(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
Race fans, we have a very busy weekend ahead of us. NASCAR returns to the big oval in Indianapolis, INDYCAR is in Toronto, Formula 1 in Hungary and sprint car racing has one of their crown jewels, in more ways than one.
Where to Watch NASCAR This Week
This weekend, NASCAR will be split between two different venues in the Indianapolis area. The NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series will be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, less than 10 miles away.
Coverage of the Brickyard 400 will begin with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. Race coverage starts at 2:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 2:45 p.m. ET.
NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will race for 100 laps on Saturday. The race also will bring a high-downforce package into play.
Coverage of the Pennzoil 250 will start with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. Race coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:45 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race as the second half of a doubleheader Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park with the ARCA Menards Series. It is a traditional 200-lap race, harkening back to the series’ origins.
Coverage of the TSport 200 will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. The green flag is scheduled to fly around 8:50 p.m. ET.
Prior to the Truck race, the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East have a combination race on the schedule. Coverage of the Circle City 200 will air live on FS1 at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Where to Watch Other Racing Series This Weekend
Outside of Indianapolis, the NTT IndyCar Series makes their sole trip to Canada this weekend to Exhibition Place in Toronto. It is the continuation of a yearly event that dates back to 1986.
Coverage of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto will start with INDYCAR Live at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on Peaco*ck. The green flag is scheduled to fly at 1:30 p.m. ET. Note that this is one of two INDYCAR races in 2024 that are exclusive to Peaco*ck. The other is the first race of the Milwaukee doubleheader next month.
Formula 1 also continues a tradition that dates back to 1986. In their case, they’ll be back at the Hungaroring near Budapest for the Grand Prix of Hungary.
Coverage of the Grand Prix of Hungary will begin with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on ESPN. Race coverage will begin at 8:55 a.m. ET with the formation lap starting at 9 a.m. ET sharp.
SRO America will return after having not raced since May at VIRginia International Raceway. All five of their series will have two races this weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The schedule for these races can be found here.
All 10 races will be streamed live on the GT World YouTube channel. SpeedSport1 will simulcast a number of the races as well.
Kings Royal weekend is in full swing at Eldora Speedway. Wednesday night saw the Double Down Duel$ won by Logan Schuchart and Giovanni Scelzi.
Tonight is the Joker’s Jackpot for the Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series. $100,000 is on the line for the winner, making it the richest race in the history of High Limit. Coverage from Eldora begins at 6:15 p.m. ET on FLORacing.
Friday night begins the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series portion of the weekend. First up will be the Knight Before the Kings Royal. Coverage Friday will begin at 6:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.
Saturday night is the big one, the Kings Royal. The winner will walk out of Eldora with $175,000. They’ll also get the opportunity to participate in an unusual coronation ceremony where the winner’s will be crowned, given a robe and a wondrous scepter.
Coverage Saturday night will also begin at 6:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision. Expect roughly five hours of racing with more than 60 cars expected.
For a more complete listing of broadcasts, check out our TV Schedule page, updated daily with new listings.
TV Ratings Check — Pocono
Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 from Pocono Raceway had roughly 2.4 million viewers on USA Network. No Nielsen rating number is currently available. That is down nearly 15% from last year’s race, which earned a 1.58 rating with 2.808 million viewers.
The Cup race is the only event from last weekend that ratings and viewership information have been made available for. No information has been released for the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races from Pocono, or the doubleheader for the NTT IndyCar Series from Iowa. In the case of INDYCAR, both races were shifted from NBC to CNBC due to coverage of the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally and a speech from President Biden, respectively.
About the author
Phil Allaway
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail 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 site's 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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