Independence Day weekend is traditionally a big racing weekend. Things are a bit different nowadays, but there’s still plenty of action to be had. NASCAR will be in action, IndyCar at Mid-Ohio and Formula 1 at Silverstone. Finally, the NASCAR Classic will take place at Le Mans.
Chicagoland NASCAR TV Schedule
NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 6 p.m. ET Friday on TruTV/HBO Max
ARCA Menards Series Ashley Furniture 150: 8 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 3 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Cuervo 300: 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
NASCAR Cup Series eero 400: 6 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT/TruTV/HBO Max
This weekend, NASCAR will make their return to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019. Things have changed since then. There’s a bunch of warehouses near the track now. The surface is still original from when the track was built, though. You know what that means.
Since no one’s raced there except the SuperMotocross World Championship in years, there will be practice for NASCAR Cup Series teams Friday at 6 p.m. ET on TruTV and HBO Max. This will be a 50-minute session with no groups. Qualifying is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon.
Coverage of the eero 400 will begin with NASCAR Nation Pre-Race at 5 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT and TruTV. Race coverage will start at 6 p.m. ET with the green flag around 6:15 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will serve as primary support. The original plan was to have a 50-minute practice session at 4:30 p.m. ET. However, that was wiped out due to severe weather.
As a result, NASCAR chose to cancel qualifying and postpone practice to 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, which was when qualifying was going to be held. The session will be live on The CW App and website. Some CW affiliates may air the session as well, but check your local listings.
Coverage of the Cuervo 300 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 5:40 p.m. ET.
The third-tier series at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend is the ARCA Menards Series, back on an intermediate track. They were scheduled to practice for 80 minutes Friday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. ET, then qualify afterwards. This was also wiped out by rain.
Coverage of the Ashley Furniture 150 will begin at 8 p.m. ET Friday night on FOX Sports 1. The green flag will fly around 8:10 p.m. ET.
Finally, if you’ve ever wanted to see actual Cup cars at the Circuit de la Sarthe (as opposed to the heavily modified Garage 56 car), this weekend is your chance as Historic Sportscar Racing will have the inaugural NASCAR Classic this weekend.
Race No. 1 will be at 11 a.m. ET Saturday morning, while Race No. 2 will be at 4:55 a.m. ET Sunday morning. Both races will be streamed on the IMSA Official YouTube channel.
What’s The Weather Looking Like?
This has been a pretty nasty week, weather-wise. It’s been hot and humid (it’s 97° as I write this). The weather in Joliet this weekend won’t be quite that hot.
Friday’s forecast is for hot weather with a chance of thunderstorms. The high temperature will be around 91°. By race-time, temperatures will be in the lower 80s and drop into the 70s.
Saturday’s forecast is perhaps a couple of degrees cooler. It’s still going to be very humid with a high around 89° and a heat index over 100°. There is a chance of thunderstorms that could show up early in the O’Reilly race.
Sunday is likely going to be the coolest day of the race weekend. That said, it’s still going to be very warm and humid with a high around 87°. There is a 50% chance of thunderstorms as well. This is going to be one of those weekends where you need to bring sunscreen, a hat and rain gear to the track if you’re going.
TV Ratings Check — Sonoma
This year, TNT has to compete with the World Cup for viewership. They seem to be losing that battle so far. Sunday’s broadcast of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 had approximately 1.8 million viewers. This is down nearly 18% from last year. Also of note, the race was held July 13 last year.
Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 had 1.145 million viewers. This is up nearly 18% from last year’s race that had 971,000 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.
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