PREVIEW: Red Bull Global Rallycross, Fort Lauderdale

The 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross season kicks off with a brand-new event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the Bahia Mar Resort. Scott Speed will look to win his third straight season opener, while Joni Wiman will hope to kick off his championship defense on a high note over such competitors as Ken Block, Tanner Foust and Bucky Lasek.

TUNE IN: Sunday, May 31, 3 p.m. ET on NBC and liveextra.nbcsports.com

Subaru Rally Team USA has replaced Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen’s hatchback WRX STIs for the newer model sedan, while Steve Arpin, Brian Deegan, Austin Dyne, and Patrik Sandell will all join Ken Block in M-Sport Ford Fiesta STs. While the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross squad retains Beetles for Scott Speed and Tanner Foust, this year’s cars have swapped out the 1.6-liter engines for 2.0-liter powerplants.

ERIKSSON, GONZALEZ JOIN SUPERCAR GRID: Sebastian Eriksson of Olsbergs MSE and Victor Gonzalez Jr. of Rhys Millen Racing are the two newcomers on the 2015 Red Bull GRC Supercar grid. Eriksson, the 2013 GRC Lites runner-up, spent last year racing Supercars in Europe and coaching Lites drivers worldwide. Gonzalez, the first Puerto Rican driver to compete in NASCAR, will be making his rallycross debut in the event.

GRC Lites Race Preview: Fort Lauderdale

IN BRIEF: GRC Lites’ third season kicks off with a new event in the city of Fort Lauderdale this weekend.

TUNE IN INFORMATION: Wednesday, June 3, 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will be offering live streaming of the Global Rallycross Fort Lauderdale race through the NBC Sports Live Extra app via desktop, mobile and tablet.

LAST RACE: Mitchell DeJong set a record with his seventh win of the 2014 GRC Lites season in last year’s finale in Las Vegas. Andreas Bakkerud, making his GRC Lites debut, finished second, while Austin Cindric placed third.

DRIVER CHANGES: Duncker Felix Jr. will substitute for Alex Keyes in this weekend’s event, while Miles Maroney will join Felix as a teammate at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Ten drivers will compete in this weekend’s GRC Lites event in Fort Lauderdale, tying last year’s record at X Games Austin. Only four of this weekend’s drivers – Olsbergs MSE teammates Austin Cindric and Oliver Eriksson, AF Racing’s Alejandro Fernandez, and DTV Solutions’ Geoff Sykes – have competed in a GRC Lites event before.

STANDALONE TV PACKAGE FOR LITES IN 2015: For the first time, GRC Lites will have its own race broadcasts in the 2015 season, airing in the week following the event on NBCSN. The first Lites broadcast will air on Wednesday, June 3 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Leigh Diffey and Anders Krohn will call the event.

NEW TEAMS ENTER GRC LITES: DirtFish Motorsports, River Racing, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will all make their first GRC Lites appearances in this weekend’s event. Dreyer & Reinbold, which will enter two vehicles, has competed in IndyCar events since 2000, while DirtFish Rally School has served as a previous Red Bull GRC event host and vehicle sponsor. River Racing, which will run in cooperation with Bryan Herta Rallysport, is a new racing organization.