We’ve got a busy one this weekend. Nearly everyone of note will be in action with the exception of Formula 1. There will be plenty of road racing to go around.
NASCAR TV Schedule: Watkins Glen Race Channels, Times
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 11 a.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 12:05 p.m. on FS2
- ARCA Menards Series General Tire 100 at the Glen: 1:30 p.m. ET on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at the Glen: 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying: 11:35 a.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 1 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 2:10 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Mission 200 at the Glen: 4 p.m. ET on The CW
- NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at the Glen: 3 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, NASCAR will make its first ever springtime visit to Watkins Glen International for a full three days of action. The NASCAR Cup Series will serve as the headliners for a two-day show.
Cup teams are scheduled to practice Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET with live coverage on Prime Video. Qualifying will start around 2:10 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Go Bowling at the Glen will begin with NASCAR RaceDay at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1. Race coverage will begin at 3 p.m. ET, with the green flag around 3:10 p.m. ET.
Note that the race has been extended this year. It will be 100 laps instead of the 90-lap distance that the Cup Series has run at Watkins Glen since 1986.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will serve as primary support. Note that the new ESPN streaming deal is not in effect yet, so practice and qualifying will still be free to view. They are scheduled to practice at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning with coverage on The CW’s app and website. Qualifying will begin at 11:35 a.m. ET.
Some CW affiliates may also air the sessions, but please check your local listings.
Coverage of the Mission 200 at the Glen will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 4 p.m. ET with the green flag at 4:10 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams have already arrived in Watkins Glen and are preparing for their on-track activity.
That activity is scheduled to start with a practice session at 11 a.m. ET Friday morning with live coverage on FS2. Qualifying coverage will follow at 12:05 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at the Glen will start at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS2. The green flag should fly around 4:50 p.m. ET. With some luck, it won’t run all the way to sunset like last year.
The Trucks are partnered up with the ARCA Menards Series on Friday. Those teams also spent the day Thursday at the track.
Practice is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET Friday morning, with qualifying following at 10:30 a.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the General Tire 100 at the Glen is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET Friday afternoon on FS2. The green flag should come out around 1:45 p.m. ET.
What’s the Weather Going to Be Like?
Not particularly swell. It’s been very wet recently in the Watkins Glen area. There is mud everywhere. WETM 18 (NBC’s affiliate out of Elmira, N.Y.) talked with a number of campers about the date change and the situation. They’re not all fans of this. With the amount of paved runoff that WGI has, mud likely won’t affect the races this weekend too much, but it is something to think about. Getting around the property will be another story. Mud has been a factor there in the past, but not like this.
Weather-wise, the forecast for the weekend looks better now than it did earlier this week. There are no more thunderstorms predicted. Regardless of what happens, it’s going to be something of a shock to those used to the summer dates, or even the September race from 2024.
Friday’s forecast is for mostly cloudy skies with a high around 56° with a roughly 50% chance of showers.
Saturday will be a little warmer, but still mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain. High temperatures will be around 62°.
Sunday is probably going to be the driest day. However, it’s still going to be gloomy with a high around 60°. If it rains, it will probably be in the morning.
The various sources differ on rain chances and when the most rain will come in. AccuWeather more or less argues that Friday will be the wettest day and that there will be multiple rounds of precipitation, one of which being during the Truck race. WETM and WENY, the combination ABC/CBS affiliate in Elmira, are forecasting the most rain for Saturday (a 70% chance). Big FOX (WYDC 48) is leaning towards Friday, but with lower precipitation chances. If you’re going, bring some warm clothes since low temperatures are going to be in the upper 30s, in addition to the rain gear since it could rain at any point during the weekend. Also, if you’re venturing anywhere outside of the paved areas in the infield, bring boots as well as the mud is everywhere.
TV Ratings Check — Texas
Sunday’s Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway earned a 1.29 rating with 2.286 million viewers. This is down 6.7% from last year ratings-wise and down 11% in viewership. It’s a shame since Sunday’s race was better than recent Texas Cup races.
Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 had an average viewership of 1.11 million on The CW. This is up roughly 11% over last year’s race, which earned a .56 rating with 1.002 million viewers.
Friday night’s SpeedyCash.com 250 for the Craftsman Truck Series earned a .28 rating with 491,000 viewers. This is up 27% in ratings and 22.4% in viewership over last year’s race, which earned a .22 rating with 401,000 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.