When and where to watch NASCAR from Texas this weekend
By Nick Tylwalk
It’s time to see what the new racing surface at Texas Motor Speedway has in store.
The unknown always makes racing more interesting. At the beginning of the NASCAR season, the big mystery was how the introduction of stage racing would shake things up. Now, as the two main national series head to Texas, the question involves the track itself.
Texas Motor Speedway has been repaved and reconfigured since the last time the Cup Series or XFINITY Series visited, so everyone is seeing it fresh. And while new racing surfaces can lead to poor competitiveness until multiple grooves come in, hopefully that won’t be the case this weekend.
Things got a little tighter at the top of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series last weekend as Kyle Larson proved mortal and Brad Keselowski grabbed his second victory of the year at Martinsville. A bunch of fast cars have still yet to make their way to Victory Lane in 2017, which makes Texas all the more intriguing.
Meanwhile, the XFINITY Series had last week off, and has become essentially a two-team show so far. The top two drivers in points, Elliott Sadler and William Byron, still could use victories to cement their playoff chances though.
Next: More NASCAR: 5 takeaways from Martinsville
Here’s where to watch drivers from both series try to conquer the new Texas Motor Speedway surface, with TV info courtesy of NASCAR.com.
Full NASCAR Texas TV schedule
(all times Eastern)
Friday, April 7
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, noon, Fox Sports 1
- XFINITY Series practice, 2:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1
- XFINITY Series final practice, 5:00 p.m., Fox Sports 1
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, 6:15 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Saturday, April 8
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, 9:30 a.m., Fox Sports 1
- XFINITY Series qualifying, 10:35 a.m., Fox Sports 1
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, noon, Fox Sports 2
- XFINITY Series My Bariatric Solutions 300, 1:30 p.m., FOX
Sunday April 9
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, 1:30 p.m., FOX