As for Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the Cup Series’ second visit to the track this season and the seventh race of the 2019 playoffs, the channel that will broadcast the race is NBCSN. The race at Martinsville will start at 3 p.m. ET.
The 3 p.m. ET start time for the Martinsville race Sunday is the first of three such start times for the Cup Series playoffs (Texas and Homestead) this season. As for the TV channel, the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend is on NBCSN for the 12th time this year. As part of NBC’s TV deal with NASCAR for the 2019 season, NBC was slated to show seven of the final 20 races of the season, with the other 13 scheduled to be shown on NBCSN.
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Sunday’s race at Martinsville, which will consist of three stages (130 laps, 130 laps and 240 laps), is the 34rd race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule (33rd when not counting the All-Star Race). There are just four races left this season and three races to go before the final cut-off point of the playoffs.
Martinsville Speedway is a 0.526-mile oval with just 12-degree banking in the turns and no banking on the straights. Brad Keselowski won the spring race this year at Martinsville, and his Penske teammate, Joey Logano, won the fall Martinsville race last year in dramatic fashion on his way to the Cup Series championship.
Below is all the info you need regarding how to watch Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville.
What channel is NASCAR on today?
TV channel: NBCSN Live stream: NBC Sports App Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday’s race at Martinsville is the 12th of 13 races this season scheduled to be shown on NBCSN. The network’s broadcast crew consists of Rick Allen, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte in the booth, with Marty Snider, Dave Burns, Kelli Stavast and Parker Kligerman reporting from pit road.
In addition to the TV coverage on NBCSN, Sunday’s race at Martinsville is available via live stream on the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com.
NASCAR at Martinsville: What time does today’s race start?
Date: Sunday, Oct. 27 Time: 3 p. m. ET Location: Martinsville Speedway
Since the Cup Series playoff inception in 2004, Martinsville has occupied two different positions on the playoff schedule. Until 2010, the Martinsville playoff race was the sixth race in the postseason. It has been the seventh race on the playoff schedule since 2011.
The winner of the Martinsville playoff race has gone on to win the Cup Series championship six times. Jimmie Johnson did it during his title runs in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2016. Tony Stewart did it in 2011, and Logano did it last season.
A non-playoff driver has won the Martinsville playoff race just twice: Jeff Gordon in 2005 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. The worst finish in the Martinsville playoff race by a driver who went on to win the title was 33rd by Kevin Harvick in 2014.
MORE: Current NASCAR playoff standings
