This weekend is another busy one in the world of motorsports. Formula 1 teams will melt near the equator in Singapore. Luckily, they’ll race at night.
IMSA has the fourth of their five Michelin Endurance Cup races this weekend in Indianapolis. For NASCAR, it is a storied venue in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Where to Watch NASCAR This Week
This weekend, all of the major stock car action will be at Bristol Motor Speedway near Blountville, Tenn., where a quadruple-header of racing will be held. The action gets underway early, hence this article being posted ahead of schedule.
NASCAR Cup Series teams will take to the track first for practice at 4 p.m. ET Friday afternoon with live coverage on USA Network. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race will begin with Countdown to Green at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network. Race coverage is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 7:35 p.m. ET.
The weather forecast for Saturday looks pretty good. The forecast is for sunny skies during the day with a high of 86 degrees. It will cool down a bit by race time and will likely be in the 70s for most of the race.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will once again serve as primary support, but with a twist. Practice coverage will air live on USA Network starting at 2 p.m. ET Friday afternoon. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the Food City 300 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 7 p.m. ET on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag at 7:35 p.m. ET.
Remember that Friday night is the first race for The CW as the official rights holder for the Xfinity Series. For the remainder of this season, NBC Sports will continue to produce the broadcasts for the series, but not air them.
Weather for Friday is very similar to what’s on tap for Saturday. It will be 85 degrees during the day with partly cloudy skies, but cool off as the night goes on.
Thursday will be a doubleheader at Bristol. First up will be both the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East. They will start off the day with a 45-minute practice session at 1 p.m. ET. That will be followed up by qualifying. Neither of these sessions will be televised.
Coverage of the Bush’s Beans 200 for ARCA will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 5 p.m. ET. There will also be a replay at 10 p.m. ET if you cannot get home from work in time to watch.
Later on, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to action after taking a couple of weeks off. They’ll start off with practice at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics will air live on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET after the ARCA race. Six drivers are scheduled to do double-duty Thursday. Those drivers are Lawless Alan, Marco Andretti, Corey Day, William Sawalich, Dean Thompson and Connor Zilisch.
Weather-wise, Thursday looks ok in Bristol, but will likely be the worst of the three days. The forecast has a 30% chance of scattered showers with a high around 82 degrees. It will be the hottest at the start of the ARCA race, but cool down as the evening goes on. If a rain delay occurs, that could change the complete complexion of the day.
TV Ratings Check — Watkins Glen
While no detailed rating information is available, the chap behind the SportsTVRatings X/Twitter feed did release viewership numbers. Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen had 1.809 million viewers. That is down by 501,000 viewers from last year. It is the lowest viewership for Watkins Glen since at least 2008, and likely before that.
However, it should be noted that the race was three weeks earlier and outside of the playoffs last year. Last year, the Bristol night race was on that weekend. That race earned a .89 rating with 1.564 million viewers on a Saturday night, the lowest rated non-delayed race of the year.
For the Xfinity Series, Saturday’s broadcast of the Mission 200 at the Glen had 778,000 viewers. That is down 203,000 viewers (20.7%) from last year.
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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