2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule
- Saturday qualifying for some tracks in 2011:
Phoenix – 2/26
Martinsville – 4/2 & 10/29
Talladega – 4/16 & 10/22
Dover – 5/14 & 10/1
Kansas – 6/4
Pocono – 6/11 & 8/6
Michigan – 6/18
Indianapolis – 7/30 - OFF weekends (3): (no Sprint Cup races scheduled)
3/13
4/24
7/24 - Night Races (11): (all but noted scheduled to start around 7:45pm/et)
Texas – 4/9
Richmond – 4/30
Darlington – 5/7
All-Star Race – 5/21, 7:00pm/et
Charlotte – 5/29 – 6:15pm/et
Daytona – 7/2
Kentucky – 7/9
Bristol – 8/27
Atlanta – 9/4
Richmond – 9/10
Charlotte – 10/15 - NASCAR released its telecast times for the 2011 season, primarily preserving the earlier and consistent start times established in 2010. Regular season points races in the Eastern and Central regions of the country will begin at 1:00 pm/et; West Coast events will begin at 3:00 pm/et; and night races will begin at 7:30 pm/et (Note: NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600, will start at 6:00 pm/et on May 29).
In addition, NASCAR announced new start times for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with six of the first seven races beginning at 2:00 pm/et and the last three races, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, beginning at 3:00 pm/et. The 52nd annual Bank of America 500 from Charlotte Motor Speedway is the only night race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and will begin at 7:30 pm/et.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races will again be seen on either FOX, TNT, ESPN or ABC.
“The 2011 broadcast schedule strikes the right balance between keeping the start times in familiar slots and highlighting the races down the stretch, building more excitement at the end of the season,” said Paul Brooks, senior vice president of NASCAR and president of NASCAR Media Group. “Continuing to raise the profile of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was also on the top of our list and we believe these new start times for those 10 races will help do just that.”
The preseason non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will be on FOX (8:10 pm/et on Feb. 12). In addition, two other non-points events – the Gatorade Duel at Daytona (2:00 pm/et on Feb. 17) and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (7:30 pm/et on May 21 at Charlotte Motor Speedway), will be on SPEED.
FOX will have the first 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races, beginning with the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 (Feb. 20, 1:00 pm/et) and ending with the June 5 race at Kansas Speedway, the first of two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at that track this year.
TNT will have the next six events, beginning with the Pocono 500 at 1:00 pm/et on June 12 at Pocono Raceway and ending with New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s first of two races on July 17 at 1:00 pm/et. In addition, TNT will have the inaugural Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on July 9 at 7:30 pm/et.
ESPN and ABC will carry the final 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. ABC will telecast three races, including the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup “cutoff race” – the Richmond 400 on Sept. 10 at 7:30 pm/et.
ESPN will telecast 14 races, including the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 18 at 2:00 pm/et and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20 at 3:00 pm/et.
ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will telecast 33 of the 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011. ESPN2 opens the season with the DRIVE4COPD 300 at 1:15 pm/et on Feb. 19 at Daytona International Speedway. ESPN2 will also telecast the season finale Ford 300 on Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (4:30 pm/et).
SPEED will air one NASCAR Nationwide Series race in 2011 with the 24th running of the Bubba Burger 250 from Richmond International Raceway on April 29 at 7:30 pm/et.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to SPEED for a ninth consecutive season. As was the case last year, SPEED will show the entire 25-race schedule, opening with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Feb. 18 at 8:00 pm/et at Daytona.(NASCAR)(2-7-2011) - NASCAR Announces 2011 Schedules: NASCAR announced the 2011 schedule for its three national series, highlighted by several key changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. One of those changes comes early, as the second race of the season will be held at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 27, a week after the season-opening Daytona 500. PIR replaces Auto Club Speedway in Week 2. Texas Motor Speedway fills in the vacated Phoenix spot on Saturday, April 9. Southern California’s Auto Club Speedway will now run its race date on March 27. The series’ 36-race schedule will feature two realigned events. A second Kansas Speedway date follows the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and will be held on Sunday, June 5. And for the first time in a decade the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series realigns to a new track with a race at Kentucky Speedway. The Kentucky race will be held under the lights on Saturday, July 9.
