NASCAR TV Schedule This Weekend is proudly presented by My Place Hotels.
As we move into October, we’re starting to see some series begin to wind down. Of course, the NTT IndyCar Series season ended back on Labor Day weekend. We’re down to five NASCAR weekends left. The ARCA Menards Series ends this weekend, while IMSA and the WEC have one race each to go.
NASCAR Charlotte TV Schedule
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 11:05 a.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 12:10 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series EcoSave 250: 3:30 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice: 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying: 12:40 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 2 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 3:10 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- ARCA Menards Series Owens Corning 200: 4 p.m. ET Saturday on FS2
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250: 5 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400: 3 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network
This weekend, NASCAR will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the seventh time on the ROVAL. NASCAR Cup Series teams are scheduled to pull into the garage Friday night after the Truck race to park and unload. No activity other than unloading will be permitted.
Practice is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET Saturday with live coverage on TruTV and HBO Max. It will be the regular group setup. Qualifying will follow at around 3:10 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 will begin with Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network (Note: This will be the first time that the race will not air on NBC). Race coverage is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET with the green flag at 3:05 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will once again serve as primary support. Like the Cup Series, the teams will pull in Friday, but with no on-track activity.
Practice for Xfinity teams is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning with live coverage on The CW App and website. Unlike the Cup teams, it will be a full 50-minute session. Qualifying will follow at 12:40 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Drive for the Cure 250k will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW. Race coverage will start at 5 p.m. ET with the green flag at 5:10 p.m. ET. Given the start time, this race will finish under the lights.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will make its first-ever visit to the ROVAL this weekend. Teams loaded into the garage Thursday and had a full day on-site for preparations.
Teams will have a 50-minute practice session starting at 11 a.m. ET Friday morning on FS2. Qualifying will follow at 12:10 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the EcoSave 250k will begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon on FS1. The green flag should fly around 3:45 p.m. ET.
Outside of Charlotte, the ARCA Menards Series will wrap up its season at Toledo Speedway, a traditional home for the series. Prior to NASCAR buying the sanctioning body, ARCA was literally based at Toledo Speedway.
Teams will arrive early Saturday morning for a one-day show. There will be a 45-minute practice session starting at 11:45 a.m. ET. Qualifying will take place at 1 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Owens Corning 200 will air live on FS2 starting at 4 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. Time-wise, this will be right after Cup qualifying wraps in Charlotte, but before the Xfinity race. The green flag is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET.
What’s the Weather Looking Like?
Historically, the fall race weekend at Charlotte can be a complete tossup. It could be hot. Or, like the fall race in 2000, barely 50°.
Adverse weather hasn’t happened that often during the Cup race. The 2015 and 2016 races were both scheduled for Saturday night and postponed to Sunday afternoon due to rain. That was the last time that a postponement happened.
Since 2018, this weekend has been held on the infield road course, officially referred to as the ROVAL. In that time, the 2021 race actually started on wet-weather tires. The others have generally been in the dry.
For the Xfinity Series, the 2020 Drive For The Cure 250k was held in terrible conditions. It was a complete nightmare that was run partially at night despite no substantial lighting in the infield. What resulted was an all-time event held in conditions that darn near no one would have ever raced in.
For this weekend, it’s looking like a bit of a mixed bag. Friday’s forecast looks very nice, though.
The forecast for Friday is for partly cloudy skies with a high around 75°. Bring sunglasses and maybe some sunscreen, but otherwise, you’ll be fine.
Saturday will be a little warmer with partly cloudy skies and a high around 79°. Since the Xfinity race will be ending under the lights, a light sweater may be necessary, but nothing serious.
Sunday is a bit of a tossup. The forecast is for warm weather with a high around 80°. However, there is a chance of precipitation in the afternoon with a couple of sources. Others list sunny weather.
For Saturday in Toledo, it’s going to be very warm with sunny skies and a high of 88°.
TV Ratings Check — Kansas
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 had 1.49 million viewers on USA Network. No Nielsen rating is currently available. Regardless, this is not exactly great in that it is a drop of nearly 17% over last year’s race that had 1.79 million viewers.
There is no rating or viewership information available for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300.
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.