Chris Estrada

Sunday Indianapolis Cup race: Start time, TV info, weather

By Chris EstradaJul 30, 2022, 1:00 PM EDT

With five races to go in the regular season, the NASCAR Cup Series hits the road course at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

The Cup Series comes to Indy after a shocking ending to the weekend at Pocono Raceway, where Denny Hamlin was victorious – until he and race runner-up Kyle Busch were disqualified. That gave the win to Chase Elliott (who finished third in the race). Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields the cars for both Kyle Busch and Hamlin, opted not to appeal the DQs.

Meanwhile, as the series looks to turn the page on that, the playoff race continues. The final two spots in the 16-driver playoff field remain up for grabs. Ryan Blaney (+105 over 17th place) and Martin Truex Jr. (+83) hold those spots on points entering Indy.

For other key storylines to follow Sunday, check out our viewer’s guide.

Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

(All Times Eastern)

START: Andrew Fusco, crisis management response manager for race sponsor Verizon, will give the command to start engines at 2:52 p.m. … Green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:03 p.m.

PRERACE: Cup garage opens at 11:30 a.m. … Driver introductions are at 2 p.m. … Kasey Clark of Parkside Bible Church (Brownsburg, Indiana) will give the invocation at 2:44 p.m. … Lamar Campbell will perform the National Anthem at 2:45 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 82 laps (199.998 miles) on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 15. Stage 2 ends at Lap 35.

STARTING LINEUP: Indianapolis Cup starting lineup

TV/RADIO: NBC will broadcast the race at 2:30 p.m. Countdown to Green begins at 2 p.m. All coverage will stream live on Peacock Premium, including post-race coverage starting at 6 p.m. PRN/IMS Radio Network coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. and will also stream at GoPRN.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio broadcast.

STREAMING: Peacock Premium

FORECAST: Weather Underground – Partly cloudy, high of 82 degrees, 6% chance of rain around start of the race

LAST YEAR: Late-race chaos led to a double-overtime victory for A.J. Allmendinger in the inaugural Cup Series race on the Indy road course.

CATCH UP ON NBC SPORTS COVERAGE:

Roger Penske says ‘stay tuned’ on contract extension for Joey Logano

Cup champs among those keeping an eye on Ty Gibbs

Dr. Diandra: Kevin Harvick – Slump or swan song?

William Byron thanks those after his team’s hauler catches fire

Austin Cindric anticipates cleaner race this year at Indy

Kurt Busch to miss Indy; Ty Gibbs back in No. 45 Cup car

Drivers to watch in Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Michael McDowell, No. 34 team appeal Pocono penalty

Saturday NASCAR, IndyCar schedule at Indianapolis

By Chris EstradaJul 30, 2022, 7:00 AM EDT

Brickyard Weekend continues Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with NTT IndyCar Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2.4-mile, 14-turn IMS road course.

The NASCAR Cup Series will also begin their weekend with practice and qualifying ahead of their 200-mile race Sunday on the IMS road course (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC).

In addition to TV coverage, all IndyCar sessions and Saturday’s Xfinity race will stream live on Peacock Premium. Fans can subscribe to Peacock Premium for $4.99/month at PeacockTV.com/sports.

Saturday’s Cup sessions will stream live on the NBC Sports App.

Saturday, July 30

Forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 84 degrees, 7% chance of rain

(All Times Eastern)

Garage open

5:30 a.m. – NTT IndyCar Series
7:30 a.m. – Noon – NASCAR Cup Series
12:30 p.m. – NASCAR Xfinity Series

Track activity

8:15-8:45 a.m. – IndyCar warm-up (Peacock Premium, SiriusXM)
9:35-10:35 a.m. – Cup practice (USA Network, NBC Sports App)
10:35-11:30 a.m. – Cup qualifying (USA Network, NBC Sports App)
12:30 p.m. – IndyCar race (85 laps, 207.32 miles; NBC, Peacock Premium, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM)
3:30 p.m. – Xfinity race (62 laps, 151.22 miles; NBC, Peacock Premium, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Indianapolis Xfinity starting lineup: AJ Allmendinger wins pole

By Chris EstradaJul 29, 2022, 4:52 PM EDT

A.J. Allmendinger has won the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In the final moments of Friday qualifying, Allmendinger posted a lap of 1 minute, 29.748 seconds to knock Riley Herbst (1:30.076) off the pole in the second round.

MORE: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Indy – Starting Lineup

Ty Gibbs then followed with the second-fastest lap (1:29.842) to secure the outside front row position.

In addition to Saturday’s Xfinity race, Allmendinger will also run Sunday’s Cup race on the 14-turn IMS road course. He won the inaugural Cup race on the IMS road course last year after a chaotic finish that extended the race into double overtime.

“This is what I dreamed of with racing,” Allmendinger told NBC Sports about racing at Indy. “What we got to experience last year with Kaulig Racing can never be taken away from us.

“We know this is a new year and we’ve got to go out there and do it again, but I just love this place… We’re gonna go try to get something tomorrow.”

