NBC Sports Network announces 2012 IndyCar TV schedule details

NBC Sports Network will start the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series on Sunday, March 24 in St. Petersburg, Fla. This year, the network will air a record 13 races live, the most in the channel's four-year history as the cable home of IndyCar (up from nine in 2012). The increase is largely due to the innovative addition of two doubleheaders in Toronto and Houston, which provide two races over two days from one location.

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Network's coverage will feature a new look this year. Lead race announcer Leigh Diffey, in his first year covering the IndyCar Series, will be joined by returning race analyst and former NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach, Jr. (analyst), and newcomer to the booth, IndyCar driver Townsend Bell.

Jon Beekhuis, an analyst who has also served at the network since 2009, will now report from pit road. A former CART driver (1989-92) and 1988 Indy Lights Champion, Beekhuis will be inside the race action, reporting minute-to-minute on what happens on the track.
Veterans Marty Snider and Kevin Lee will return this season as pit reporters, and will be joined by Robin Miller, the network's IndyCar reporter.

QUALIFYING: NBC Sports Network will air 12 hours of Indianapolis 500 qualifying coverage. Also, on May 24 at 11 a.m. ET, NBC Sports Network will air five hours of live coverage of Carb Day, which includes the final practice for the Indy 500, the Indy Lights Freedom 100 and the Pit Stop Challenge.

The network will also air one-hour of qualifying coverage the day before each of its races. It will also replay race coverage the following day.

INDYCAR 36: NBC Sports Network will continue its all-access series IndyCar 36 in 2013. The first half-hour episode will feature Chip Ganassi driver Charlie Kimball on Saturday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The original series is produced by IMS Productions and gives viewers an all-access pass into the life of a world-class driver in the middle of race season.

The cameras follow a driver for 36 hours during a race weekend providing a behind-the-scenes look at the on- and off-track activities of the stars of the IndyCar Series. The all-access 36 series includes NHL 36, Fight Night 36, F1 36, and MLS 36.

FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS: NBC Sports Network will air 12 one-hour telecasts of the Firestone Indy Lights Championship. All Indy Lights races will be featured on event weekends to run in conjunction with and complement the IZOD IndyCar Series.

NBC SPORTS NETWORK'S SEASON OPENER COVERAGE FROM ST. PETERSBURG (subject to change, all times ET):

Date	Coverage	Time
Sat., March 23	IndyCar Qualifying	2:30 p.m.
Sun., March 24	Indy Lights	11:00 a.m.
Sun., March 24	Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	12:00 p.m.

NBC SPORTS NETWORK'S 2013 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE (subject to change, all times ET):

Date	Race	Location	Time
Sun., Mar. 24	Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Fla.	12 p.m.
Sun., April 7	Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama	Birmingham, Ala.	3 p.m.
Sun., April 21	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Long Beach, Calif.	4 p.m.
Sun., May 5	Sao Paulo Indy 300	Sao Paulo, Brazil	11 a.m.
Sat., June 15	Milwaukee IndyFest	West Allis, Wis.	4 p.m.
Sat., July 13	Honda Indy Toronto-Race 1	Toronto, Canada	3 p.m.
Sun., July 14	Honda Indy Toronto-Race 2	Toronto, Canada	3 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 4	Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio	Lexington, Ohio	3 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 25	GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma	Sonoma, Calif.	4 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 1	Grand Prix of Baltimore	Baltimore, Md.	2 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 5	Grand Prix of Houston-Race 1	Houston, Texas	3 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 6	Grand Prix of Houston-Race 2	Houston, Texas	1 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19	MAVTV 500	Fontana, Calif.	8 p.m.

NBC SPORTS NETWORK'S 2013 FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS SCHEDULE (subject to change, all times ET):

Date	Race	Location	Time
Sun., March 24	Streets St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Fla.	11 a.m.
Sun., April 7	Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Ala.	2 p.m.
Sun., April 21	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, Calif.	3 p.m.
Fri., May 24	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Indianapolis, Ind.	12 p.m.
Sat., June 15	The Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wis.	3 p.m.
Fri., June 28	Iowa Speedway	Newton, Iowa	11 p.m.
Fri., July 12	Pocono International Raceway	Long Pond, Pa.	7 p.m.
Sun., July 14	Streets of Toronto	Toronto, Ontario	11 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 4	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	2 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 1	Streets of Baltimore	Baltimore, Md.	1 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 6	Reliant Park	Houston, Texas	12 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 19	Auto Club Speedway	Fontana, Calif.	7 p.m.