With Easter weekend complete, we’re back to a pretty busy weekend of action. NASCAR will have all three series in action, ARCA Menards Series West teams will be at a bullring, while the European Le Mans Series starts their season in Spain.
NASCAR Bristol TV Schedule
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 3:30 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 4:30 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Tennessee Army National Guard 250: 7:30 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: 2 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying: 3:05 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 5:40 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Suburban Propane 300: 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW
- ARCA Menards Series West Tucson 150: 9:45 p.m. ET Saturday on FLORacing
- NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500: 3 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, NASCAR will make its first visit of the season to Bristol Motor Speedway for three days on the concrete high banks. The tires will once again be the story, but what things will look like remain to be seen.
NASCAR Cup Series teams will practice Saturday afternoon starting at 4:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on Prime Video. Prime Video’s social media channels will also have coverage. Qualifying will start at 5:40 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Food City 500, the 35th straight year that the local grocery store chain has sponsored the spring race at Bristol, will start with NASCAR RaceDay at 2 p.m. ET on FS1. Race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET with the green around 3:10 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will serve as primary support. Unlike Cup, they will have a one-day show on Saturday. Teams will practice starting at 2 p.m. ET with live coverage on The CW App and website. Qualifying will begin at 3:05 p.m. ET. Note that some CW affiliates will also air the sessions, but check your local listings to see if your affiliate will be doing that.
Coverage of the Suburban Propane 300 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 7 p.m. ET Saturday night on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 7:35 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will also be back in action with a one-day show in Bristol. Teams are scheduled to practice starting at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday with live coverage on FS2. Qualifying will follow at 4:35 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Tennessee Army National Guard 250 will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday night on FS1. The green flag will fly around 7:50 p.m. ET.
Finally, ARCA Menards Series West teams will be back in action at Tucson Speedway this weekend for a full day of activity alongside local divisions.
Teams are scheduled to practice for an hour starting at 5 p.m. ET Saturday. Qualifying will be at 8 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Tucson 150 will begin at 9:45 p.m. ET on FLORacing. The green flag will fly around 10 p.m. ET.
Take a Look Back at the Week’s Biggest NASCAR Stories
- Alex Bowman Returning at Bristol
- 7 NASCAR 2026 Storylines 7 Races In
- Can Alex Bowman Salvage His 2026 Season?
- Kyle Larson’s Decent, Pretty Good Season So Far
- Why Has Ford Nearly Disappeared From the O’Reilly Series?
What’s the Weather Going to Be Like?
April in Bristol can bring almost anything to the table. We’ve had warm weather, cold weather and even wintry weather in the past.
This weekend is looking to be pretty warm. Friday’s forecast is for sunny skies and a high of 76°. It’ll be in the upper 60s by race time and will drop during the race. If you’re going, you might want to bring along a sweater or light jacket.
Saturday’s forecast is similar. There will be more clouds, but it will be pleasant with a high around 75°. Once again, since the Suburban Propane 300 is at night, bring a light jacket or sweater for the cooler weather.
Sunday will be the warmest day of the weekend. The forecast is for sunny skies and a high around 83°. There will be very little chance of rain all weekend. In fact, Sunday’s forecast is very close to record warmth for the area.
For the ARCA activities in Tucson, the forecast is for mostly cloudy skies with a high around 85°. There is a threat of thunderstorms during the daytime, but that would clear out before the race would start.
TV Ratings Check — Rockingham
Good news continues for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on The CW. Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 from Rockingham earned a .65 rating with 1.165 million viewers for William Sawalich’s first victory. That is up 12% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year’s race that was on Easter weekend, but two weeks later. That event ended up getting a .58 rating with 1.053 million viewers.
There is currently no rating or viewership information available for Friday afternoon’s live broadcast of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black’s Tire 200. We do know that a tape delayed broadcast of the race on FS2 Friday night had 110,000 viewers.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the Frontstretch email 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 Frontstretch 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.