The 2011 “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” – consisting of the season’s last 10 races, during which the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is decided – will begin at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Chicagoland’s previous race date was in early July, a slot that went to the realigned event at Kentucky. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which previously had the first Chase date, will now have the second, on Sept. 25.
Also released today were the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, highlighted by a second race at Iowa and Chicagoland speedways, and the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which will see nine races moved to different dates on the calendar.
All three national series – NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – will begin their seasons at Daytona International Speedway’s “Speedweeks,” with a weekend culminated by the Daytona 500. The traditional “non-points” Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will provide fans a NASCAR Sprint Cup preview, on Saturday night, Feb. 12, followed by qualifying for the “Great American Race” to be held on Sunday, Feb. 13. All three series will end their seasons with another tradition – Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 18-20. The NASCAR Nationwide Series will consist of 34 races [down from 35], all featuring the new car that is being run a total of four times this season. Iowa Speedway, which joined the schedule in 2009, receives a second date in 2011. The series will visit the Newton, Iowa, facility for the first time on Sunday, May 22 and return on Saturday, Aug. 6. A new date has been added at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, June 4.
The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will consist of 25 races, one of which will be announced at a future date.
See the schedule on Jayski’s 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule page.
For more and past news about the 2011 Sprint Cup Series schedule, see my 2011 Sprint Cup Schedule news and rumors page.
For the Nationwide Series sched, see Jayski’s Nationwide Series site or 2011 Nationwide Series Schedule page
For the Camping World Series 2011 Sched, see Jayski’s Camping World Truck Series site or 2011 Camping World Truck Series Schedule page.(8-18-2010) - see info for each track news and rumors on my 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule & News page
CLICK on the track location to go to that track’s past news and links page.
CLICK on the race name to go to the ‘next race’ page for each race (when available).
The ‘next race’ pages are added the week or so before the race
and cover the weekend schedule, TV, Qualifying, news etc
All times Eastern and are PM unless noted and are RACE START TIMES
NOT when coverage begins for the pre-race.
All times are tenative and could change
| Race# | Scheduled Race Date |
Track Location (click for track info) |
Race (click for race info if available) |
Laps | Track Size Miles |
Race Length Miles |
Television Radio Coverage |
Time Green Flag TV Start (approx) |
Qualifying Time/TV |
Happy Hour Time/TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | 2/12 Sat |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona, FL |
Budweiser Shootout* | 75 | 2.5 | 187.5 | FOX MRN |
~8:29 8:00 |
2/11 8:00 draw SPEED |
