NASCAR TV Schedule This Weekend: April 5 – 7 (2024)

After Easter weekend, the racing scene is getting a little more active. This weekend, race fans will have NASCAR races in Martinsville, Formula 1 in Japan, the CARS Tour, SRO America and dirt racing to devour.

Where to Watch NASCAR This Weekend

This weekend, NASCAR is hosting another tripleheader of racing, their fifth of the season. All three of NASCAR’s National-level series will be at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Va.

The NASCAR Cup Series will race Sunday afternoon. Coverage of the Cook Out 400 will start with NASCAR RaceDay at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage will begin at 3 p.m. ET with the green flag at 3:20 p.m. ET. Note that this is the first Cup race of the year that will air on FS1.

NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will race Saturday afternoon. Coverage of the DUDE Wipes 250 will start with NASCAR RaceDay – Xfinity Edition at 7 p.m. ET Saturday night on FS1. Race coverage will start at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 7:45 p.m. ET.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams will race Friday night in Martinsville. Coverage of the Long John Silver’s 200 will start with NASCAR RaceDay – NCTS Edition at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Race coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag at 7:45 p.m. ET.

Where to Watch Other Racing Series This Weekend

Formula 1 returns to action after a week off, but in a new environment for Spring. They will be at Suzuka Circuit in Japan for the first time outside of fall for the Grand Prix of Japan.

Coverage starts with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at Midnight ET Saturday night/Sunday morning on ESPN2. As of this writing, it will be joined in progress due to other responsibilities for the ESPN family of networks that includes a National Lacrosse League game between the Buffalo Bandits and the Colorado Mammoth. Race coverage will air on ESPN starting at 12:55 a.m. ET with the formation lap starting at 1 a.m. ET.

For modified fans, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be at Thompson Speedway this weekend for the annual Icebreaker. Coverage from Connecticut will begin at 4:15 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon on FLORacing.

SRO America’s five series will start their 2024 season this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS is the headlining series and will race Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 5:15 p.m. ET.

Pirelli GT4 America SprintX teams will race Saturday at 8:50 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1:55 p.m. ET. GT America powered by AWS races at 4:40 p.m. ET Saturday and 11:55 a.m. ET Sunday. TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School teams will race at 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday and 12:55 p.m. ET Sunday. Finally, Toyota GR Cup North America will race at 5:40 p.m. ET Saturday and 3:15 p.m. ET Sunday.

All 10 of these races will be streamed live on the GT World YouTube channel and on SpeedSport1 for free. TV coverage for all but Toyota GR Cup North America will be available via tape delay on MAVTV in a couple of weeks. As of this writing, no air dates are available.

The zMax CARS Tour will be in action this weekend at Hickory Motor Speedway for the Tuff Shed 250. This is a combined event for the Pro Late Model and Late Model Stock divisions with Pro Late Models racing 100 laps and Late Model Stock teams racing 150 laps.

Coverage from Hickory will begin at 4:15 p.m. ET Saturday on FLORacing. The coverage will include qualifying for both divisions, plenty of pre-race coverage and both races.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series has two more nights of racing on tap. Friday night will see the series compete in the Wildcat Showdown at US 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo. Coverage will start at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

Saturday night sees the tour move to Arrowhead Speedway in Colcord, Okla. For the Sixth Annual Jason Johnson Classic, a race in tribute to the late racer who was killed in a crash at Wisconsin’s Beaver Dam Raceway in 2018. Action from Oklahoma will start at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

NASCAR TV Ratings Check — Richmond

Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 earned a 1.8 Nielsen rating with 3.310 million viewers. That might sound familiar to you. It is all but the exact same rating and viewership that the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas got.

There is no direct ratings or viewership comparison for this race due to the fact that last year’s race (which was on the same weekend, but was not Easter weekend) was on FS1. It earned a 1.3 rating with 2.303 million viewers there.

Last year, the Easter race was at Bristol on April 9. That race drew a 1.88 rating with 3.450 million viewers.

Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 does have a direct comparison to last year that we can look. It isn’t good.

The ToyotaCare 250 earned a .46 rating with 795,000 viewers. This is a drop of .04 of a point and 52,000 viewers over last year.