NASCAR TV Schedule This Weekend: July 4 – 7 (2024)

Independence Day weekend is a nice time of the year. People are generally pretty relaxed. The Fourth of July falling on a Thursday this year means that a lot of people took four-day weekends so that they can relax or go somewhere. I did not.

In the world of motorsports, it is actually a pretty busy weekend. NASCAR is in Chicago for their second attempt on the streets. Meanwhile, history will be made in INDYCAR.

Where to Watch NASCAR This Week

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will be in Grant Park in Downtown Chicago for the Grant Park 165. I will state upfront that this race should not have been shortened. However, it is starting earlier than last year, which is a good thing.

Coverage of the Grant Park 165 will start with Countdown to Green at 4 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC. Race coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 4:45 p.m. ET.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will serve as the support series in Chicago. This race was already too short last year, but NASCAR chose to shorten it even more.

Coverage of The Loop 110 will start with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC. Race coverage will start at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:45 p.m. ET.

Where to Watch Other Racing Series This Weekend

NTT IndyCar Series teams will make their annual visit to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. This is an extremely important weekend for INDYCAR as it will serve as the racing debut for the new hybrid engines. As a result, the racing could look very different from what we’re used to.

Coverage of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will begin with INDYCAR Live at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Even though your TV listings say that the race timeslot begins at 2 p.m. ET, INDYCAR has penciled in a green flag at 1:53 p.m. ET with opening ceremonies starting at 1:34 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage will start, they’ll introduce the broadcast, then go straight to the invocation.

Formula 1 has the closest thing to a home game this week. The series will race at one of the original venues from 1950, Silverstone Circuit.

Coverage of the British Grand Prix will start with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET Sunday morning on ESPN2. Race coverage will start at 9:55 a.m. ET with the formation lap beginning at 10 a.m. ET sharp.

ARCA Menards Series West has a doubleheader this weekend at Irwindale Speedway. Coverage starts tonight with the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame. Coverage of that 150-lap race will start at 9:45 p.m. ET tonight on FLORacing. The green flag is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET. That coverage will be followed up with a night of destruction that will start at 11:30 p.m. ET on LowBudget.tv, but that will require an additional subscription to view.

After a day off, the series is back at Irwindale Saturday night for the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts. Coverage Saturday night will start at 9:45 p.m. ET on FLORacing with a 10 p.m. ET start.

The European Le Mans Series returns after a long break with a race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. Coverage of the 4 Hours of Imola will begin at 5:10 a.m. ET Sunday morning on SpeedSport1, either on their website or their app.

World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series teams will race three consecutive nights at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn. For the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50. Coverage tonight, Friday and Saturday nights is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

The Super DIRTcar Series is also in action tonight at Land of Legends Raceway near Canandaigua, N.Y. Coverage of the Stars and Stripes Spectacular will start at 5:45 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

TV Ratings Check — Nashville, Red Bull Ring

Coverage of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 from Nashville Superspeedway averaged 3.24 million viewers. This is a slight increase over last year’s race that had 3.211 million viewers. Note that this viewership is for just the portion of the race that aired on NBC. There is no information available for the two hours after 7:30 p.m. ET that aired on USA Network. There is also no Nielsen rating number available.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 had 940,000 viewers on USA Network Saturday. That is an increase of 14% (118,000 viewers) from last year’s race. That race earned a .48 rating with 823,000 viewers. No Nielsen rating is available for the race.

There is no viewership or rating information available for FOX Sports 1’s broadcast of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 as of this writing.

Formula 1 Grand Prix of Austria from the Red Bull Ring had an audience of 1.08 million viewers Sunday morning on ESPN. It was down only slightly from last year.