Saturday’s Supercross Round 7, Minneapolis: How to watch, start times, schedule, TV info

By Feb 17, 2022, 12:00 PM EST
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Having completed the six-race West Coast swing to open the 2022 season, the Monster Energy Supercross Series will enter Round 7 in Minneapolis (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, CNBC) with two former champions re-emerging as serious 450 title contenders.

Jason Anderson, the 2018 champ, and Eli Tomac, who won the title in 2020, are the series’ multiple race winners with more than a third of the season completed. Anderson won the most recent race at Anaheim, California, after also winning at Oakland. Tomac scored consecutive victories in Anaheim and Glendale, Arizona.

Both riders changed rides this season as Tomac moved to Yahama after six years with Kawasaki, which hired Anderson.

“How impressive they’ve been on new teams has been fun to watch,” NBC Sports analyst Ricky Carmichael said (video above). “Mad kudos to the team members and Eli Tomac and Jason Anderson themselves. It shows their dedication, the team’s dedication and how much work went into their preparation.

“They have established themselves as the favorites thus far. I still need to see a few more races to really, really, really know those are the two guys who are going to take this to the end of the series in Salt Lake City. But certainly, it’s been a lot of fun to watch those guys and the level that they’re at and how they find each other each weekend.”

Tomac takes a 12-point lead (134-122) over Anderson into U.S. Bank Stadium. Third-ranked Chase Sexton and Ken Roczen also have won events this season.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 7 of the 2022 Supercross season in Minneapolis:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Supercross Round 7 in Minneapolis will begin live Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on CNBC. Qualifying will begin on Peacock at 11 a.m. ET. A replay will be shown Sunday at noon ET on NBC.

All 17 rounds of the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross schedule will be broadcast live across the NBC, CNBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will stream live coverage of heats, qualifiers and main events. All Supercross heats, qualifiers and live and on-demand replays of races will be available on Peacock Click here for more details (information on how to sign up is available by clicking here).

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET): 

Here are the start times and schedule for Saturday’s Supercross Round 7 in Minneapolis:

11:05 a.m.: 250 Group C Qualifying
11:20 a.m.: 250 Group B Qualifying
11:35 a.m.: 250 Group A Qualifying
11:50 a.m.: 450 Group A Qualifying
12:05 p.m.: 450 Group B Qualifying
1:20 p.m.: 250 Group C Qualifying
1:35 p.m.: 250 Group B Qualifying
1:50 p.m.: 250 Group A Qualifying
2:05 p.m.: 450 Group A Qualifying
2:20 p.m.: 450 Group B Qualifying
5:06 p.m.: 250 Heat 1
5:20 p.m.: 250 Heat 2
5:34 p.m.: 450 Heat 1
5:48 p.m.: 450 Heat 2
6:19 p.m.: 250 Last Chance Qualifier
6:31 p.m.: 450 Last Chance Qualifier
6:54 p.m.: 250 Main Event
7:28 p.m.: 450 Main Event

TRACK LAYOUT: Click here to view the track map for Supercross Round 7 in Minneapolis

HOW TO WATCH SUPERCROSS IN 2022: Full NBC Sports schedule

ROUND 1: Ken Roczen scores his fourth victory in the season opener at Anaheim

ROUND 2: Jason Anderson earns first victory since 2018 championship

ROUND 3: Breakthrough victory for Chase Sexton

ROUND 4: Eli Tomac scores first win aboard a Yamaha

ROUND 5: Tomac takes Triple Crown event in Glendale

ROUND 6: Anderson triumphs in Anaheim

FINAL 2021 STANDINGS: 450 points standings | 250 East points standings | 250 West points standings

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).