NASCAR Reveals Race Times, Networks For 2026 Cup Series Season

In August, NASCAR unveiled all the races on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

On Wednesday, nearly three months later, the sanctioning body finally revealed exactly when and where you can watch them.

Read on to learn more about the start times and the networks on which all the races will be broadcast live.

Night Time Is The Right Time For 2026 Cup Series Races

Starting at the top, the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule appears not to have too many nighttime events. Then again, keep scrolling down.

While the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the next weekend’s showdown at Nashville Superspeedway are the only mostly night races on the calendar through the end of June, the stars come out quite literally beginning the first weekend in July.

That’s when the Cup Series will compete largely under the lights at Chicagoland Speedway, EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) and North Wilkesboro on back-to-back-to-back weekends.

Chicagoland is returning to the schedule after a six-year hiatus. EchoPark, the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, is hosting a Cup Series weekend for just the second time under its new name. And North Wilkesboro, the fabled North Carolina short track that’s hosted the All-Star Race the past three years after sitting mostly idle for over 25 years, will be the site of a points-paying Cup Series race for the first time since 1996.

Three races after North Wilkesboro, Richmond is on tap to host its traditional fall night race. Daytona will do the same two weekends after that, as it remains the venue for the Cup Series regular season finale. Then, the next weekend, Darlington will kick off the playoffs with a mostly night-time running of the Southern 500. Two weekends later, Bristol will host its traditional fall night race. And a couple of weeks after that, drivers will compete at Las Vegas in a race that will end under the stars.

The season finale, at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time since 2019, will begin in the day and end at night. And there’s a possibility that the penultimate race of 2026, held at Martinsville Speedway, will also finish once the sun has gone down.

Several Networks To Share Coverage Of 2026 Cup Series Season

FOX kicks off the NASCAR Cup Series season unofficially at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, February 1. New additions to the FOX/FS1 broadcast slate include Watkins Glen, the first NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover, EchoPark Speedway, Circuit of the Americas, Kansas and Talladega.

Prime Video will air select Cup Series races for the second year in a row, beginning with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend. The other sites on tap for Prime Video’s coverage are Nashville Superspeedway, Michigan, Pocono and San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado, which on Sunday, June 21 will host a street course race for the first time.

TNT Sports takes over at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 28, kicking off the second annual In-Season Challenge, which will air exclusively on the network. The four other In-Season Challenge races are set for Chicagoland, EchoPark Speedway, North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis, respectively.

USA Sports will close out the season, airing the final 14 races across USA Network, NBC and Peacock, starting with the race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, August 9.

Check out the full programming schedule below.

*Playoffs Races In Bold

NASCAR Cup Series