MAVTV 500 INDYCAR Championship

TV: NBCSN telecasts the race live (9 p.m. ET). Leigh Diffey is the chief announcer. Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell are the analysts. The pre-race show includes Tracy interviewing his former Indy car team owner, Roger Penske.

Radio/web: The race will be broadcast on IMS Radio Network affiliates, XM 209 and Sirius 213. It also is on IndyCar.com and the INDCYAR 14 app, augmented by real-time Timing & Scoring. Paul Page is the chief announcer. … Also, the drivers meeting at 8 p.m. (ET) will be streamed live on the INDYCAR 14 app.

Twitter: @ACSupdates, @IndyCar, #MAVTV500

What's at stake: It is the ninth consecutive year that the Verizon IndyCar Series champion will be determined in the season finale. Will Power enters with a 50-point advantage over Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves. He is 81 points ahead of Simon Pagenaud of Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports. A total of 103 points is available – 100 for the victory plus bonus points for leading a lap (one point) and leading the most race laps (two points). ... Drivers also will be seeking to move up in the standings to claim one of the bonuses for finishing second through 10th.

Qualifications: Castroneves earned his third Verizon P1 Award of the season and third at Auto Club Speedway since 2003 with a two-lap average speed of 218.540 mph in the No. 3 AAA Southern California Team Penske car. It was the 41st of his career, breaking a tie with Rick Mears for fourth all time. ... Power qualified a season-low 21st and Pagenaud qualified 13th.

Click it: Qualifying results || Championship points possibilities || Who's eligible for what

Race laps: 250 on the 2-mile oval. ... Three-wide start and single-file restarts.

Fuel: 127 U.S. gallons of E85 for race. … Between seven and 10 pit stops was the norm in the 2013 race. The first, under green, came between Laps 35-38.

Engines: 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V6s supplied by Chevrolet and Honda ... 140 kPa turbo boost for ovals.

2013: Power earned his first victory on a superspeedway by finishing 1.4883 seconds ahead of 2012 race winner Ed Carpenter over the 500 miles. Tony Kanaan finished third and James Hinchcliffe was fourth.

For spectators:  A Verizon IndyCar Series autograph session is from 4-5 p.m. (local) at the INDYCAR Fan Village outside the main grandstand. … Power will put his driving boots into the cement at 5 p.m. as he's inducted into the "Walk of Fame." ... Lee DeWyze, the 2010 winner of “American Idol,” will sing the national anthem. ... Titan Gilroy, who will star in MAVTV's upcoming docuseries, is the grand marshal. Gilroy operates Titan American Manufacturing, a computer numerical-controlled machine shop. ... On Aug. 31, fans are welcome to take in the 4:30 p.m. red carpet festivities preceding the INDYCAR Championship Celebration at the LA LIVE entertainment complex (800 Olympic Blvd.). The Championship Celebration will be streamed live on IndyCar.com starting at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

Of note: As was the case for the Houston doubleheader in late June, teams are permitted to use an optional water Mezzo Technology radiator that is composed of micro-channel heat exchangers. INDYCAR expects a 10- to 20-degree drop in water temperature. ... Carlos Munoz of Andretti Autosport, who qualified 19th, is the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader. … Ryan Hunter-Reay (Indianapolis 500) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Pocono Raceway) won the other 500-mile races this season. … Five drivers who have won the pole at Auto Club Speedway are entered. ... Dario Franchitti (2005) and Power (2013) are the only drivers to win from the pole at Auto Club Speedway.