NASCAR continues its Chase weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway today, Friday, Sept. 18, with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series taking center stage. The Food City 300 starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW and covers 300 laps, or 159.9 miles.
The NASCAR Cup Series is also on track Friday for practice and qualifying, with those sessions setting the starting lineup for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
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The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series already raced Thursday, while the Cup Series will not race until Saturday. Here is how to watch NASCAR at Bristol today on TV and streaming.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Bristol
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series begins Friday’s on-track schedule with practice at 2 p.m. ET. Qualifying follows at 3:05 p.m. ET, with both sessions available on ESPN Unlimited.
The Food City 300 is the main NASCAR race Friday and starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The CW will begin its NASCAR Countdown Live coverage at 7 p.m. ET, ahead of driver introductions and the race start.
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The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race covers 300 laps and 159.9 miles. Stage breaks are scheduled at laps 85 and 170, with the final stage running to lap 300.
Fans can watch The CW over the air in many markets with an antenna or through the CW app. YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV carry The CW where the local affiliate is available, while Fubo offers The CW in select markets. ESPN Unlimited provides streaming coverage of O’Reilly practice, qualifying and the race.
PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio provide radio coverage of the Food City 300.
NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol
The NASCAR Cup Series is on track Friday, but it does not race until Saturday. Cup practice starts at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at about 5:40 p.m. ET on truTV.
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Friday’s qualifying session is important because it sets the starting lineup for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
Fans can watch truTV through YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and many traditional cable packages. Sling sports packages also offer truTV through eligible plans. Cup Series practice and qualifying will also be available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
HBO Max offers additional NASCAR coverage during the NBC/USA portion of the Cup Series season, including in-car and other viewing options during the Bristol weekend.
The NASCAR Cup Series does not need FS1 today. FS1 carried Thursday’s Truck Series race, while USA Network takes over for Saturday’s Cup race.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Bristol
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has already completed its Bristol race and has no event Friday. The UNOH 250 Presented by Ohio Logistics opened the Truck Series Chase on Thursday, with the race starting at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
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Jake Garcia scored his first career Truck Series win in his 94th start, driving the No. 98 ThorSport Ford. He led 104 laps and beat Bayley Currey by 1.305 seconds. Stewart Friesen finished third, Justin Haley fourth, and Tristan McKee fifth.
The 250-lap, 133.25-mile race featured stage breaks at laps 65 and 130 before the final stage continued to lap 250. Playoff driver Layne Riggs led 135 laps but finished 32nd after a loose wheel forced an unscheduled pit stop. Gio Ruggiero was the highest-finishing Chase driver in sixth, while Riggs still leads the standings by three points over Kaden Honeycutt.
The ARCA Menards Series also raced Thursday, with Carson Brown winning the Bush’s Best 200 from the pole after leading all 200 laps. Tristan McKee finished second and clinched the 2026 ARCA East championship. McKee also finished fifth in the Truck Series.
Neither series returns for a national points race Friday. The NASCAR Cup Series returns Saturday for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The race covers 500 laps and 266.5 miles, with HBO Max offering additional in-car cameras and multi-view coverage.
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For Friday, the NASCAR TV schedule is split across three platforms. ESPN Unlimited carries O’Reilly practice and qualifying, truTV carries Cup practice and qualifying, and The CW carries the Food City 300 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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