This weekend, the NBC Sports portion of the NASCAR season begins. Much like last year, they’re starting at Iowa Speedway, which will be sold out for 350 laps of racing on Sunday. Formula 1 will be at the Hungaroring near Budapest for the 40th straight year, while IMSA will be at Road America.
Iowa NASCAR TV Schedule
ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East Atlas 150: 7 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice: 11 a.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying: Noon ET Saturday on The CW App
NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 2:40 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV
NASCAR Xfinity Series Hy-Vee Perks 250: 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW
NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350: 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network
The NASCAR Cup Series is making their second-ever visit to Iowa Speedway this weekend. The race is about six weeks later than last year, so a lot of the information that they gleamed from last year may not work.
On-track activity for the Cup Series will begin with practice at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV with streaming on HBO Max. Qualifying will follow at 2:30 p.m. ET. Note that even though the TNT portion of the Cup season is complete, practice and qualifying will remain on TruTV for the remainder of the season.
Coverage of the Iowa Corn 350 will start with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network. Race coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag flying at 3:45 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will serve as the primary support to Cup. They are scheduled to practice at 11 a.m. ET Saturday morning with coverage on The CW App. Qualifying will follow at Noon ET. Some CW affiliates may choose to air these sessions. Check your local listings to see whether your affiliate will air it.
Coverage of the Hy-Vee Perks 250 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 4 p.m. ET on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET with the green flag at 4:40 p.m. ET.
The ARCA Menards Series is back as the third series this weekend, once again in combination with ARCA Menards Series East. They effectively have a one-day show on Friday.
Practice is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET Friday afternoon with qualifying immediately afterwards. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Atlas 150 is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET Friday evening on FOX Sports 1. The green flag is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
What’s The Weather Look Like?
Over the past week, it has been hot all over the eastern two-thirds of the United States. However, a cold front swept through Wednesday night, dropping temperatures.
All three days at the track have a forecast high of 76° with sunny skies and no threat of rain. Normally, this is pretty swell for the beginning of August.
However, the entire Midwest is shrouded in smoke at the moment from wildfires that are currently burning in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. As a result, it will likely look hazy for the entire weekend. Those with respiratory issues need to use caution. Yes, that could include the use of masks.
TV Ratings Update — Indianapolis
TNT’s coverage of the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG earned a 1.2 rating with 2.450 million viewers. That is broken down with approximately 2.281 million watching on TNT and 169,000 viewers watching the In-Season Challenge AltCast.
This is the highest viewership that TNT had during their five-race schedule. However, it is the lowest-rated Brickyard 400 on record. It is down 33% in viewership and 43% in ratings from last year, when the race earned a 2.1 rating with 3.63 million viewers on NBC. Last year’s race was the last race prior to the two-week Olympic Break for the Paris Olympics.
Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series earned a .6 rating with 1.108 million viewers. This is down 4.5% from last year’s race, which aired on USA Network.
Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series TSport 200 broadcast from Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park earned a .19 rating with 345,000 viewers on FS1. This is down 20% from last year, when the same race earned a .24 rating with 432,000 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.