Today’s NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway is the Fleetio 200, which opens the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase on Saturday night. The green flag is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, with streaming available on ESPN Unlimited. MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide radio coverage.
Darlington has two national-series races this Labor Day weekend, split across Saturday and Sunday. The NASCAR Cup Series will race Sunday in the Cook Out Southern 500, while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will not compete at Darlington this weekend. That means fans looking for the 500-mile Cup race or a Truck Series event today will have to wait. Saturday’s main event is the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series playoff opener.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race Today
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series provides today’s only points-paying race at Darlington Raceway. The Fleetio 200 starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, with ESPN Unlimited streaming the race.
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The race covers 147 laps and 200.8 miles. The stages are scheduled for 45, 90, and 147 laps. Practice took place at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 2:35 p.m. Both sessions were available through the CW app and ESPN Unlimited. Driver introductions are scheduled shortly before the green flag.
Justin Allgaier enters the NASCAR O’Reilly Chase as the top seed after winning at Darlington in March. Twelve drivers are competing in the nine-race playoff. The entry list has 38 cars, so the entire field will start tonight’s race.
Jake Finch will make his second start of the 2026 season for JR Motorsports in the No. 9 Chevrolet.
The Fleetio 200 also marks the first night race of this playoff run. Darlington’s track surface can change as temperatures fall, making tire management a key part of the race. After Darlington, the NASCAR O’Reilly Series heads to Gateway before racing at Bristol.
NASCAR Cup Series Schedule at Darlington
The NASCAR Cup Series is at Darlington Raceway today, but it will not race until Sunday. Cup practice started at 4 p.m. ET Saturday, with qualifying scheduled for 5:10 p.m. Both sessions are available on truTV and HBO Max.
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The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 6, for the Cook Out Southern 500. USA Network and HBO Max will carry the race from 5 p.m. ET, with the green flag expected around 5:10 p.m. USA Network will begin its pre-race coverage at 4:30 p.m.
The NASCAR Cup Series race will cover 367 laps and about 501 miles. Denny Hamlin enters the race as the No. 1 seed in the Cup Chase. Chase Briscoe is the two-time defending Southern 500 winner.
The Cup schedule explains why fans will see Cup cars at Darlington today but will not get the main race until Sunday.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Schedule
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has no race at Darlington Raceway today and will not compete there this weekend. The series last raced at the track on March 20, when Corey Heim won the Buckle Up South Carolina 200.
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The Truck Series Chase begins Thursday, Sept. 17, at Bristol with the UNOH 200 on FS1. The next playoff race takes place at Kansas on Sept. 26.
Heim will still have a connection to Darlington this weekend because he is entered in a 23XI Racing Cup car for Sunday’s Southern 500.
For fans asking how to watch NASCAR today, the answer is simple: the Fleetio 200 is the only NASCAR race at Darlington on Saturday. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will go green at 7:30 p.m. ET, with fans able to watch the race on The CW and ESPN Unlimited. Cup qualifying is earlier on truTV and HBO Max, while the Trucks are off until Bristol.
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