Is there a NASCAR race today? Date, start time, TV schedule for next race after 2021 Easter break

4 Apr 2021

Sporting News

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NASCAR is taking Easter weekend off. Find out when it will return to racing.

For those asking "Is there a NASCAR race today," the answer is that NASCAR is taking a one-week break that coincides with the Easter holiday.

NASCAR's top national series is off the track for the first weekend of April 2021. This is the first dark week of the season after seven consecutive weekends of racing beginning in mid-February with the Daytona 500.

Fans can use the time off to gear up for a longer stretch of uninterrupted racing that will extend into the middle of summer.

Here's what you need to know about NASCAR this weekend and when the next race will be:

MORE: Watch NASCAR live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Is there a NASCAR race today?

No, there is not a NASCAR race today, nor was there one earlier in the weekend. All three national series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck) are off on Easter weekend. Racing will resume the weekend of April 9-10. The Cup and Xfinity series' will both race at Martinsville Speedway then; the Xfinity Series race is scheduled for Friday, April 9, and the Cup Series race is scheduled for Saturday, April 10. The next Truck Series race will be Saturday, April 17, at Richmond Raceway.

Why doesn't NASCAR race on Easter?

The Easter break has become a NASCAR tradition. Teams and fans are given the time off to celebrate the religious holiday away from the track. No Cup Series races have been run on Easter Sunday since 1989 at Richmond, and that event was a makeup of a February snowout.

All three NASCAR national series have been dark on Easter weekend since 2012: no races on the Saturday before or the Monday after.

NASCAR will have two more scheduled off-weeks this season, and they will be consecutive: the weekends of July 24-25 and 31-Aug. 1. The breaks coincide with the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

NASCAR schedule 2021

Date Race Track Start time TV channel Radio April 10 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 Martinsville Speedway 7:30 p.m. FS1 MRN April 18 Toyota Owners 400 Richmond Raceway 3 p.m. FOX MRN April 25 Geico 500 Talladega Superspeedway 2 p.m. FOX MRN May 2 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Kansas Kansas Speedway 3 p.m. FS1 MRN May 9 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Darlington Darlington Raceway 3:30 p.m. FS1 MRN May 16 Drydene 400 Dover International Speedway 2 p.m. FS1 MRN May 23 NASCAR Cup Series Race at COTA Circuit of the Americas 2:30 p.m. FS1 PRN May 30 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway 6 p.m. FOX PRN June 6 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sonoma Raceway 4 p.m. FS1 PRN June 13 NASCAR All-Star Open Texas Motor Speedway 6 p.m. FS1 MRN June 13 NASCAR All-Star Race Texas Motor Speedway 8 p.m. FS1 MRN June 20 Ally 400 Nashville Superspeedway 3:30 p.m. NBCSN MRN June 26 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Pocono Pocono Raceway 3 p.m. NBCSN MRN June 27 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Pocono Pocono Raceway 3:30 p.m. NBCSN MRN July 4 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Road America Road America 2:30 p.m. NBC MRN July 11 Quaker State 400 Atlanta Motor Speedway 3:30 p.m. NBCSN PRN July 18 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 New Hampshire Motor Speedway 3 p.m. NBCSN PRN Aug. 8 Go Bowling at The Glen Watkins Glen International 3 p.m. NBCSN MRN Aug. 15 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course 1 p.m. NBC IMS Radio Aug. 22 FireKeepers Casino 400 Michigan International Speedway 3 p.m. NBCSN MRN Aug. 28 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Daytona International Speedway 7 p.m. NBC MRN

NASCAR playoff races

Date Race Track Start time TV channel Radio Sept. 5 Cook Out Southern 500 Darlington Raceway 6 p.m. NBCSN MRN Sept. 11 Federated Auto Parts 400 Richmond Raceway 7:30 p.m. NBCSN MRN Sept. 18 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Bristol Motor Speedway 7:30 p.m. NBCSN PRN Sept. 26 South Point 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 7 p.m. NBCSN PRN Oct. 3 YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway 2 p.m. NBC MRN Oct. 10 Bank of America ROVAL 400 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course 2 p.m. NBC PRN Oct. 17 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Texas Motor Speedway 2 p.m. NBC PRN Oct. 24 Hollywood Casino 400 Kansas Speedway 3 p.m. NBCSN MRN Oct. 31 Xfinity 500 Martinsville Speedway 2 p.m. NBC MRN Nov. 7 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Phoenix Raceway 3 p.m. NBC MRN