ROC: Head-to-head matchups set after draw

The draw for the Race of Champions group stages took place today at Marlins Park with the help of AutoNation's Marc Cannon and Indianapolis 500 winners Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Saturday's individual race will see 2015 NASCAR champion Kyle Busch race against Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button, plus 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan and 2016 Indy 500 polesitter James Hinchcliffe. 2004 NASCAR champion Kurt Busch faces "Mr. LeMans" Tom Kristensen, 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and former ROC Champion of Champions David Coulthard.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya will take on WRC champion Petter Solberg, 2015 DTM champion and new Sauber Formula 1 signing Pascal Wehrlein, and 11-time F1 race winner Felipe Massa, who has come out of retirement to return with Williams later this year. The reigning ROC Champion of Champions, four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, will begin the defense of his title against action sports great Travis Pastrana and three-time Indy 500 winner Castroneves. They will be joined by the winner of a playoff between Global Rallycross champion Scott Speed and 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi.

The top two drivers in each group progress to the quarterfinals. Then it's a knockout tournament all the way to the Grand Final, when this year's Champion of Champions will be crowned.

Race Of Champions Draw (Saturday)
Group A
Sebastian Vettel (Germany)  
Travis Pastrana (USA)  
Helio Castroneves (Brazil)  
Either Scott Speed (USA) or Alexander Rossi (USA), to be decided by playoff

Group B
Juan-Pablo Montoya (Colombia)  
Petter Solberg (Norway)  
Felipe Massa (Brazil)  
Pascal Wehrlein (Germany)  

Group C
Jenson Button (Great Britain)  
Kyle Busch (USA)  
Tony Kanaan (Brazil)  
James Hinchcliffe (Canada)  

Group D
Tom Kristensen (Denmark)  
Kurt Busch (USA)  
David Coulthard (Great Britain)  
Ryan Hunter-Reay (USA)  

Sunday's ROC Nations Cup will feature 10 teams split over three groups. There are three home teams in action, all in the same Group A: Team USA NASCAR (Kyle and Kurt Busch), Team USA IndyCar (Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay) and Team USA Rally X (Travis Pastrana and Scott Speed) will all have to battle Team ROC Factor Canada (James Hinchcliffe and Stefan Rzadzinski).

Three European teams meet up in Group B: Team Germany (Sebastian Vettel and Pascal Wehrlein), Team Great Britain (Jenson Button and David Coulthard) and Team Nordic (Tom Kristensen and Petter Solberg).

Finally, Group C is an all-South American affair: Team Brazil (Felipe Massa and Tony Kanaan), Team Colombia (Juan-Pablo Montoya and Gabby Chaves) and Team ROC Factor Latin America (Helio Castroneves and Gabriel Glusman).

The top two teams from Group A will meet in the semifinals, guaranteeing a North American presence in the final. The winners of Groups B and C will meet in the other semifinal. The knockout rounds are best-of-three: if scores are tied at 1-1 after the first two heats, the third decisive heat is always contested by the two winning drivers.

ROC Nations Cup Draw (Sunday)

Group A
Team USA NASCAR (Kurt Busch & Kyle Busch)
Team USA IndyCar (Ryan Hunter-Reay & Alexander Rossi)
Team USA Rally X (Travis Pastrana & Scott Speed)
Team ROC Factor Canada (James Hinchcliffe & Stefan Rzadzinski)

Group B
Team Great Britain (Jenson Button & David Coulthard)
Team Germany (Sebastian Vettel & Pascal Wehrlein)
Team Nordic (Tom Kristensen & Petter Solberg)

Group C
Team ROC Factor Latin America (Helio Castroneves & Gabriel Glusman)
Team Brazil (Tony Kanaan & Felipe Massa)
Team Colombia (Juan Pablo Montoya & Gabby Chaves)

Sunday's action will conclude with a new, Ryder Cup-style points-based event that will make its debut at ROC Miami: America versus The World.
The six U.S. drivers will take on the drivers from the rest of the world in an extreme driving challenge, with individual line-ups decided in advance by the team captains. Competing across a maximum of three rounds and 10 races, the winning team will be the first to amass eight points.

Round A features six races, each of which is worth one point to the winning driver's team. Round B has just three races but with two points for a victory. If needed Round C will feature a final, single race showdown to decide the inaugural champions.