2/11 6:30 SPEED |
| * | 2/17 Thur |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona, FL |
Gatorade Duel 150’s* | 60 | 2.5 | 150 | SPEED MRN |
2:00 | 2/13 1:10 FOX |
2/16 1:30 SPEED |
| 1 | 2/20 Sun |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona, FL |
Daytona 500 | 200 | 2.5 | 500 | FOX MRN |
~1:30 1:00 |
2/13 1:10 FOX |
2/19 10:30a SPEED |
| 2 | 2/27 Sun |
Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, AZ |
Subway Fresh Fit 500 (k) | 312 | 1.00 | 312 | FOX MRN |
~3:14 3:00 |
2/26 3:40 SPEED |
2/25 6:00 SPEED |
| 3 | 3/6 Sun |
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV |
Kobalt Tools 400 | 267 | 1.5 | 400.5 | FOX PRN |
~3:16 3:00 |
3/4 6:40 SPEED |
3/5 1:10 SPEED |
| 3/13 Sun |
OFF | |||||||||
| 4 | 3/20 Sun |
Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, TN |
Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City | 500 | 0.533 | 266.5 | FOX PRN |
~1:13 1:00 |
3/18 3:40 SPEED |
3/19 12:00 SPEED |
| 5 | 3/27 Sun |
Auto Club Speedway Fontana, CA |
Auto Club 400 | 200 | 2.0 | 400 | FOX MRN |
~3:16 3:00 |
3/25 7:10 SPEED |
3/26 3:50 SPEED |
| 6 | 4/3 Sun |
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville, VA |
Goody’s Fast Relief 500 | 500 | 0.526 | 263 | FOX MRN |
~1:13 1:00 |
4/2 12:10 SPEED |
4/1 3:30 SPEED |
| 7 | 4/9 Sat night |
Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX |
Samsung Mobile 500 | 334 | 1.5 | 500.5 | FOX PRN |
~7:45 7:30 |
4/8 6:40 SPEED |
4/8 3:00 SPEED |
| 8 | 4/17 Sun |
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, AL |
Aaron’s 499 | 188 | 2.66 | 500.08 | FOX MRN |
~1:19 1:00 |
4/16 11:35a SPEED |
4/15 3:30 SPEED |
| 4/24 Sun |
Easter – OFF | Easter Bunny 500 | ||||||||
| Race# | Scheduled Race Date |
Track Location (click for track info) |
Race (click for race info if available) |
Laps | Track Size Miles |
Race Length Miles |
Television Radio Coverage |
Time Green Flag TV Start (approx) |
Qualifying Time/TV |
Happy Hour Time/TV |
| 9 | 4/30 Sat Night |
Richmond International Raceway Richmond, VA |
Crown Royal Presents the Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400 | 400 | 0.75 | 300 | FOX MRN |
~7:43 7:30 |
4/29 5:35 SPEED |
4/29 2:45 SPEED |
| 10 | 5/7 Sat Night |
Darlington Raceway Darlington, SC Mother’s Day Weekend |
Showtime Southern 500 | 367 | 1.366 | 501.3 | FOX MRN |
~7:45 7:00 |
5/6 5:10 SPEED |
5/6 2:15 SPEED |
| 11 | 5/15 Sun |
Dover International Speedway Dover, DE |
FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks | 400 | 1.0 | 400 | FOX MRN |
~1:15 1:00 |
5/14 12:10 SPEED |
5/13 2:45 SPEED |
| * | 5/21 Sat Night |
Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, NC |
Sprint Showdown* | 40 20/20 |
1.5 | 60 | SPEED MRN |
~7:46 7:00 |
5/20 TBA SPEED |
5/20 TBA SPEED |
| * | 5/21 Sat Night |
Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, NC |
Sprint All-Star Race* | 100 50/20/20/10 |
1.5 | 150 | SPEED MRN |
~9:00 | 5/20 TBA SPEED |
5/20 TBA SPEED |
| 12 | 5/29 Sun night |
Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, NC |
Coca-Cola 600 | 400 | 1.5 | 600 | FOX PRN |
~6:15 6:00 |
5/26 7:10 SPEED |
5/28 12:30 SPEED |
| 13 | 6/5 Sun |
Kansas Speedway Kansas City, KS |
STP 400 | 267 | 1.5 | 400.5 | FOX MRN |
~1:16 1:00 |
6/4 12:10 SPEED |
6/3 4:30 SPEED |
| 14 | 6/12 Sun |
Pocono Raceway Long Pond, PA |
5-Hour Energy 500 | 200 | 2.5 | 500 | TNT MRN |
~1:16 1:00 |
6/11 11:10a SPEED |
6/10 3:30 SPEED |
