Just days after wrapping up the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, NASCAR officials, in collaboration with its television partners, revealed the start times for the 2025 season.
The announcement on Wednesday, November 13, finalizes the TV schedule—a challenging task given the networks’ commitments to other professional sports leagues.
FOX Sports Kicks Off the 2025 NASCAR Schedule
The 2025 schedule on FOX Sports begins with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Sunday, February 2, at 8 p.m. ET.
The Daytona 500 follows on Sunday, February 16, starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Subsequent FOX events include Atlanta on February 23 at 3 p.m. ET and Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on March 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The next six races air on FS1:
- Phoenix: March 16 at 3:30 p.m.
- Las Vegas: March 16 at 3:30 p.m.
- Homestead-Miami Speedway: March 23 at 3 p.m.
- Martinsville Speedway: March 30 at 3 p.m.
- Darlington: April 6 at 3 p.m.
- Bristol: April 13 at 3 p.m.
The season’s only off weekend is April 20.
FOX’s portion of the schedule concludes with Talladega on April 27 at 3 p.m. FS1 will air the final three FOX events:
- Texas: May 4 at 3:30 p.m.
- Kansas: May 11 at 3:30 p.m.
- All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway: May 18 at 8 p.m.
In addition to NASCAR, FOX Sports will become the new home of the NTT IndyCar Series in 2025. All IndyCar races will air on the main FOX network, with practices and qualifications broadcast on FS1.
Prime Video and TNT Take Over
NASCAR’s new partnership with Prime Video kicks off with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25 at 6 p.m. Other Prime Video races include:
- Nashville: June 1 at 7 p.m.
- Michigan: June 8 at 2 p.m.
- Mexico City: June 15 at 3 p.m.
- Pocono: June 22 at 2 p.m.
TNT picks up the baton for the next five races:
- Atlanta: June 28 at 7 p.m.
- Chicago Street Race: July 6 at 2 p.m.
- Sonoma: July 13 at 3:30 p.m.
- Dover: July 20 at 2 p.m.
- Indianapolis: July 27 at 2 p.m.
USA Network and NBC Dominate the Final Stretch
NBC and its cable partner USA Network handle the remaining races, starting with three events on USA:
- Iowa: August 3 at 3:30 p.m.
- Watkins Glen: August 10 at 2 p.m.
- Richmond: August 16 at 7:30 p.m.
The regular-season finale will air on NBC, with Daytona scheduled for Saturday, August 23, at 7:30 p.m.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs commence at Darlington on August 31 at 6 p.m. The first seven playoff races will air on USA, including:
- World Wide Technology Raceway: September 7 at 3 p.m.
- Bristol Motor Speedway: September 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Bristol serves as an elimination race, reducing the playoff field from 16 to 12 drivers.
The next round begins with:
- New Hampshire: September 21 at 2 p.m.
- Kansas Speedway: September 28 at 3 p.m.
- Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval: October 5 at 3 p.m.
At Charlotte, the playoff field will shrink to eight drivers.
USA’s final race is at Las Vegas on October 12 at 5:30 p.m. NBC takes over for the last three events:
- Talladega: October 19 at 2 p.m.
- Martinsville: October 25 at 2 p.m.
- NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race: November 2 at 3 p.m.
Martinsville serves as the final elimination race, narrowing the field to the Championship 4.
NBC will simulcast four Cup Series races, including the last three playoff events, on Peacock.
The Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway will air on NBC for the 11th consecutive year, cementing NBC Sports as the exclusive home of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Viewership on the Rise
The announcement follows significant viewership growth for NBC Sports’ 2024 NASCAR coverage.
The 2024 Cup Series delivered a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.51 million viewers, marking a 2% increase from 2023 and 2022.
Key 2024 highlights include:
- A 6% year-over-year increase in playoff viewership, with 2.35 million average viewers for the 10 playoff races.
- Sunday’s Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway garnered a TAD of 3.0 million viewers, consistent with 2023.
- NBC’s 10-race portion of the season averaged 3.0 million viewers, up 4% from 2023.
Regional markets such as Greensboro and Charlotte led viewership rankings, with several other markets also contributing notable gains.
Additional Series
NASCAR also confirmed start times and broadcasters for its other major series. All NASCAR Xfinity Series races will air on The CW, while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events will continue to be broadcast by FOX and FS1.
