As the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue this weekend, the series makes its annual trip to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, this time with the NASCAR Xfinity Series as primary support. Meanwhile, the Formula 1 World Championship visits Monza for the 75th time. The FIA World Endurance Championship will make its sole visit to the United States at Circuit of the Americas, while SRO America will be at Barber Motorsports Park.
NASCAR Gateway TV Schedule
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice: 5:05 p.m. ET Friday on The CW App
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying: 3 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 5:40 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog BBQ: 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- NASCAR Cup Series EnjoyIllinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter: 3 p.m. ET on USA Network
As noted, NASCAR will be at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., four miles east of St. Louis, this weekend. It’s going to be a little weird not being there since I’ve covered the last three years on-site.
Cup teams are scheduled to arrive in Illinois Friday, but will not load into the crowded infield until Saturday morning. They are scheduled to practice at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday with live coverage on both TruTV and HBO Max. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the EnjoyIllinois.com 300 presented by TicketSmarter will begin with Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network. Race coverage will begin at 3 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:10 p.m. ET.
On the undercard this weekend will be the NASCAR Xfinity Series in their final regular season race of the year. It is the first time that the series will visit Gateway since 2010. You might remember what happened in the first race at the track that year, but just in case, here’s a refresher.
Unlike previous races, this event will be only 200 miles, the same race length that the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has previously competed in. Previous races for the then-Busch/Nationwide Series at Gateway have mostly been 250 miles with the exception of the inaugural race in 1997, which was 300 miles and set some records.
Since only two drivers that are entered this weekend (Justin Allgaier and Jeremy Clements) have ever competed in the series at Gateway, NASCAR is providing more practice. There will be a 50-minute session that will start at 5:05 p.m. ET Friday. Coverage will begin at 5 p.m. ET on The CW App.
Qualifying is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App. Some CW affiliates may choose to air practice and/or qualifying over-the-air, but check your local listings to see if yours is one of them.
Coverage of the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog BBQ 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.
TV Ratings Check — Darlington
Sunday’s broadcast of the Cook Out Southern 500 earned a .98 rating with 1.88 million viewers on USA Network. It was the highest-rated cable broadcast of the day and the sixth-highest rated broadcast overall. However, it went up against the Notre Dame-Miami game on ABC, which had over 10 million viewers.
With the strong college football viewership (which was up nearly 21% over last year), viewership for the race was down almost equally. Viewership was down 21.7%, while ratings were down 21% from a 1.24 rating with 2.4 million viewers.
Saturday night’s broadcast of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pacific Office Automation 147 from Portland International Raceway earned a .41 rating with 733,000 viewers. This is the lowest-rated race of the season that wasn’t affected by rain.
That said, those ratings are up slightly from last year, when the race was the first weekend of June during the Cup weekend at Gateway. That race on FS1 earned a .40 rating with 707,000 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.