As we get closer to the start of fall, we’re coming into an important time of the year. With the exception of IndyCar, which finished last weekend, teams are starting to hunker down for the championship chase. NASCAR is continuing into The Chase, while Formula 1 is in unchartered territory at the Madring.
NASCAR Gateway TV Schedule
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: 1 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App/ESPN Unlimited
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying: 2:05 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App/ESPN Unlimited
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 4:35 p.m. ET Saturday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Nu-Way 225 powered by Bobcat: 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW/ESPN Unlimited
- ARCA Menards Series Spruce 212: 8 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX
- NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter: 3 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network
Teams are scheduled to pull into World Wide Technology Raceway on Friday. For Cup teams, this will just be hauler parking and equipment unloading into the covered garage.
NASCAR Cup Series teams are scheduled to practice Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET. The session will air live on TruTV and HBO Max. Qualifying will follow at 4:35 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter will begin with USA Sports Pre-Race at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon on USA Network. Race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET, while the green flag is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will serve as the support series once again. Those teams are scheduled to load into the open lot in the infield Friday morning for a full day of work.
Teams are scheduled to practice at 1 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon with coverage on The CW App and website, along with ESPN Unlimited. Qualifying will follow at 2:05 p.m. ET. The CW will be airing a college football game between Old Dominion and Virginia Tech during the sessions, so there will likely be no coverage on The CW itself.
Coverage of the Nu-Way 225 presented by Bobcat will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 7 p.m. ET Saturday night on The CW and ESPN Unlimited. Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the green flag will come out at 7:40 p.m. ET.
A full 259 miles away from Madison, Illinois, the ARCA Menards Series will return to its most-visited venue, Salem Speedway. This time, the teams will race for 212 laps on the high-banked oval.
Teams will practice for 45 minutes starting at 3 p.m. ET Saturday. Qualifying will be shortly afterwards at 4:30 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Spruce 212 will air live on FOX starting at 8 p.m. ET Saturday night. The green flag should fly around 8:10 p.m. ET. This will mark the first ARCA short track race on major broadcast television in recent memory.
What’s the Weather Looking Like?
We’re still technically in summer, and the St. Louis area in the summer can be sweltering. A cold front pushed through Thursday, which will result in a more temperate than normal World Wide Technology Raceway at the start of the weekend.
Friday night’s forecast is for sunny skies with clouds and a high of 83°. There is a slight chance of showers, but it won’t affect any on-track action, because there isn’t any scheduled.
Saturday’s forecast is a little sketchier. There will be sunny skies with a decent chance of thunderstorms with a high around 88°. Dewpoints will be around 70°.
Sunday will be similar to Saturday with hot and humid weather with a high of 90°. It doesn’t have to rain for the race to get interrupted. In 2023, there was a 105-minute red flag less than 10 laps into the race due to lightning from a tiny cell. It never rained at the track during that delay. I’d know. I was there and didn’t get out of there until midnight after the race.
In Salem on Saturday, it’ll be pretty humid. There is a chance of thunderstorms in the morning, but that will be out of the picture before on-track activity begins. Once the storms are out, you’ll have partly cloudy skies with a high temperature around 87° with high humidity. By race time, it’ll be around 80° and will drop into the 70s during the race
TV Ratings Check — Darlington
Viewership information for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 came out very late; the original version of this column was posted before it had been reported at all.
The race earned a 1.04 rating Sunday night with 1.982 million viewers. This is up 6% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year’s race, which earned a .98 rating with 1.880 million viewers. It is still the second lowest rated Southern 500 since at least 2008.
Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Fleetio 200 averaged 965,000 viewers on The CW. Technically, this race wasn’t on the schedule last year, so there is no official comparison.
This weekend last year saw O’Reilly teams race at Portland International Raceway. That race had 733,000 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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