The start time for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway is earlier than the race's original start time because, at least for 2020, it's no longer a Saturday night race. The Quaker State 400 at Kentucky is now a Sunday afternoon race.
Due to the same coronavirus pandemic-related issues that shut down live sports in March, NASCAR created a modified schedule of races for May, June and July that continues today at 2:30 p.m. ET at the 1.5-mile oval located in between Louisville and Cincinnati. The date and start time for the Cup race at Kentucky were changed to account for other series' events at the same track on the same weekend.
Scheduled to take the green flag shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET, Sunday's race at Kentucky will feature 267 laps and stage lengths of 80, 80 and 107 laps for a total of 400 miles.
Below is all you need to know about the schedule for Sunday's NASCAR race at Kentucky and beyond.
MORE: Watch today's NASCAR race live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
What time does the NASCAR race start today?
- Race: Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway
- Date: Sunday, July 12
- Start time: 2:30 p.m. ET
The green flag for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Kentucky will wave shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET, assuming there are no rain or lightning delays as there have been so often since NASCAR returned to live racing in May. The good news is Kentucky Speedway does have lights in the event weather delays the race at any point.
The Kentucky race was moved from its originally scheduled 7:30 p.m. ET start time on Saturday, July 11 to an afternoon race on Sunday to account for the Truck Series, Xfinity Series and ARCA Series racing at the same track in the same weekend.
Sunday's race at Kentucky is scheduled for 267 laps around the 1.5 mile oval with stage lengths of 80, 80 and 107 laps.
What channel is NASCAR on today?
- TV channel: FS1
- Live stream: Fox Sports Go | fuboTV (7-day free trial)
FS1 is the TV channel for Sunday's race at Kentucky even though NBCSN was originally scheduled to broadcast the race. The coronavirus-related NASCAR schedule shake-up also moved around some broadcasts in the middle of the 2020 season.
FS1 is carried by all major pay TV distributors. Fox Sports' site has a "find FS1" feature so viewers can find channel listings in their area and on their system.
As has been the case for all Cup Series races on Fox and FS1 since NASCAR returned to racing in May, Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon will call Sunday's race at Kentucky. They will do so remotely from the Fox studio rather than the booth at the track.
After Sunday's race at Kentucky, Fox Sports will broadcast one more Cup race (Wednesday night's All-Star Race at Bristol, also on FS1) before NBC and NBCSN officially take over as the TV channels for the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series season.
NBC was able to keep last week's Brickyard 400 in part because the race was part of a historic doubleheader with an IndyCar race, which took place on the IMS road course the day prior and broadcast live on NBC.
NASCAR live stream for Kentucky race
Anybody who has a cable or satellite subscription can stream Sunday's NASCAR race at Kentucky live via Fox Sports Go. This should be the preferred route for a viewer who has such a subscription but isn't able to get in front of his or her TV.
For those who don't have a cable or satellite subscription, there are five OTT TV streaming options that carry FS1 — Sling, Hulu, YouTubeTV, fuboTV and AT&T Now. Of the five, Hulu, YouTubeTV and fuboTV offer free trial options.
Below are links to each.
NASCAR schedule 2020
NASCAR on July 8 released its latest revised Cup Series schedule through August of 2020. It remains committed to running 36 races, four of which were completed before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sports world. NASCAR hopes to keep its 10 playoff races in the fall intact and at their original tracks.
Below is the schedule revision for the Cup Series regular season, starting with the races at Darlington the Cup Series ran in its return in May.
| Date | Track | TV channel | Start time |
| Sun., May 17 | Darlington | FOX | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Wed., May 20 | Darlington | FS1 | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Sun., May 24 | Charlotte | FOX | 6 p.m. ET |
| Wed., May 27 | Charlotte | FS1 | 8 p.m. ET |
| Sun, May 31 | Bristol | FS1 | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sun, June 7 | Atlanta | FOX | 3 p.m. ET |
| Wed, June 10 | Martinsville | FS1 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Sun, June 14 | Homestead-Miami | FOX | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sun, June 21 | Talladega | FOX | 3 p.m. ET |
| Sat., June 27 | Pocono | FOX | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sun., June 28 | Pocono | FS1 | 4 p.m. ET |
| Sun., July 5 | Indianapolis | NBC | 4 p.m. ET |
| Sun., July 12 | Kentucky | FS1 | 2:30 p.m. ET |
| Wed., July 15 | Bristol (All-Star Race) | FS1 | 8:30 p.m. ET |
| Sun., July 19 | Texas | NBCSN | 3 p.m. ET |
| Thurs., July 23 | Kansas | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Sun., Aug. 2 | New Hampshire | NBCSN | 3 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Aug. 8 | Michigan | NBCSN | 4 p.m. ET |
| Sun., Aug. 9 | Michigan | NBCSN | 4:30 p.m. ET |
| Sun., Aug. 16 | Daytona (road course) | NBC | 3 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Aug. 22 | Dover | NBCSN | 4 p.m. ET |
| Sun. Aug. 23 | Dover | NBCSN | 4 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Aug. 29 | Daytona | NBC | 7:30 p.m. ET |
The Darlington race on May 17 ran instead of the the Chicagoland race that was originally scheduled for June 21. The Darlington race on May 20 ran instead of the postponed Richmond race that was originally scheduled for April 19. The Charlotte race on May 27 ran instead of the Sonoma race that was originally scheduled for June 14.
The Pocono doubleheader remained as previously scheduled for the final weekend of June, with the Cup Series racing on back-to-back days. Those races were presented on Fox (and FS1) rather than on NBC. Fox's will close its coverage this season with the All-Star Race at Bristol on July 15 before NBC takes over, but NBC still carried the Brickyard 400 on July 5.
The previously postponed races at Dover and Michigan are now part of Saturday-Sunday doubleheaders at those respective tracks in August.
Because New York requires people to quarantine for 14 days after traveling from one of the states impacted heavily by COVID-19 (including North Carolina), the Watkins Glen race on Aug. 16 was moved to the Daytona road course. According to The Athletic, NASCAR tried to get a quarantine waiver for its Watkins Glen races but was denied by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.
The Aug. 16 race will be the NASCAR Cup Series' first on the road course at Daytona.