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NBC Sports
17-04-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Rockingham Speedway weekend schedule, TV info for NASCAR Xfinity, Trucks and ARCA East
NASCAR will return to Rockingham Speedway with its national series for the first time in over a decade. For the first time since 2013, the Truck Series will practice, qualify and race Friday at the track popularly known as 'The Rock.' The track, which is located about 70 miles southeast of Charlotte in Rockingham, North Carolina, will play host to the ARCA Menards East and Xfinity series in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader that has been announced as a sellout. On Feb. 22, 2004, Matt Kenseth won the most recent Cup race at The Rock, which played host to NASCAR's premier series from 1965-2004. Jamie McMurray won the most recent Xfinity race at Rockingham on Feb. 21, 2004. Cup Series veterans Kasey Kahne (2012) and Kyle Larson ('13) won the most recent truck races at Rockingham. There are no Cup drivers entered in the Truck or Xfinity series this weekend. Once barely classified as a speedway (1 mile and above), Rockingham now barely meets the requirements of a short track. The oval is measured at 0.94 miles, slightly shorter than its former 1.017-mile length. Rockingham Speedway schedule (All Times Eastern) Friday, April 18 Garage open 7:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. — Truck Series 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. — ARCA East Series 12 - 6 p.m. — Xfinity Series Track activity 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. — ARCA East practice 12:30 - 1:20 p.m. — Truck Series practice, FS2 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. — Truck Series qualifying, FS2 3:05 - 3:55 p.m. — Xfinity Series practice (CW App) 5 p.m. — Truck race (200 laps, 188 miles, Stage 1 at Lap 45, Stage 2 at Lap 90; FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Saturday, April 19 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. — Xfinity Series 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. — ARCA East Series 9:30 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. — ARCA East practice 10:35 - 10:55 a.m. — ARCA East qualifying 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (CW App) 1 p.m. — ARCA East race (125 laps, 117.5 miles, Flo Racing, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 4 p.m. — Xfinity race (250 laps, 235 miles, Stage 1 at Lap 60, Stage 2 at Lap 120; CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Weekend weather Friday: Mostly sunny skies with a high of 83 degrees and winds south to southwest at 10-15 mph. It's expected to be 81 degrees with no chance of rain at the green flag of the truck race. Saturday: Overcast with a stray shower or possible thunderstorm and a high of 83 degrees with winds west to southwest at 5-10 mph. It's expected to be 82 degrees with a 15% chance of rain at the green flag of the Xfinity race.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR Bristol race embraces tradition of over 60 years of history at storied racetrack
NASCAR is coming back to its "Last Great Colosseum," Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol Motor Speedway is a fan-favorite track on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit known for high banks and close racing. That close racing usually produces one or several exciting crashes that can end with drivers fighting or throwing stuff at each other (see Tony Stewart vs. Matt Kenseth in the 2012 night race or Rusty Wallace vs. Dale Earnhardt in 1995). The short track is a staple of the NASCAR season, so let's take a brief look at some of the history the track has — starting from the beginning. Shop Bristol NASCAR tickets Carl Moore, Larry Carrier and R.G. Pope opened what was called Bristol International Raceway in 1961, the location sat on a 100-acre dairy farm. The racetrack was initially asphalt and had 22 degrees of banking in the turns. The track was repaved multiple times by 1969 and the banking was raised up to 36 degrees. Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway don't even have that much banking in those high-speed tracks. Stadium lights went up around the speedway in 1978, providing the opportunity for the exciting and infamous night race. Cale Yarborough won that race. Finally, 1992 brought the biggest change to the speedway when it went from asphalt to the concrete racing surface that we see now. Bristol Motor Speedway now sits at 28 degrees maximum banking with 4-8 degrees in the back stretch and 5-9 in the front stretch. NASCAR ran races on the concrete surface until the 2021 season when the spring race was put on dirt. The makeup of the "NextGen" cars allowed for races to be run on dirt. Three races were run on the dirt surface, with Joey Logano winning the first. Kyle Busch won the second year's race with a last-corner pass of Chris Buescher in 2022 and Christopher Bell won the final dirt race in 2023. NASCAR elected to move the race back to concrete after fans around the sport clamored for it to be taken off dirt, starting with the 2024 race. Bristol has hosted all kinds of events, with multiple sports making their way to the speedway. Shop Bristol NASCAR tickets There have been three football games at Bristol Motor Speedway. The first was in 1961, when Washington battled Philadelphia in an NFL preseason game. The Eagles won, 17-10. The Tennessee Volunteers battled the Virginia Tech Hokies in 2016 with the Volunteers winning, 45-24. There was a lesser-known college football game the week after the Tennessee-Virginia Tech game in 2016. East Tennessee State earned a 34-31 upset over Western Carolina on the Bristol Motor Speedway infield. The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds will be playing in the first Major League Baseball game at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 2, 2025. The "MLB Speedway Classic" will be the first MLB game in Tennessee. The Food City 500 is set for 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is the first of two races at Bristol and three races in Tennessee for the 2025 season. Friday, April 11: Weather Guard Truck Race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1 Saturday, April 12: SciAlps 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race, 4 p.m. CT on The CW Sunday, April 13: Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race, 2 p.m. CT on FS1. More: NASCAR Martinsville race winners and losers: Denny Hamlin dominates, Austin Cindric runs out of power Denny Hamlin managed his tires well in a difficult race as the tire compound Goodyear used in the race chewed up tires on the concrete surface. However, Hamlin was able to lead 163 laps and earn the victory in last year's Bristol spring race. Here is the top 10 from last year's Food City 500 Denny Hamlin Martin Truex Jr. Brad Keselowski Alex Bowman Kyle Larson John Hunter Nemechek Chris Buescher Chase Elliott Ty Gibbs Christopher Bell Shop Bristol NASCAR tickets Follow sports writer Austin Chastain on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or reach him via email at achastain@ We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Bristol race embraces tradition of over 60 years of history at storied racetrack
