This weekend is going to be a busy one. NASCAR will continue its mini-road racing season. Meanwhile, Formula 1 is at the Red Bull Ring, IMSA will be at Watkins Glen and the ARCA Menards Series will be at Elko.
NASCAR Sonoma TV Schedule
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: 4 p.m. ET Friday on The CW App
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying: 5:05 p.m. ET Friday on The CW App
- ARCA Menards Series West General Tire 150: 6:15 p.m. ET Friday on NASCAR Channel/FLORacing
- 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
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250: 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- ARCA Menards Series Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy: 9 p.m. ET Saturday on FS2
- NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350: 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on TruTV/HBO Max
This weekend, NASCAR will visit Sonoma Raceway in the winemaking Sonoma Valley north of San Francisco. The undulating road course has hosted the NASCAR Cup Series every year since 1989 except for 2020.
Cup teams are scheduled to load into the garage early Friday morning and will spend all Friday working. Practice is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon with live coverage on TruTV and HBO Max. Qualifying will follow at 3:10 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 will begin with NASCAR Nation Pre-Race at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT and TruTV. Race coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:50 p.m. ET.
Remember that Sunday’s race (and the other four in the TNT portion of the season) will be simulcast on TruTV. The TruTV broadcast will be based more around the In-Season Challenge.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will serve as primary support. Teams are scheduled to practice Friday at 4 p.m. ET with coverage on The CW App and website. Qualifying will follow at 5:05 p.m. ET. Some CW affiliates may also provide coverage, but please check your local listings.
The third series in action at Sonoma this weekend will be ARCA Menards Series West. Those teams loaded into their garage area (Pit Road) Thursday for a couple of hours of prep work.
Teams are scheduled to have 75 minutes of practice starting at 1:40 p.m. ET Friday. That will be followed immediately by qualifying. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the General Tire 150 (shortened by 50 kilometers this year from past editions) will begin at 6:15 p.m. ET Friday on both the NASCAR Channel and FLORacing. The green flag will come out around 6:30 p.m. ET.
The ARCA Menards Series will be racing this weekend at Elko Speedway in Elko New Market, Minn. The event will be a one-day show Saturday alongside local divisions on the three-eighths of a mile oval. This results in something of an unusual schedule.
Instead of one regular practice session, ARCA teams will have two 20-minute sessions at 4:40 p.m. ET and 5:10 p.m. ET, separated by a 10-minute break to clear the crossover gates to the infield from outside of the track. Qualifying will be at 6:20 p.m. ET. Neither of these sessions will be televised.
Coverage of the Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy will start at 9 p.m. ET Saturday night on FOX Sports 2. The green flag will fly around 9:10 p.m. ET.
What’s the Weather Going To Be Like?
In the history of the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway, there has been a grand total of one rain delay during the race (2013). Most years, the race is held under sunny skies with next to no threat of precipitation.
This year appears to be no different. Friday’s forecast is for a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 78°. Saturday will be almost identical to Friday. Sunday will be a little warmer with highs around 85°, but with almost no clouds. Bring sunscreen and keep hydrated if you’re going. Otherwise, it should be great for the Cup race.
In Elko New Market, it’s going to be decent Saturday. The forecast is for hazy sunshine and a high of 82°. It’ll be around 78° at race time and drop into the lower 70s by the time the race ends.
TV Ratings Check — Naval Base Coronado, San Diego
Sunday’s broadcast of the Anduril 250 Race the Base had 2.28 million viewers. This was right about the average for Prime Video’s five-race schedule.
Overall, 2026 was a decent year for Prime Video’s coverage. Viewership is up 6% over last year while retaining a million viewers for its one-hour post-race shows.
Saturday’s very long broadcast of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series United Rentals Driven to Serve had 1.161 million viewers. Since this was an inaugural race, there is no comparison. Ratings-wise, the race wasn’t all that far off of the Chicago Sky-Dallas Wings WNBA game on CBS, especially in the 18-49 age group.
Friday’s broadcast of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Navy 250 earned a .30 rating with 612,000 viewers. It had the second-highest 18-49 rating of the day for cable programming.
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.
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