INDYCAR HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO HIGHLIGHTS NBC SPORTS GROUP'S EXTENSIVE MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE THIS WEEK

Live Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Airs Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN; Qualifying on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Jay Leno Appears on Auctions America Coverage This Weekend from Burbank on Friday at 3 p.m. ET

New Reality Series - Mecum Dealmakers - Debuts Tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN; Encore on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC

Hondy Indy Toronto Race 2 Is Most-Watched IndyCar Race on NBCSN in Three Years; Season-To-Date Up 46% vs. 2013

STAMFORD, Conn. - July 31, 2013 - NBCSN will present live coverage of the IndyCar Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, highlighting more than 30 hours of motorsports coverage across NBC and NBCSN this weekend.

Coverage also features Jay Leno in the broadcast booth for NBCSN's presentation of Auctions America on Friday at 3 p.m. ET, and the debut of NBCSN's new reality series, Mecum Dealmakers, tonight at 10 p.m. ET. The reality series dovetails off of Mecum Auctions, providing car enthusiasts with a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the high-intensity of the auction floor.

HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO - SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN's coverage of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio begins with qualifying on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Live race coverage begins on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by a presentation of Race 2 of the Indy Lights series from Mid-Ohio at 6 p.m. ET.

Two weekends ago, Sebastien Bourdais (KVSH Racing) and Mike Conway (Ed Carpenter Racing) took Races 1 and 2 at the Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader. Rain on Saturday led to both races being run on Sunday, making it the first same-day doubleheader since June 28, 1981 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the CART series.

Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) currently leads teammate Will Power by 13 points in the championship points standings with four races remaining in the 2014 Verizon IndyCar season. Last year, Charlie Kimball (Chip Ganassi Racing) took the checkered flag for his first career IndyCar win. Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) is a four-time winner at Mid-Ohio, but both he and Chip Ganassi Racing are still in search of their first victories of the 2014 campaign.

NBC Sports Group's lead motorsports voice Leigh Diffey will call the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, alongside former driver Townsend Bell and veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs.

Reporters Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Kevin Lee and Robin Miller will report from the pits. Lee will be joined by Anders Krohn and Jake Query to call the Indy Lights Mid-Ohio race.

JAY LENO APPEARS ON AUCTIONS AMERICA COVERAGE THIS WEEKEND FROM BURBANK ON FRIDAY AT 3 P.M. ET

NBCSN will present eight hours of Auctions America coverage from its Burbank auction, highlighted by a live guest appearance from former Tonight Show host, and known car-enthusiast, Jay Leno on Friday at 3 p.m. ET. NBCSN will also air an encore presentation of Friday's live coverage that evening at 10:30 p.m. ET, followed by Saturday's live coverage at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Leno will sit in the announcer booth alongside veteran broadcaster Bill Patrick, NBCSN F1 analyst and former race mechanic for the Benneton F1 team Steve Matchett, and reporter Carolyn Manno, providing live commentary on the various cars on the auction block. This week's auction lot includes a 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra, once owned by British Touring Car Champion Frank Sytner, a 1990 Ferrari F40, formerly owned by rock legend Rod Stewart, and a 1970 Chevrolet El Camino SS 396 delivered new to "King of Cool" Steve McQueen.

NEW REALITY SERIES - MECUM DEALMAKERS - DEBUTS TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. ET ON NBCSN; ENCORE ON SUNDAY AT 2 P.M. ET ON NBC

NBC Sports Group will launch a new reality series - Mecum Dealmakers - tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN, providing car enthusiasts with a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the high-intensity world of Mecum Auctions, as collector cars change hands with the smack of an auction gavel.

Mecum Dealmakers dovetails off of the Mecum Auctions series on NBCSN, and tells the story of President and Founder Dana Mecum and his son Frank Mecum. The father-son tandem works together to manage the high pressure of the auction floor, where buyers and sellers hope to make the deal of a lifetime, often with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line.

Mecum Dealmakers debuts tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN with the 2014 Houston auction. The debut episode features a 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype on the auction block that was purchased by Utah Jazz CEO Greg Miller for more than $7 million, as well as segments with former Houston Rockets owner Charlie Thomas, and NFL TE Kellen Winslow Jr., who had his eyes set on a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. NBC will also air an encore presentation of Mecum Dealmakers: Houston on Sunday, August 3 at 2 p.m. ET.

HONDA INDY TORONTO RACE 2 IS MOST-WATCHED INDYCAR RACE ON NBCSN IN THREE YEARS; SEASON-TO-DATE UP 46% VS. 2013

As previously announced, Race 2 of the IndyCar Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader on NBCSN on Sunday, July 20 (3:53-5:37 p.m. ET), averaged 484,000 viewers, making it NBCSN's most-watched IndyCar race since the 2011 Grand Prix of Baltimore (9/4/11, 591,000 viewers).

Through eight races, NBSCN's coverage of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series has averaged 400,000 viewers, up 46% from the 2013 average viewership (274,000) through eight races.

Motorsports Coverage This Week on NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra (subject to change):

Date Program Time (ET) Network

Thurs., July 31 NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN Mecum Auctions (Encore) 7 p.m. NBCSN Mecum Dealmakers: Kissimmee (Encore) 9 p.m. NBCSN Mecum Dealmakers: Houston 10 p.m. NBCSN /DRIVE on NBC Sports 11 p.m. NBCSN

Fri., August 1 Motocross Highlight Series 12 a.m. NBCSN Global RallyCross: Charlotte (Encore) 2 a.m. NBCSN Auctions America: Burbank 3 p.m. NBCSN NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN Auctions America: Burbank (Encore) 10:30 p.m. NBCSN

Sat., August 2 Auctions America: Burbank 1:30 p.m. NBCSN Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio: Qualifying 5:30 p.m. NBCSN

Sun., August 3 TORC: Bark River 1:30 p.m. NBCSN Mecum Dealmakers: Houston (Encore) 2 p.m. NBC Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio 3 p.m. NBCSN Global RallyCross - Season Recap 4 p.m. NBC KURT BUSCH: 36 4:30 p.m. NBC Indy Lights Mid-Ohio: Race 2 6 p.m. NBCSN

MOTORSPORTS ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will provide streaming coverage of this week's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and Auctions America coverage. The majority of coverage will be provided via "TV Everywhere," the media industry's effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at http://www.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:

· NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;

· 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;

MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on the Formula One, Verizon IndyCar Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and all other motorsports racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.

MotorSportsTalk's content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:

· Luke Smith is creator and editor at Richland F1, which begins its second season this year. He's on Twitter at @LukeSmithF1, primarily handling the F1 scene from Europe in great detail.

· Tony DiZinno has most recently served as web editor for RACER Magazine and has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.

· Chris Estrada has written for NBCSports.com's MotorsportsTalk since its inception in 2013, and has been a contributor for various outlets, including the Boston Globe, IndyCar Nation and FoxSports.com. Follow him at @estradawriting.

· Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran NASCAR reporter with more than 30 years of experience. He has contributed to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports and other websites over the course of his career. Follow him on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.

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