The Summer Break is finally over now. Things are going to slowly get back to normal. This weekend, NASCAR will be at Richmond Raceway. Meanwhile, ARCA Menards Series West teams will encounter some quirkiness.
Where to Watch NASCAR This Week
This weekend, NASCAR is holding a doubleheader at Richmond Raceway. As compared to last year, the race is a couple of weeks later in the season.
The NASCAR Cup Series will be the headliner and has what amounts to a two-day show. On-track activity will start Friday with a 45-minute practice session to acclimate the teams with the new option tire that will make its point race debut.
That session will take place start at 4:30 p.m. ET. It will be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the Cook Out 400 will start with Countdown to Green at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, right after the Women’s Basketball Gold medal game in Paris. If that game runs long, it could push into the pre-race coverage.
Race coverage is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET. The green flag will fly around 6:10 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will serve as the support series in Richmond. They’ll have a one-day show on Saturday.
Practice is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on FOX Sports 1. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday night. The green flag will fly around 7:50 p.m. ET.
ARCA Menards Series West teams will be at Tri-City Raceway in West Richland, Wash., an unusual flat tri-oval with runoff on the back side of the course. Coverage of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 will begin at 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday night on FLORacing. The green flag is scheduled for 10:45 p.m. ET.
TV Ratings Check — Indianapolis
Prior to the summer break, NASCAR had to run the Brickyard 400 around the breaking news coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Despite that, the race drew very well.
The Brickyard 400 earned a 2.1 rating with 3.63 million viewers. That is up 26% over last year, when the race ran on the infield road course and had one brief caution in the opening laps.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250 earned a .65 rating with 1.16 million viewers on the USA Network. That is up by 13% over last year’s race, which earned a .6 rating with 1.026 million viewers.
Finally, the broadcast of the Craftsman Truck Series TSport 200 from Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on FS1 earned a .24 rating with 432,000 viewers. The rating is actually down from last year, but viewership is up by 28,000.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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Who cares!! NASCAR’s nothing but a waste of time.