It’s finally here.
The NBC Sports tournament for 2018’s best Cup Series paint scheme has reached its championship round.
Chase Elliott‘s Mountain Dew scheme will go against Ryan Blaney‘s PPG scheme.
Voting begins today and will run through Monday.
May the best scheme win.
Wednesday saw NASCAR announce the remaining regular season schedule for all three national series, including six Cup Series races.
In total, 10 Cup points races and the All-Star Race remain in the regular season, beginning with Sunday’s race at Kentucky Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1).
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, not all tracks are allowing fans to attend.
Here are the fan policies for the remainder of the Cup Series regular season.
Kentucky Speedway (Sunday)
Fans will not be allowed to attend.
All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (July 15)
Up to 30,000 fans will be allowed to attend the race.
Texas Motor Speedway (July 19)
Fans making up to 50% of the track’s capacity will be allowed to attend.
Kansas Speedway (July 23)
Fans will not be able to attend.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Aug. 2)
Roughly 19,000 fans will be able to attend.
Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 8-9)
Fans will not be able to attend.
Daytona International Speedway (Aug. 16 and Aug. 29)
“We’re working towards having fans and hopefully we’ll have some news on when we’re going to go on sale in the next couple of days,” said track president Chip Wile Thursday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive.”
Dover International Speedway (Aug. 22 – 23)
Speedway officials remain in consultation with local, state and federal health officials, as well as Delaware Gov. John Carney, on whether fans will be allowed in the stands with appropriate social distancing for the August events.
NASCAR heads to the Bluegrass State this week for four days of racing at Kentucky Speedway.
All three national series will be in action, plus the ARCA Menards Series, for five races. The Xfinity Series will hold two races for its second doubleheader of the season.
According to wunderground.com, the forecast for the start of each race is:
Thursday Xfinity race: Partly cloudy, 86 degrees and a 20% chance of rain.
Friday Xfinity race: Scattered thunderstorms, 80 degrees and 37% chance of rain.
Saturday Truck Series race: Partly cloudy, 86 degrees and 0% chance of rain.
Sunday Cup race: Scattered thunderstorms, 84 degrees, 40% chance of rain.
Here is the full weekend schedule for Kentucky Speedway.
(All times are Eastern)
Wednesday, July 8
3:30 p.m. – Xfinity rookie meeting (electronic communication)
5 p.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting (electronic communication)
5:30 – 7:30 p.m. – Driver motorhome parking (screening in progress)
Thursday, July 9
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Xfinity haulers enter (screening in progress)
1 – 10:30 p.m. – Xfinity garage access (screening in progress)
6 – 7:30 p.m. – Xfinity engine prime and final adjustments (pit road)
7:50 p.m. – Xfinity drivers report to cars
8 p.m. – Xfinity race No. 1; 134 laps/201 miles (FS1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday, July 10
10:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Xfinity garage access (screening in progress)
Noon – ARCA driver/crew chief/spotter meeting (electronic communication)
12:30 p.m. – ARCA rookie meeting (teleconference)
1 p.m. – ARCA crew chief meeting (teleconference)
4 – 5 p.m. – ARCA haulers enter (screening in progress)
5 – 5:30 p.m. – Truck Series rookie meeting (teleconference)
5:30 p.m. – Trucks driver/crew chief meeting (electronic communication)
6 – 7:30 p.m. – Xfinity engine prime and final adjustments (pit road)
7:50 – Xfinity drivers report to cars
8 p.m. – Xfinity race No. 2; 200 laps/300 miles (FS1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday, July 11
7 a.m. – 2 p.m. – ARCA garage access (screening in progress)
8 – 10 a.m. – Truck series haulers enter (screening and equipment unload)
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Truck garage access (screening in progress)
Noon – 1 p.m. – ARCA practice
2:20 p.m. – ARCA drivers report to cars
2:30 p.m. – ARCA race; 100 laps/150 miles (FS1)
4 – 5:30 p.m. – Trucks engine prime and final adjustments (garage area)
4:40 – 5:30 p.m. – ARCA haulers exit
5 p.m. – Cup driver/crew chief meeting (electronic communication)
5:30 p.m. – Cup rookie meeting (electronic communication)
5:50 p.m. – Truck drivers report to vehicles
6 p.m. – Truck race; 150 laps/225 miles (FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Cup haulers enter (screening and equipment unload)
8:30 p.m. – Truck haulers exit
Sunday, July 12
7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Cup garage access (screening in progress)
12:30 – 2 p.m. – Engine prime and final adjustments on pit road
2:20 p.m. – Cup drivers report to cars
2:30 p.m. – Quaker State 400; 267 laps/400.5 miles (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
6:30 p.m. – Cup haulers exit
A stretch of five races in four days at Kentucky Speedway begins Thursday night with the first of two Xfinity Series races.
It will mark the second doubleheader of the year for the Xfinity Series.
Can Chase Briscoe keep up a winning pace that’s seen him win three times in the last four races (and five overall thus far in the season’s first 13 races)?
Here’s all the info you need for Thursday night’s race:
(All times are Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be at 8:13 p.m by Shady Rays CEO Chris Ratterman. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 8:24 p.m.
PRERACE: Garage access health screening begins at 1 p.m. (teams are assigned specific times). Engine prime and final adjustments are at 6 p.m. Drivers report to their cars at 7:50 p.m. The invocation will be given at 8:05 p.m by Jason Romano. The national anthem will be performed at 8:06 p.m. by Matthew Grant.
DISTANCE: The race is 134 laps (201 miles) around the 1.5-mile speedway.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 30. Stage 2 ends on Lap 60.
TV/RADIO: FS1 will televise the race. Its coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. Performance Racing Network’s coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. and also can be heard at goprn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry PRN’s broadcast.
FORECAST: The wunderground.com forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a high of 86 degrees and a 24% chance of rain predicted at the start of the race.
LAST RACE: Chase Briscoe defeated Justin Haley and Noah Gragson to win on the Indianapolis road course.
LAST RACE AT KENTUCKY: Cole Custer beat Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick.
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for lineup
Brett Moffitt will start from the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway (6 p.m. ET on FS1) thanks to a random draw.
He will be joined on the front row by Zane Smith. In fact, the first three drivers are all from GMS Racing: Moffitt, Smith and Tyler Ankrum, who will start third.
Rounding out the top five are Christian Eckes and Austin Hill.
Click here for the starting lineup
NASCAR Truck Series at Kentucky
Race Time: 6 p.m. ET Saturday
Track: Kentucky Speedway; Sparta, Kentucky (1.5-mile speedway)
Length: 150 laps, 225 miles
Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 35. Stage 2 ends on Lap 70.
TV coverage: FS1
Radio: Motor Racing Network (also SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Streaming: Fox Sports app (subscription required); mrn.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required)
Next Cup race: Sunday at Kentucky (267 laps, 400.5 miles), 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox
Next Xfinity race: Thursday at Kentucky (134 laps, 201 miles), 8 p.m. ET on FS1