This weekend is going to be a busy one in motorsports. For NASCAR, it’s All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro where the NASCAR Cup Series will headline with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the zMAX CARS Tour on the undercard.
Outside of North Wilkesboro, preparations for the Indianapolis 500 are underway with qualifying this weekend. Formula 1 returns to Imola for its first European race of the year, and SRO America is in Sebring.
NASCAR All-Star Race TV Schedule for North Wilkesboro
- NASCAR Cup Series Pit Road Entry/Exit Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR All-Star Race/NASCAR All-Star Open Practice: 5:05 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR All-Star Open Qualifying: 6:10 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
- NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR All-Star Race Qualifying: 7:05 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 9:35 a.m. ET Saturday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 10:35 a.m. ET Saturday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Window World 250: 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1
- NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR All-Star Race Heat Races: 5 p.m. ET Saturday on FS2
- NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR All-Star Open: 5 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
- NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR All-Star Race: 8 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, points are not on the line for NASCAR Cup Series teams, but there is money out there. Quite a bit of it.
Coverage from North Wilkesboro will begin with coverage of Pit Road Entry and Exit Practice at 4:30 p.m. ET Friday on FS2. This will only be for teams in the NASCAR All-Star Race. There is a session for those in the NASCAR All-Star Open, but that starts at 4 p.m. ET and will not be televised.
There will be one combined practice session that will air live at 5 p.m. ET on FS2. Qualifying for first the NASCAR All-Star Open, then the NASCAR All-Star Race, will air on FS1 starting at 6 p.m. ET.
The qualifying sessions will set the grid for two heat races. Coverage of the heat races is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET Saturday and will air live on FS2.
Sunday will start with coverage of the NASCAR All-Star Open. That will air live at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
Coverage of the NASCAR All-Star Race will begin with NASCAR RaceDay at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. If Open coverage runs long, it could cut into it. Race coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET with the green flag around 8:15 p.m. ET.
Primary support this weekend is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Given all the on-track action in North Wilkesboro, they will have a one-day show.
Practice will air live on FS2 starting at 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the Window World 250 is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The green flag will fly around 1:50 p.m. ET.
What’s the Weather Looking Like?
Weather in North Wilkesboro could be a mixed bag. Friday’s forecast is for partly cloudy skies and a high temperature around 84° with a 40% chance of thunderstorms.
Saturday will be the warmest day of the weekend with highs around 87° with a chance of showers and thunderstorms, but otherwise sunny.
Sunday will be the best of the three days with highs around 81° with sunny skies. Temperatures should be in the 70s by race time.
The only constant for the three days is the fact that it will be humid. If you’re going to the race, make sure to hydrate.
TV Ratings Check — Kansas
Ratings-wise, Kansas was good and bad. Sunday’s broadcast of the AdventHealth 400 earned a 1.1 rating with 2.32 million viewers. That is down roughly 10% in ratings over last year, but viewership was up by 24,000 viewers. How is that possible? It means that more people were watching TV during the race Sunday than during last year’s event.
Saturday night’s Heart of Health Care 200 for the Craftsman Truck Series was not so lucky. That race earned a .27 rating with 470,000 viewers. That is down significantly from last year, when the race earned a .37 rating with 631,000 viewers.
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.