Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi) and Helio Castroneves (Penske) battle for the 2013 IndyCar Championship in the final race of the season, the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Radio is on IMS and Sirius XM.
Dixon holds a 25-point advantage in the standings over Castroneves, the only driver who can overtake Dixon to win the 2013 championship, after registering first- and second-place finishes at the Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader. Dixon is a two-time IndyCar Series Champion (2003 & 2008); Castroneves, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 13-year veteran of the IndyCar Series, hopes to clinch his first career season-series title.
COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group’s IndyCar and Formula One play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey will call the IndyCar World Championships at Fontana. Diffey will be joined in the booth this week by former drivers Townsend Bell and Wally Dallenbach. Reporters Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider and Robin Miller will manage the pits. Mike King,Davey Hamilton and Jake Query will have the call of the Indy Lights Fontana race.
Following are quotes from Dallenbach on the final weekend of the IndyCar season:
Dallenbach on the 2013 IndyCar season: “This has been one of the best seasons in IndyCar that I can remember. It’s been great for IndyCar that these past few seasons have come down to the final race.”
Dallenbach on Castroneves feeling the pressure: “There’s no question, Castroneves has the pressure on him. He’s not getting much sleep this week. He may say he doesn’t feel it, but he does, because he’s never won a championship, and he wants it bad. It’s amazing he’s never won a championship in IndyCar, because he’s certainly good enough.”
Dallenbach on approaches for Castroneves and Dixon: “Helio has the advantage going into the weekend. He is strong on these types of race tracks, and I believe his Chevrolet has the edge on these race tracks. Dixon’s got one thing on his mind this weekend, and that’s to stay in front of Helio. His mission is pretty simple.”
NBCSN’s coverage of the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships begins on Friday with qualifying at 7 p.m. ET. Live race coverage of the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships begins on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage of the Lefty’s Kids Club 100, part of IndyCar’s Indy Lights developmental series, will precede the IndyCar World Championships on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
In addition to NBCSN’s coverage, NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will present live coverage of the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships on Saturdaynight.
This week’s motorsports coverage begins with NBCSN’s IndyCar Championship Preview on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. In addition to episodes of TRANSLOGIC and Auctions America, NBCSN will also air a one-hour special featuring the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Series.
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) | |
| Thu., October 17 | IndyCar Championship Preview | NBCSN | 8 p.m. | |
| Auctions America | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. | ||
| TRANSLOGIC | NBCSN | 11 p.m. | ||
| TRANSLOGIC | NBCSN | 11:30 p.m. | ||
| Fri., October 18 | USF 2000 | NBCSN | 1:30 a.m. | |
| TRANSLOGIC | NBCSN | 2:30 a.m. | ||
| IndyCar World Championships – Qualifying | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | ||
| Sat., October 19 | Indy Lights – Lefty’s Kids Clup 100 | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships | NBCSN | 8 p.m. | ||
INDYCAR ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will live stream the MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships on Saturday. Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.
Coverage airing on NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.
