Denny Hamlin and a few others managed to survive the tire debacle at Bristol Motor Speedway last Sunday. And after the mayhem at the half-mile Tennessean racetrack, NASCAR is all set to head towards Austin, Texas, for the sixth race of the year. NASCAR’s stop this time, is the Circuit of The Americas; the sole destination of Formula 1, MotoGP, Germania Insurance Amphitheater, COTA Karting, and much more. So where can one watch all of that?
Advertisement
According to veteran FOX Sports journalist, Bob Pockrass, the triple-header commences on Friday, March 22, beginning with the Truck Series practice at 3:30 p.m. and the Truck Series qualifying at 4:00 p.m. Following those two will be the practice and qualifying for the Xfinity Series at 5:30 and 6 p.m., respectively. All the aforesaid events will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1.
COTA
ETFri-FS1
3:30-Truck p&q
5-NASCAR Race Hub
5:30-Xfin p&qSat-FS1 (10:30)
10-Cup p&q (40 min prac each group; FS2 until 10:30a)
12:30-NASCAR RaceDay
1:30-Trucks 12-14-16
4-NASCAR RaceDay
5-Xfin 14-16-16Sun
2-FS1-NASCAR RaceDay
3-FOX-NASCAR RaceDay
3:30-FOX-Cup 15-15-38— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 18, 2024
On Saturday, i.e., March 23, NASCAR will have the Cup Series practice and qualifying at 10:00 a.m.(to air on FS2) and 11:30 a.m.(to air on FS1), respectively. However, the main events of the day are the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; XPEL 225 to start at 1:30 p.m., and the Xfinity Series race, which is the Focused Health 250 to start at 5 p.m. FS1, will broadcast both of those events.
Sunday’s (March 24) event is the most-awaited Cup Series race, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, and that is expected to kick off at 3:30 p.m. only on FOX. All times are ET.
Ex-Formula 1 star to start stronger at COTA
With his NASCAR debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year, Kamui Kobayashi became the first Japanese driver in 20 years to run a Cup race. Having started from P28, Kobayashi recorded a somewhat disappointing 33rd-place finish. However, this time, the 37-year-old speedster is more confident about his ride at COTA.
The 2021 Le Mans 24 overall winner will be driving the #50 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and this time, he feels, it will be a much smoother ride for him. “I think I learned quite a lot about how you handle the car and how the race goes, and how the race weekend goes,” said Kobayashi. “I think the second time I can manage myself better, and I’m putting in the preparation now. I’m spent quite a lot of time in the simulator. We will see.”
Kobayashi has raced five times at COTA in Formula 1 and WEC. Therefore, he has the experience that he needs to put up a solid performance at the 3.426-mile motor racing track.
