NBC SPORTS PRESENTS NASCAR SPRINT CUP PLAYOFF RACING FROM THE HEARTLAND

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Storms into Kansas Speedway Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC

NBCSN Kicks Off the First of Four Final XFINITY Series Races Saturday at 4 p.m. ET

Steve Letarte goes “Crew Chief to Crew Chief” with Rodney Childers, Todd Gordon, Cole Pearn and Adam Stevens on Playoff Pressure during Sunday’s Countdown to Green

STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 14, 2015 –NBC Sports presents a Kansas showdown worthy of Wyatt Earp this weekend when the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs headline a twin bill of racing at Kansas Speedway. NBCSN presents NASCAR XFINITY Series racing from Kansas Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC. After rain postponed last Saturday’s primetime race from Charlotte, this Sunday’s event marks the first Sprint Cup Playoff race of the season broadcast on NBC. With only six more races before the 2015 Sprint Cup Champion is crowned, the action is heating up as drivers head into the second race in the Round of 12.

SUNDAY’S COUNTDOWN TO GREEN FEATURES FOUR CREW CHIEFS IN CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION

Before the green flag falls on Sunday’s race, Steve Letarte talks with four crew chiefs strategizing their path to the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. The group consists of two crew chiefs considered rookies: Adam Stevens and Cole Pearn, and two veterans: Todd Gordon, and Rodney Childers. Letarte talks to each of them “chief to chief,” and discusses their individual approaches toward the same goal, a 2015 Sprint Cup Championship.

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS SPRINT CUP PLAYOFF RACE FROM KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Rick Allen calls the action from the 1.5 mile tri-oval track alongside Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte and 21-time Sprint Cup winner Jeff Burton. During Friday’s first Sprint Cup practice Burton exits the broadcast booth to report live from the garage. Champion crew chief Ray Evernham joins Krista Voda and Kyle Petty for the pre- and post-race coverage from Kansas City, Kansas on Sunday. Marty Snider, Mike Massaro, Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns contribute reports from pit road.

NBC Sports’ Sprint Cup coverage from the Midwestern speedway kicks off Friday with first practice at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN followed by qualifying at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday’s coverage from “The Jayhawk State” begins on CNBC with Sprint Cup Series second practice at 11:30 a.m. ET. The final Sprint Cup practice begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Sunday’s coverage from the 14-year-old track begins at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NASCAR America Sunday presented by DraftKings. Coverage moves over to NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET with the Countdown to Green Served by Sonic pre-race show. The Sprint Cup playoff battle begins at 2:15 p.m. ET. Coverage from Kansas Speedway wraps up with the Post Race Show at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN and NASCAR Victory Lap at 6:30 p.m. ET.

NBCSN PRESENTS THE FIRST OF FOUR FINAL NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACES

Race announcer Leigh Diffey calls NBCSN’s XFINITY race from Kansas Speedway alongside analyst Ray Evernham and Jeff Burton. Kyle Petty joins Diffey and Evernham as an analyst for Friday’s first and final XFINITY practice. Steve Letarte takes the analyst reigns with Evernham for XFINITY qualifying. Krista Voda and Kyle Petty handle pre-race XFINITY coverage.

NBCSN’s XFINITY coverage from Kansas begins Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET with the first Series practice, followed by the final practice at 4:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s day of XFINITY racing begins at 12:30 p.m. ET with qualifying followed by NASCAR America at 2 p.m. ET, XFINITY Series Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show at 3:30 p.m. ET and green flag racing at 4 p.m. ET.

NBC SPORTS GROUP CELEBRATES THE NASCAR PLAYOFFS WITH QUICKEN LOANS’ WEEKLY PLAYOFF GRID CHALLENGE

Fans still have a chance to win big throughout the NASCAR playoffs including a chance to have their mortgage paid for a year by Quicken Loans in the Weekly Playoff Grid Challenge. As the NASCAR playoff field narrows, fans can enter before each race who they think will be the top three finishers each week.  By filling out their predictions, fans are entered to win weekly prizes including a Roku streaming player and NBC Sports prize packs. Each correct top three prediction earns an entrant a point, and at the end of the 10 races the fan with the most points will receive mortgage payments for an entire year from Quicken Loans.

MOTORSPORTS ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will stream this week’s NASCAR and IndyCar coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV.

NASCAR COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.com and NASCARTALK

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To explore the site, please visit NBCSports.com/NASCAR and NASCARTalk.NBCSports.com/

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@NASCARonNBC: The official Twitter account of NASCAR coverage on NBC and NBCSN provides exclusive access to drivers, NBC Sports NASCAR experts and behind-the-scenes content, as well up-to-the-minute news and highlights, including video and articles from MotorSportsTalk on NBCSports.com.

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