The end of March brings a very busy weekend of racing. NASCAR will be at Martinsville Speedway. The ARCA Menards Series East season begins at Hickory. IndyCar will be at Barber Motorsports Park, while Formula One is at Suzuka Circuit in Japan. The FIA World Endurance Championship was also originally supposed to start this weekend, but that race has been postponed due to the current conflicts in the Middle East.
NASCAR Martinsville TV Schedule
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET Friday on The CW App
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying: 5:35 p.m. ET Friday on The CW App
- NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200: 7:30 p.m. ET Friday on FLORacing
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 1:40 p.m. ET Saturday on Prime Video
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series NFPA 250: 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW
- ARCA Menards Series East Cook Out 200: 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NASCAR Channel/FLORacing
- NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400: 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, NASCAR will travel to Southern Virginia to race at Martinsville Speedway, one of the original venues on the first Strictly Stock (now NASCAR Cup Series) schedule back in 1949. It will be a relatively short race weekend for the National-level series.
For Cup teams, they will not go out on track Friday. Practice is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon with live coverage on Prime Video. Qualifying will follow at 1:40 p.m. ET.
Coverage of the Cook Out 400 will begin with NASCAR RaceDay at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1. Race coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:45 p.m. ET.
NASCAR Martinsville Entry Lists
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will serve as primary support in Martinsville. They are scheduled to practice Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET with coverage on The CW App and website. Qualifying coverage will start at 5:30 p.m. ET. Note that some CW affiliates will also have coverage, but check your local listings to see whether or not your affiliate will be airing it.
Coverage of the NFPA 250 will begin with NASCAR Countdown Live at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon on The CW. Race coverage will start at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:40 p.m. ET.
Friday night will be the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200. Coverage will begin at 7:15 p.m. ET on FLORacing. NASCAR Channel will join the coverage in progress at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Outside of Martinsville, ARCA Menards Series East teams will start their 2026 season with their first-ever visit to Hickory Motor Speedway. Unlike the Busch Grand National races of old, this will be a 200-lap sprint.
Teams are scheduled to practice Saturday starting at 2:15 p.m. ET for 45 minutes. Qualifying is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Cook Out 200, along with additional local racing at Hickory, is scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m. ET Saturday with pro late model and 4-cylinder racing. The Cook Out 200 is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Take a Look Back at the Week’s Biggest NASCAR Stories
- Rise Racing Owner Tim Goulet Suspended by ARCA
- Ford Is MIA While Chevy Has Learned From 2018
- Kaden Honeycutt Ends Darlington Loss Frustrated with Cup Regulars
- Questions Answered After Tyler Reddick Does It Again at Darlington
- Where Should the Line Be Drawn for NASCAR Fight Penalties? Cup Drivers Sound Off
What’s the Weather Going to Be Like?
This is going to be a little unusual, weather-wise, in Martinsville. Makes it very difficult to pack if you’re going.
Friday’s forecast is for partly cloudy skies with warm weather. The high temperature will be around 82°. However, it’s going to be a bit humid and there’s a cold front that will be moving through the area.
When that cold front shows up, there will be a chance of showers and thunderstorms. When those storms show up could negatively affect O’Reilly practice and qualifying, or the modified race.
Once the front moves through, the temperatures are going to plunge. Depending on the time the modified race starts, it could be in the low 60s or upper 50s.
Saturday’s forecast is for sunny skies with a bit of a breeze, especially in the morning. The high temperature is forecast to be about 57°. Morning temperatures could be in the 30s, so bring some warm clothing if you get to the track early.
Sunday’s forecast will be a little warmer with partly cloudy skies and a high around 63°. However, it will be quite cold in the morning.
In Hickory, Saturday’s forecast will be somewhat similar to Martinsville. During the afternoon, there will be sunny skies and a high around 63°. It’ll be nice after a cold start, but a little breezy. It’ll be around 56° by race time and will drop into the lower 50s by the checkered flag.
TV Ratings Check — Darlington
Sunday’s coverage of the Goodyear 400 from Darlington Raceway had 2.429 million viewers on FS1. This is down 3% from last year’s race, which had 2.517 million viewers.
Saturday’s broadcast of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 attracted an average of 1.182 million viewers on The CW. That is up 62,000 viewers (5.5%) over last year’s broadcast.
Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Buckle Up South Carolina 200 earned a .29 rating with 535,000 viewers on FS1. That viewership is up 104% from last year’s Truck race in Darlington. It should be noted that the Truck Series raced in Darlington last year on Aug. 30. That broadcast also started at noon ET.
