Simon Pagenaud and Will Power Duel for the 2016 VERIZON INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP

This weekend's motorsports coverage on NBCSN is highlighted by a duel for the 2016 Verizon INDYCAR SERIES championship, as Team Penske teammatesSimon Pagenaud and Will Power battle for the season title at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Coverage also includes the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET, as Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg continue their season-long chess match atop the F1 driver standings with seven races remaining in the 2016 campaign.

Simon Pagenaud has been at the top of the Verizon INDYCAR SERIES standings for nearly the entire 2016 season, with three wins and two second-place finishes to start the year, and will need to hold off teammate Will Power to clinch his first career season title on Sunday at Sonoma. Pagenaud leads the standings with 555 points, 43 ahead of Power (512). Sunday's race is a double-points race, so Power can still win the championship by finishing in the top five in Sunday's 85-lap race - depending on how Pagenaud fares. Click here for a full breakdown of championship outcomes.

Pagenaud's best season finish came in 2013, when he finished in third place overall, while Power has one career Verizon INDYCAR SERIES championship under his belt (2014). Power has historically performed well at Sonoma Raceway with three career victories, the most recent coming in 2013.

Heading into Sunday's season finale, NBC Sports Group has had its most-watched INDYCAR season to-date, averaging 481,000 viewers, up 2% vs. 2015 (excludes Pocono race, which aired on Monday, Aug. 22, due to a rain delay).

Coverage from Sonoma begins Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN with practice, followed by live qualifying at 6 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage on Sunday begins at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at 6:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN will also present an encore presentation of the race on Monday, Sept. 19, at noon ET.

Leigh Diffey play-by-play) will call the action alongside analysts and drivers Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell. Reporters Kevin Lee, Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will report from the pits.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg continue their pursuit of the 2016 F1 drivers' championship, currently separated by just two points and nearly 100 points clear of the nearest challenger. Rosberg won his second consecutive race at Monza two weekends ago to close the gap on Hamilton, who finished in second place. The pair has combined to win all but one race on the F1 calendar this season (Max Verstappen; Spanish Grand Prix), with Rosberg (seven wins) holding a slight edge in victories over Hamilton (six wins).

Live coverage begins exclusively on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app on Friday morning at 6 a.m. ET with Practice 1, followed by NBCSN's live coverage of Practice 2 at 9:30 a.m. ET. Streaming coverage on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app continues Saturday at 6 a.m. ET with Practice 3 and live qualifying at 9 a.m. ET on CNBC.

Live Singapore Grand Prix race coverage begins Sunday morning at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN with F1 Countdown, and is followed by F1 EXTRA at 10 a.m. ET.

Brian Till will call this weekend's action, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. James Allen will serve as the on-site reporter in Singapore.

In addition this weekend's live motorsports action, NBCSN will also present a pair of new Mecum Top 10episodes, beginning on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, kicking off the Thursday motorsports block, as well as a new episode of Journey to the Hammers at 11 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports heads to CHICAGOLAND Speedway this weekend for the first race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs and final race of the XFINITY Series regular-season. With adrenaline running high, drivers in both series will put it all on the line of the 1.5-mile track. NBC Sports' weekend coverage from the "Windy City" is highlighted by the NASCAR Sprint Cup race Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and the XFINITY Series race Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. A release with detailed information regarding this weekend's NASCAR coverage will be sent later today.

Image courtesy of NBC.

To post a comment, you must register and login.