The NASCAR Cup Series will take one big step closer to determining who will reach the championship round at Miami in two weeks with today’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
After this race, just two races remain.
The drivers remaining in the Round of 8 are Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson still vying for the title.
Harvick won this race last year, while Denny Hamlin won in the spring.
Here is the information for today’s race:
(All times are Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be given by Caitlin McGee, star of NBC’s Bluff City Law, at 3:07 p.m. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:18 p.m.
PRERACE: The Cup garage opens at 11 a.m. The driver/crew chief meeting will be at 1 p.m. Driver introductions are at 2:20 p.m. The invocation will be given at 3 p.m. by Bret Shiseler with Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries. The National Anthem will be performed at 3:01 p.m. by the Marine Forces Reserve Band.
DISTANCE: The race is 334 laps (501 miles) around the 1.5-mile oval.
STAGES: Stage 1 will end on Lap 85. Stage 2 will end on Lap 170
TV/RADIO: NBCSN will televise the race. Coverage will begin with NASCAR America at 1:30 p.m. on NBCSN. Countdown to Green follows at 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN, leading into race coverage. The postrace show will be on NBCSN, followed by Victory Lap at 7:30 p.m. Performance Racing Network’s radio broadcast will begin at 2 p.m. and also can be heard on goprn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry PRN’s broadcast.
STREAMING ONLINE: Click here for NBC’s live stream of the race.
FORECAST: The wunderground.com forecast for Sunday’s Cup race calls for a temperature of 65 degrees and a 0% chance of rain when the green flag drops.
LAST TIME: Kevin Harvickled 177 laps en route to the win in last fall’s playoff race. Denny Hamlin took the lead 12 laps from the finish and held on to win the spring race at Texas.
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the starting lineup.