor and Alexander Rossi are aiming to be perfect as they try to protect the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura’s 19-point lead in the DPi standings over the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac of Action Express with drivers Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr and Mike Conway.

After teaming with Derani and Nasr last year, Albuquerque moved to WTR in 2021 and drove the final stint of its Rolex 24 at Daytona victory. The team since has added victories at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca.

But Derani and Nasr (who is in his final race at Action Express) have won three of the past four races (Long Beach, Road America and Watkins Glen) in the premier class to make it a tight battle.

“The championship comes down to so many moving parts, especially on the long races,” Derani said. “We’re coming down to the final race with the slimmest of margins.”

Adding another layer to the drama is that Derani and Taylor (then racing for Team Penske) collided while racing for the lead with 10 minutes left in last year’s Petit Le Mans.

THEY BOTH SPIN!

Trouble for Pipo Derani and Ricky Taylor after this bold move near the end of Motul Petit Le Mans! @IMSA // @RoadAtlanta pic.twitter.com/eBqIKQBA1w

— Motorsports on NBC (@MotorsportsNBC) October 18, 2020

Rossi, the 2016 Indy 500 winner, is one of several endurance drivers from other series in the field. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will be making his fourth start this season in the No. 48 Cadillac with 2019 Indy 500 winner and 2016 IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud and two-time Rolex 24 winner Kamui Kobayashi.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon will be teamed with Renger van der Zande and Kevin Magnussen in Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 01 Cadillac. Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya will join Dane Cameron on the No. 60 Acura of Meyer Shank Racing.

Here are the start times, starting lineup, schedule and TV info for the IMSA Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (all times are ET):

IMSA Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta start times, schedule, TV info

When: Saturday, 12:10 p.m. ET

Race distance: Ten hours on the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course

Forecast: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 52 degrees with an 11% chance of rain at the green flag.

Entry list: Click here to see the 43-car field for the IMSA Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

Starting lineup: Click here to see the grid for the race

RACE BROADCAST IMSA PETIT LE MANS ROAD ATLANTA

TV: Noon ET, NBC; 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN

TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Coverage: Live flag to flag beginning at 12:05 p.m. ET. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell, Calvin Fish and Steve Letarte and pit reporters Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Dillon Welch and Kevin Lee.

Race streaming: NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold

IMSA.com live qualifying stream: Friday, 3:40 p.m. ET.

IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage will begin Saturday at noon (Sirius 216, XM 202, Internet 992).

DAILY SCHEDULE IMSA PETIT LE MANS ROAD ATLANTA

Here’s a rundown of the IMSA Petit Le Mans at Michelin Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia:

Wednesday, Nov. 10

8:45-9:15 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup practice

9:30-10:15 a.m.: Prototype Challenge practice

10:30-11 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice

Noon-12:30 p.m.: Prototype Challenge practice

12:45-1:15 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup practice

1:30-2 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice

2:15-3:15 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice

3-4 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying

Thursday, Nov. 11

8-8:15 a.m.: Prototype Challenge qualifying

8:30-9 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup qualifying

9:20-10:20 a.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice

10:40-11:40 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice

12:10-12:55 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1

1:15-2 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 1

2:20-3:35 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice

3:55-4:30 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying

4:45-5:30 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2

6:30-8:10 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice

Friday, Nov. 12

8-9:45 a.m.: Prototype Challenge, Round 6

10:05-10:50 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 2

11:15 a.m.-noon: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 3

1:10-3:10 p.m.: Fox Factory 120

3:45-5:15 p.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying

Saturday, Nov. 13

9:15-9:35 a.m.: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship warmup

12:10-10:10 p.m.: Motul Petit Le Mans

The NTT IndyCar Series will return to the Motor City for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix but with start times in a new location for 2023.

After a 30-year run on Belle Isle, the Detroit GP has moved a few miles south to the streets of downtown on a new nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit that runs along the Detroit River.

It’s the first time single-seater open-cockpit cars have raced on the streets of Detroit since a CART event on a 2.5-mile downtown layout from 1989-91. Formula One also raced in Detroit from 1982-88.

The reimagined Detroit Grand Prix also will play host to nightly concerts and bring in venders from across the region. Roger Penske predicts the new downtown locale will be bigger for Detroit than when the city played host to the 2006 Super Bowl.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend (all times are ET):

CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX INDYCAR START TIMES

TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kevin Lee are the pit reporters. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying.

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after Sunday’s race ends.

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 3:23 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 3:30 p.m. ET

PRACTICE: Friday, 3 p.m. (Peacock Premium); Saturday, 9:05 a.m. (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 10 a.m. (Peacock Premium)

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Warmup l Combined

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 1:20 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Alex Palou captured the first street course pole of his IndyCar career; click here for where everyone will begin Sunday’s race

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 100 laps (170 miles) on a nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street course in downtown Detroit.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Rookie drivers are allowed one extra primary set for the first practice.

PUSH TO PASS: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation (Indy NXT: 150 seconds total, 15 seconds per). The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain.

ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 27 drivers racing Sunday at Detroit

INDY NXT RACES: Saturday, 12:05 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 12:50 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium)

INDY NXT ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 19 drivers racing at Detroit