This weekend, the NASCAR Western Swing concludes with a visit to Nevada. There will be fast action to be had. Meanwhile, IndyCar makes its first visit to Arlington, Tex. and Formula 1 returns to China.
Where, When to Watch NASCAR Races This Week
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: Noon ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying: 1:05 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW App
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series The LiUNA!: 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube: 4 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, NASCAR will visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 31st straight year. For the NASCAR Cup Series, it will be the 29th appearance at the tri-oval.
Effectively, this is going to be a two-day show. While everyone will load into the garage area on Friday, there will be no on-track activity.
NASCAR Cup Series teams will practice starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video. Qualifying will occur shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube will begin with NASCAR RaceDay at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FS 1. Race coverage will begin at 4 p.m. ET with the green flag around 4:10 p.m. ET.
NASCAR Las Vegas Entry Lists
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will serve as the primary support. Those teams will have a full day of work in the garage Friday.
O’Reilly teams will practice Saturday starting at noon ET with coverage on The CW App and website. Qualifying is scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m. ET. It is possible that some CW affiliates will carry the sessions, but check your local listings in order to see if your local affiliate will be doing so.
Coverage of The LiUNA! will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 5 p.m. ET on The CW. Race coverage will start at 5:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 5:40 p.m. ET.
Take a Look Back at the Week’s Biggest NASCAR Stories
- Has Alex Bowman Become the Next Ricky Craven?
- The 1 Driver Who is Sad the NASCAR Playoffs Went Away
- You Too May Be Approved To Run a NASCAR Race (But Also Maybe Not)
- Questions Answered After Ryan Blaney Snapped Tyler Reddick’s Win Streak at Phoenix
- Isn’t Racing Much More Fun Without Playoffs?
What’s the Weather Looking Like?
Las Vegas weather this time of year can be all over the place. It can be really nice, it could rain or even snow. This year, heat is the name of the game.
Friday’s forecast is for sunny skies and a high around 88°. Winds will be light.
Saturday will be warmer with partly cloudy skies with a high around 90°. If that holds up, it would be a record high for March 14. Sunday will be just a little cooler with a high around 86°. There is essentially no chance of rain this weekend.
TV Ratings Check — Phoenix
TV-wise, Phoenix was something of a mixed bag in NASCAR. We knew going in that viewership would be down due to the move from over-the-air TV to cable for the Cup Series.
While we do not currently have a Nielsen rating for the race, we do know that the Straight Talk Wireless 500k broadcast averaged 2.841 million viewers Sunday. That is up by 23,000 viewers over last year, less than 1%.
Saturday’s GOVX 200 for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series earned a .66 rating with 1.154 million viewers. Viewership-wise, this is down by 4.5% over last year. The rating is down by 5%.
Thursday evening’s ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series West combination race, the General Tire 150, earned a .12 rating with 224,000 viewers. This came despite a 6 p.m. ET start.
