STP 500: See the NASCAR TV schedule for Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 29: Monster Energy Chase contender Jimmy Johnson (48) Lowes Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports loses control of the race car and starts to spin at the NASCAR Playoff - First Data 500, on October 29, 2017 held at Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, VA. (Photo by Lyle Setter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Lock in your TV to FS1 for the weekend and you’ll catch all the short track action from Martinsville Speedway.

There’s some irony to the fact that the opening weeks of the 2018 NASCAR season were carried on FOX while the STP 500, the first short track race of the year and a good bet to be more interesting than some of the races we’ve been watching the last few weeks, is on FS1.

Nonetheless, broadcast TV is cable’s gain, as both the Cup Series and Truck Series roll back into Martinsville Speedway for the first time this year. It’s quite the shift from the one to two and a half-mile tracks the series have visited so far, and it could allow some Cup Series drivers to make up some ground on points leader Martin Truex Jr., who isn’t quite as accomplished or formidable on short tracks as he is everywhere else.

This weekend will mark the first “enhanced schedule” stop of the year for the Cup Series as well, meaning the cars weren’t out on the track at all on Friday. All of their practice time will be Saturday along with qualifying on Saturday evening, and then the race will take place Sunday afternoon.

In-between, the Truck Series drivers will fire the engines back up after a break of three weeks, undoubtedly itching to go back at it in the Alpha Energy Solutions 250. For the first time in 2018, everything you’ll want to watch in the world of NASCAR will be on just one channel, FS1, so that part is easy.

Next: Real Martinsville hot dogs are back

But just to help out with your weekend planning, here are the times for everything on the track, courtesy of NASCAR.com:

Saturday, March 24

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, 10:00 a.m., FS1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, 11:00 a.m., FS1
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, 12:30 p.m., FS1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250, 2:00 p.m., FS1
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Award qualifying, 5:00 p.m., FS1

Sunday, March 25

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500, 2:00 p.m., FS1

Don’t forget that all three of NASCAR’s national series are off next week for Easter weekend, making it even more of a priority to get your stock car racing fix over the next two days.

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