FORMULA ONE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE ON NBCSN THIS WEEK

Live F1 Italian Grand Prix Coverage Airs Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN, Followed by Encore Presentation at 3 p.m. ET

Pre-Race Coverage Includes On-Track Segment with Racing Legend Mario Andretti

NBCSN Presents Coverage of Mecum Auctions from Dallas Throughout the Weekend

New Episode of Mecum Dealmakers: Harrisburg Airs Tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. - Sept. 4, 2013 - NBC Sports Group presents more than 30 hours of motorsports coverage this weekend on NBCSN, highlighted by live coverage of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET. This weekend's NBCSN coverage also includes the latest installation of Mecum Auctions from its Dallas auction, as well as a new episode of Mecum Dealmakers: Harrisburg tonight at 10 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will stream all F1 Italian Grand Prix and Mecum Auctions coverage this weekend.

F1 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX - SUNDAY AT 7:30 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group's comprehensive coverage of the F1 Italian Grand Prix begins Friday at 4 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Live Extra with Practice 1, followed by Practice 2 at 8 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Live Extra will carry Practice 3 on Saturday at 5 a.m. ET, followed by live qualifying coverage at 8 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

Live Italian Grand Prix coverage begins Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET, followed by F1 Extra at 10 a.m. ET. NBCSN will air an encore presentation of the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, following coverage of the Italian GP2 race at 2 p.m. ET.

This weekend's coverage will also feature an on-track segment with racing legend Mario Andretti, who won the Italian Grand Prix in 1977 and witnessed his first ever F1 race at Monza.

Two weeks ago, Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) held off Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) at the Belgian Grand Prix for his third victory of the season, but the big story out of the race was the collision between Rosberg and teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg contacted Hamilton early in the race, slicing into Hamilton's tire, which forced an eventual retirement for Hamilton, as Rosberg pushed his points lead to 29 over his teammate and rival.

The Italian Grand Prix is one of the longest running events on the F1 circuit, and has been held every year since 1950. Last year, Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) took the checkered flag at Monza, but Hamilton will look to draw upon his 2012 victory at the Italian Grand Prix to trim his deficit to Rosberg in the standings.

Lead F1 announcer Leigh Diffey will call the Italian Grand Prix, 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. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the team's on-site reporter from Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy, and will also call the GP2 race.

In addition to the Italian Grand Prix, NBCSN will also feature the TORC series championship from Crandon, Wisc., as part of its race coverage, airing Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

2014 VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES ON NBCSN DELIVERS SECOND-BEST VIEWERSHIP SINCE 2009

It was announced yesterday that NBCSN's coverage of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series averaged 378,000 viewers, the second-highest average for a season on NBCSN (formerly VERSUS) since IndyCar rights were acquired in 2009 (402,000 in 2011). NBCSN's 2014 IndyCar coverage (12 races**) was up 34% from the network's average viewership for the series for the 2013 season (282,000, 13 races), according to data provided by The Nielsen Company.

MECUM AUCTION: DALLAS - THURSDAY-SATURDAY ON NBCSN

Mecum Auctions coverage continues this week from their Dallas auction today at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by coverage on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. ET, and live action at Noon ET on Saturday.

Scott Hoke will host NBCSN's Mecum Auctions coverage on-site at Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, alongside analysts John Kraman, Stephen Cox, and Bill Stephens. Mecum Auctions is led by Dana Mecum, Founder and President of Mecum Auctions for the past 27 years.

NEW EPISODE OF MECUM DEALMAKERS: HARRISBURG AIRS TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN presents a new episode of the new reality series, Mecum Dealmakers, with highlights from their Harrisburg auction tonight at 10 p.m. ET. The series provides car enthusiasts with a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the high-intensity world of Mecum Auctions, President and Founder Dana Mecum and his son Frank Mecum work 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.

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

Date Program Time (ET) Network

Thurs., September 4 NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN Mecum Auctions - Dallas 7:30 NBCSN Off The Grid - Barcelona (Encore) 9:30 p.m. NBCSN Mecum Dealmakers: Harrisburg 10 p.m. NBCSN /DRIVE on NBC Sports 11 p.m. NBCSN

Fri., September 5 Pirelli World Challenge: Sonoma 12:30 a.m. NBCSN F1 Italian Grand Prix - Practice 1 4 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra Mecum Dealmakers: Harrisburg (Encore) 7 a.m NBCSN F1 Italian Grand Prix - Practice 2 8 a.m. NBCSN NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN Mecum Auctions - Dallas 6:30 p.m. NBCSN

Sat., September 6 F1 Italian Grand Prix - Practice 3 5 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra F1 Italian Grand Prix - Qualifying 8 a.m. NBCSN /DRIVE on NBC Sports (Encore) 9:30 a.m. NBCSN Mecum Dealmakers: Seattle (Encore) 10 a.m. NBCSN Mecum Auctions: Dallas Noon NBCSN TORC: Crandon Championship 3:30 p.m. NBCSN

Sun., September 7 F1 Italian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN F1 Extra 10 a.m. NBCSN Off The Grid: Budapest (Encore) 10:30 a.m. NBCSN GP2 - Italy 2 p.m. NBCSN F1 Italian Grand Prix (Encore) 3 p.m. NBCSN F1 Extra (Encore) 5:30 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 live streaming coverage of this week's Formula One and Mecum Auctions events. 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.

Races airing on 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.

To explore the site, please visit MotorSportsTalk.com.nbcsports.com or www.NBCSports.com.

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