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Today’s Cup race at Charlotte: Start time, weather, TV/radio info

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500

Jimmie Johnson is defending winner of this race at Charlotte.

Getty Images

The second round of the NASCAR Cup playoffs begins with today’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The field still in contention for the NASCAR Cup championship was cut from 16 to 12 drivers after last weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway.

Here are the details for today’s race:

(All times are Eastern):

START: Charles Bowman, Charlotte and North Carolina Market President, Bank of America; Karen Calder, Executive Director – Classroom Central; and three teachers will give the command to start engines at 12:52 p.m. Green flag is set for 1 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 334 laps (500 miles) around the 1.5-mile oval.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 90. Stage 2 ends on Lap 180.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Cup garage opens at 10 a.m. The driver/crew chief meeting is at 11 a.m. Driver introductions are at 12:10 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Carly Pearce will perform the anthem at 12:45 p.m., followed by a flyover by one C-130 from the 145th Airlift Wing in Charlotte, N.C.

TV/RADIO: NBC will broadcast the race at 1 p.m. Coverage begins at 11 a.m. on NBCSN with NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at noon on NBC. The Performance Racing Network radio broadcast begins at noon on goprn.com and affiliates. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the PRN broadcast.

FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts a temperature of 79 degrees and a 54 percent chance of rain at race time.

LAST TIME: Jimmie Johnson won last fall’s race, leading a race-high 155 of 334 laps. Matt Kenseth finished second and Kasey Kahne was third. Austin Dillon won this year’s Coca-Cola 600 at CMS on May 28.

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the starting lineup.