This weekend will be quite busy as NASCAR has its last split weekend of the season. Meanwhile, the NTT IndyCar Series wraps up its 2025 season in Nashville, Formula 1 returns from summer break in the Netherlands and ARCA has its own split weekend.
NASCAR Darlington/Portland TV Schedule
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 3:05 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 4:10 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- ARCA Menards Series West Portland 112: 6:45 p.m. ET Friday on FLORacing.com
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 9 a.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 10:10 a.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Sober or Slammer 200: Noon ET Saturday on FS1
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice: 3 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying: 4:05 p.m. ET on The CW App
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Pacific Office Automation 147: 7:30 p.m. Saturday on The CW
- NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500: 6 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network
- ARCA Menards Series Southern Illinois 100: 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, NASCAR has a split weekend setup. The primary weekend is in Darlington, S.C., where both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will start their playoffs.
For the Cup Series, teams are parking in the garage Thursday night, while Friday is garage and inspection day.
Practice will be bright and early on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET, with live coverage on both TruTV and HBO Max. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the Cook Out Southern 500 will begin with Countdown to Green at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon on USA Network. Race coverage will start at 6 p.m. ET with the green flag around 6:10 p.m. ET.
On the undercard in Darlington will be the Craftsman Truck Series. Those teams will load into the garage early Friday morning.
Teams will practice Friday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. ET. Coverage of that session will begin at 3 p.m. ET live on FS2. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the Sober or Slammer 200 for the Trucks will air live on FS1 at noon ET Saturday. The green flag should fly around 12:20 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is making a cross-country haul this weekend in order to race at Portland International Raceway. This will be the final trip to Portland for now since the race has been dropped from next year’s schedule. Teams are scheduled to load into the paddock Friday night.
Practice is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon, which will be streamed live on The CW App. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards. Some CW affiliates may choose to air the sessions as well, so check your local listings.
Coverage of the Pacific Office Automation 147 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 7 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 7:40 p.m. ET.
Supporting the Xfinity Series will be ARCA Menards Series West. Teams are scheduled to practice for 45 minutes at 2 p.m. ET. Qualifying will be at 3:20 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Portland 112 is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. ET Friday afternoon on FLORacing.com. The green flag will fly around 7 p.m. ET.
Finally, the ARCA Menards Series will have its second and final dirt race of the season this weekend at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in Southern Illinois. This will be a one-day show on Sunday.
Teams will have one 30-minute practice session at 5:30 p.m. ET, while qualifying will be at 7 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Southern Illinois 100 will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday night on FS1. The green flag will fly at 8:39 p.m. ET. Yes, this is during the Cup race in Darlington.
TV Listings Check — Daytona
Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 earned a 1.76 rating with 3.297 million viewers. This was the highest rated broadcast of the entire evening.
Unfortunately, it was also down approximately 6% in viewership and nearly 10% in ratings from last year’s race. That broadcast earned a 1.95 rating with 3.5 million viewers.
Friday night’s broadcast of the Wawa 250 on The CW, despite a rain delay, earned a .62 rating with 1.092 million viewers. It was the 11th-most viewed broadcast on all of prime time TV and had slightly more viewership than an NFL preseason game (Atlanta Falcons-Dallas Cowboys) on NFL Network.
Viewership was up 33% over last year’s race, while ratings were up 47%. This event had a .42 rating with 820,000 viewers last year on USA Network.
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.