Herbst will share Row 2 with Cup Series regular Alex Bowman (1:30.210). Behind them in Row 3 will be Sam Mayer (1:30.407) and another Cup regular, Indiana native Chase Briscoe (1:30.614).

In all, six Cup regulars are in the field for Saturday. Here’s a rundown of where they qualified:

Alex Bowman (No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) – Qualified 4th
Chase Briscoe (No. 07 SS Green Light Racing Ford) – Qualified 6th
Bubba Wallace (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) – Qualified 13th
Ross Chastain (No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet) – Qualified 18th
Austin Dillon (No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet) – Qualified 20th
Ty Dillon (No. 6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet) – Qualified 27th

Four drivers failed to qualify: J.J. Yeley, Josh Williams, Brad Perez and Mason Filippi.

Coverage of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The race will also stream live on Peacock Premium.

Saturday Indianapolis Xfinity race: Start time, TV info, weather

By Chris EstradaJul 29, 2022, 3:00 PM EDT

The race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season title continues Saturday on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Just 22 points separate leader A.J. Allmendinger, second-place Justin Allgaier (-16), and third-place Ty Gibbs (-22).

Last weekend at Pocono Raceway, Gibbs narrowly lost to Noah Gragson in the Xfinity race and then made his Cup Series debut the following day. He finished 16th subbing for an ailing Kurt Busch, who suffered “concussion-like symptoms” following his crash in Cup qualifying at Pocono.

Gibbs is on “double duty” again at Indy. On Wednesday, 23XI Racing announced that Busch had not been cleared to compete by the NASCAR medical team and that Gibbs would drive Busch’s No. 45 Toyota for a second consecutive Cup race.

Details for Saturday’s Xfinity race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

(All times Eastern)

START: Kevin Thomson, district manager for Jiffy Lube of New York, will give the command to start engines at 3:31 p.m. … Green flag scheduled to wave at 3:42 p.m.

PRERACE: Xfinity garage opens at 12:30 p.m. … Driver introductions are at 2:50 p.m. … Lt. Col. Kent Lundy of the 181st Intelligence Wing (Chaplains Corp.) will give the invocation at 3:23 p.m. … Leah Crane will perform the National Anthem at 3:24 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 62 laps (151.22 miles) on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 20. Stage 2 ends at Lap 40.

STARTING LINEUP: Indy road course lineup

TV/RADIO: NBC will broadcast the race at 3:30 p.m. Pre-race coverage begins at 3 p.m. All coverage will also stream on Peacock Premium… PRN/IMS Radio Network coverage begins at 3 p.m. and also will stream at GoPRN.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio broadcast.

STREAMING: Peacock Premium

FORECAST: Weather Underground – Mostly cloudy, high of 83 degrees, dry conditions around start of the race

STARTING LINEUP: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Indy

LAST YEAR: Austin Cindric led 29 of 62 laps to win last August’s Xfinity Series race on the Indy road course for Team Penske.

“Race For The Championship” premieres Sept. 1 on USA

By Chris EstradaJul 29, 2022, 1:38 PM EDT

USA Network has announced that “Race For The Championship,” a new unscripted series about the drivers and teams of the NASCAR Cup Series, will premiere Thursday, Sept. 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

You can check out a trailer for the series above.

Below is the full press release on the series from USA:

Start your engines! USA Network’s new unscripted series “Race For The Championship,” premiering Thursday, Sept. 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, will give a behind-the-scenes look at the elite drivers and teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Documenting the lives of the sport’s best on and off the track, viewers will get a rare glimpse of what it takes to balance personal relationships with the pressure to perform. Packed with action, heart and drama, this exhilarating series will offer up a taste of what it’s really like to partake in the world’s top level of stock car racing. Watch as the drivers are pushed mentally and physically to their limits, navigating a NASCAR season unlike any other – with a new car, new tracks and new challenges – for their chance to make history.

Over 10 episodes, “Race for the Championship” will tell the story of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season and playoffs. The series will feature past champions such as Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, along with other drivers eager to write their own NASCAR legacies, including Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suárez, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie and others.

The 10-week NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT on USA. For playoffs results and schedule, click HERE.

The official home of the NASCAR championship and playoffs, NBC Sports will once again present the final 20 NASCAR Cup Series races and 19 NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2022 across NBC, USA Network and Peacock, culminating with the championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 5-6. Click here for more information on NBC Sports’ 2022 NASCAR coverage.

“Race for the Championship” is produced by NASCAR Studios with NASCAR’s Tim Clark, Matt Summers, Tally Hair and Amy Anderson, and Chaz Gray serving as executive producers.

“Race For The Championship” is the second unscripted series featuring NASCAR that’s debuted on USA this season.

“Austin Dillon’s Life In The Fast Lane,” which debuted in June, stars the past Daytona 500 winner and his wife Whitney and son Ace, plus one of Dillon’s pit crew members, Paul Swan, and his wife, Mariel.

Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

Read More About NASCAR

Read More About NASCAR

MORE: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Indy – Starting Lineup

Read More About NASCAR

Read More About NASCAR

Read More About NASCAR