As we continue into the middle of summer, we have one of the more inhospitable schedule choices in recent years: Dover in the dead of summer. Granted, Delaware is relatively far north, but heat and humidity is pretty common there this time of year. The June races used to be pretty bad for that as well.
INDYCAR will be at Exhibition Place in Toronto this weekend. SRO America returns from their mid-year break to race at VIRginia International Raceway.
NASCAR Dover TV Schedule
- ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East General Tire 150: 5 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice: 11 a.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying: 12:05 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 1:35 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 2:45 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV
- NASCAR Xfinity Series BetRivers 200: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400: 2 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT/TruTV/HBO Max
As noted, NASCAR makes its one and only trip to The First State this weekend. The treacherous Monster Mile awaits as teams will deal with the oldest racing surface in the NASCAR Cup Series (the concrete dates back to early 1995).
Cup teams will load into the garage Friday and spend the day at work. No on-track activity is scheduled.
Cup teams will have the typical weekend schedule with practice broken down into two groups for 25 minutes each. Coverage will air live on TruTV starting at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive will begin with NASCAR Nation Pre-Race at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max. Race coverage will begin at 2 p.m. ET. The regular race broadcast will be on TNT and HBO Max. TruTV will have the In-Season Challenge AltCast. The green flag should fly around 2:20 p.m. ET.
Leading the support lineup is the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Like the Cup teams, they’ll be working in the garage and going through inspection Friday.
Practice for Xfinity Series teams will be at 11 a.m. ET with live coverage on The CW App. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards. Coverage may be covered by specific CW affiliates, but please check your local listings.
Coverage of the BetRivers 200 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 4 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET with the green flag at 4:40 p.m. ET.
Finally, the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East will run the tertiary race on the card in a joint event. They have a one-day show planned.
Teams will have a 45-minute practice session starting at 1:45 p.m. ET. That will be followed up by qualifying at 2:40 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the General Tire 150 is scheduled to air live on FOX Sports 1 at 5 p.m. ET Friday. The green flag should fly around 5:15 p.m. ET.
What’s the Weather Looking Like?
Heat and humidity will be the norm this weekend. Make sure to drink a lot of fluids. If you’re in the stands, bring something to cover your seat, even if it’s something like a towel. Bare metal gets really hot in this weather. Getting to a shady place can be difficult there as well.
That said, Friday appears to be the best of the three days with partly cloudy skies and a high around 87°.
Saturday will be slightly cooler with a high around 84°, but the chances of thunderstorms will be higher. Forecasts have that risk at somewhere between 40-60%, with the storms more likely in the afternoon.
Sunday will be the most humid of the three days with highs close to 90°. It also has the highest chance for storms.
As you’re likely aware of, Dover Motor Speedway does not have lights. With a scheduled start of 2:20 p.m. ET, they’ll have plenty of time to play with if a delay comes through. Plus, the track is one of the quicker ones to dry in the Cup Series.
However, if the race gets postponed to Monday, things won’t be too bad. The forecast for Monday is for sunny skies with a high around 85° with less humidity.
TV Ratings Update — Sonoma
Sunday’s broadcast of the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350k earned a 1.09 rating with 2.189 million viewers. This breaks down to 1.965 million for the regular broadcast and 224,000 viewers for the AltCast on TruTV.
Overall, viewership is down 24.5% from last year’s race, which earned a 1.6 rating with 2.9 million viewers on FOX. It should also be noted that last year’s race was three weeks earlier. Being on over-the-air TV plays a role as well. That said, viewership was up by more than 125,000 viewers over Chicago.
As for the AltCast, that 224,000 number is up 16% from Chicago. By extension, that boost accounts for 28% of the viewership increase from week-to-week.
The CW’s broadcast of the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250k Saturday earned a .51 rating with 972,000 viewers. That is an increase of 21% increase in both ratings and viewership over last year’s race that had a .42 rating with 768,000 viewers. It is the highest-rated of the three Xfinity Series races in Sonoma.
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.