We’ve got a busy weekend all around. NASCAR will be back in action, while things are heating up in Indianapolis. ARCA teams will battle in Ohio, while the Ravenol 24h Nurburgring is this weekend in Germany.
NASCAR Dover TV Schedule
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 12:30 p.m. ET Friday on FOX One
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 1:40 p.m. ET Friday on FOX One
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice/Qualifying Pit Road Practice: 3 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ecosave 200: 5 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying: 10:35 a.m. Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying/Pit Stop Challenge: Noon ET Saturday on FS1
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series BetRivers 200: 4 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East Owens Corning 200: 7 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1
- NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR All-Star Race: 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, NASCAR will be at Dover Motor Speedway for All-Star Weekend. It is a non-points weekend for the Cup Series, but the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will have full point races.
NASCAR Cup Series teams will be on-track Friday afternoon for a practice session starting at 3 p.m. ET with live coverage on FS2. That session will be combined with Pit Stop practice.
Qualifying for the All-Star Race will be at Noon ET Saturday on FS1. The session will also serve as the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge. The fastest pit crew (with no penalties) during a mandatory four-tire pit stop will win the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge and earn first pit selection, regardless of where their actual qualifying time will end up.
Coverage of the NASCAR All-Star Race will begin with NASCAR RaceDay at Noon ET Sunday on FS1. Race coverage will begin at 1 p.m. ET with the green flag around 1:15 p.m. ET.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will once again serve as primary support to Cup. Teams are scheduled to pull into the garage Friday, but all on-track activity is scheduled for Friday.
Practice is scheduled for bright and early at 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning with live coverage on The CW App and website. Qualifying will follow at 10:35 a.m. ET. The new ESPN streaming deal has not kicked in as of yet.
Coverage of the BetRivers 200 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW. Race coverage will follow at 4 p.m. ET with the green flag at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Craftsman Truck Series teams are already in Dover, having loaded into the garage Thursday. They’ve already completed a day of work.
For Truck teams, they are scheduled to practice at 12:30 p.m. ET Friday with live coverage on the FOX One app. This is because FS1 has The Herd with Colin Cowherd and FS2 will be airing Day No. 4 of Indianapolis 500 practice.
Unfortunately, this is a standalone app that at press time, costs $19.99 a month. It is possible that you could get it for free with another service. I get it for free via Spectrum. If you can’t get it for free, there is a seven-day free trial that you can sign up for to watch the sessions, then cancel before they charge you.
Coverage of the Ecosave 200 will begin at 5 p.m. ET Friday on FS1. The green flag will fly around 5:20 p.m. ET.
Outside of Delaware, there is an ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East combination event at Toledo Speedway. This will be a one-day show on Saturday with local divisions as support.
Teams are scheduled to practice for 45 minutes starting at 3 p.m. ET. Qualifying will follow at 4:30 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Owens Corning 200 will air live on FS1 starting at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. The green flag will fly around 7:10 p.m. ET.
What’s the Weather Going to Be Like?
As compared to Watkins Glen last weekend, it will be much, much better. Perhaps not the most comfortable, but not wet.
Friday’s forecast is just about perfect. Clear skies with a high around 70° with light winds.
Saturday will be warmer. You’ll have high temperatures around 79° with a few more clouds. It’ll also be a little more humid.
Sunday will be the hottest day of the weekend with high temperatures around 85°. There is a small chance of rain, but it won’t be anything like you had last weekend in Watkins Glen. Even if it were to rain, it wouldn’t be accompanied by cold weather.
In Toledo, the forecast is partly cloudy skies with a high around 75°. There is a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, but those storms will likely be out of there by race time. As this is a night race, temperatures will slowly drop during the evening, but it should be comfortable.
TV Ratings Check — Watkins Glen
Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen earned a 1.06 rating with 1.928 million viewers. This is up 4% from last year’s broadcast. However, that race, which earned a 1.0 rating with 1.85 million viewers, was in August.
Saturday’s Mission 200 at the Glen had 1.013 million viewers, down 7.6% from last year’s broadcast, which had a .6 rating with 1.096 million viewers. Regardless, it is the 13th straight race with more than a million viewers to start the year.
There is no rating or viewership information available for the Truck or ARCA races from Watkins Glen.
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.