| 15 | 6/19 Sun |
Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, MI |
Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 | 200 | 2.0 | 400 | TNT MRN |
~1:15 1:00 |
6/18 1:10 SPEED |
6/17 3:30 SPEED |
| 16 | 6/26 Sun |
Infineon Raceway Sonoma, CA |
Toyota/Save Mart 350 | 110 | 1.99 | 224 | TNT PRN |
~3:19 3:00 |
6/24 6:40 SPEED 11:00(t) |
6/25 1:45 SPEED 3:30(t) |
| 17 | 7/2 Sat Night |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona, FL |
Coke Zero 400 | 160 | 2.5 | 400 | TNT MRN |
~7:46 7:30 |
7/1 4:10 SPEED |
6/30 6:35 SPEED |
| Race# | Scheduled Race Date |
Track Location (click for track info) |
Race (click for race info if available) |
Laps | Track Size Miles |
Race Length Miles |
Television Radio Coverage |
Time Green Flag TV Start (approx) |
Qualifying Time/TV |
Happy Hour Time/TV |
| 18 | 7/9 Sat night |
Kentucky Speedway Sparta, KY |
Quaker State 400 | 267 | 1.5 | 400.5 | TNT PRN |
~7:46 7:30 |
7/8 5:10 SPEED |
7/8 1:30 SPEED |
| 19 | 7/17 Sun |
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, NH |
Lenox Industrial Tools 301 | 301 | 1.058 | 318.485 | TNT | ~1:16 1:00 |
7/15 3:10 SPEED |
7/16 11:30a SPEED |
| 7/24 | OFF | off weekend | ||||||||
| 20 | 7/31 Sun |
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, IN |
Brickyard 400 | 160 | 2.5 | 400 | ESPN IMS |
~1:19 1:00 |
7/30 2:00 ESPN2 |
7/30 10:00a ESPN2 |
| 21 | 8/7 Sun |
Pocono Raceway Long Pond, PA |
Good Sam RV Insurance 500 | 200 | 2.5 | 500 | ESPN MRN |
~1:19 1:00 |
8/6 10:40a ESPN2 |
8/5 4:00 SPEED |
| 22 | 8/14 Sun |
Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, NY |
Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen | 90 | 2.45 | 220.5 | ESPN MRN |
~1:19 1:00 |
8/13 11:40a SPEED |
8/12 4:10 SPEED |
| 23 | 8/21 Sun |
Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, MI |
Pure Michigan 400 | 200 | 2.0 | 400 | ESPN MRN |
~1:16 1:00 |
8/19 3:40 SPEED |
8/20 10:10a SPEED |
| 24 | 8/27 Sat Night |
Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, TN |
IRWIN Tools Night Race | 500 | 0.533 | 266.5 | ABC PRN |
~7:43 7:30 |
8/26 5:10 SPEED |
8/26 2:30 SPEED |
| 25 | 9/4 Sun Night |
Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, GA Labor Day Weekend |
AdvoCare 500 | 325 | 1.54 | 500.5 | ESPN PRN |
~7:46 7:30 |
9/3 5:00 SPEED |
9/3 1:30 SPEED |
| 26 | 9/10 Sat Night |
Richmond International Raceway Richmond, VA |
Wonderful Pistachios 400 | 400 | 0.75 | 300 | ABC MRN |
~7:43 7:00 |
9/9 5:40 ESPN2 |
9/9 2:30 ESPN2 |
| The Chase Races | ||||||||||
| Race# | Scheduled Race Date |
Track Location (click for track info) |
Race (click for race info if available) |
Laps | Track Size Miles |
Race Length Miles |
Television Radio Coverage |
Time Green Flag TV Start (approx) |
Qualifying Time/TV |
Happy Hour Time/TV |
| 27 | 9/18 Sun |
Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, IL |
Geico 400 | 267 | 1.5 | 400.5 | ESPN MRN |
~2:16 2:00 |
9/17 1:40 SPEED |
9/16 6:00 ESPN2 |
| 28 | 9/25 Sun |
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, NH |
Sylvania 300 | 300 | 1.058 | 317.4 | ESPN PRN |
~2:16 2:00 |
9/23 3:10 ESPN2 |
9/24 11:30a SPEED |
| 29 | 10/2 Sun |
Dover International Speedway Dover, DE |
AAA 400 | 400 | 1.0 | 400 | ESPN MRN |
~2:15 2:00 |
10/1 1:40 SPEED |
9/30 2:30 ESPN2 |
| 30 | 10/9 Sun |
Kansas Speedway Kansas City, KS |
Hollywood Casino 400 | 267 | 1.5 | 400.5 | ESPN MRN |
~2:16 2:00 |
10/7 5:10 ESPN2 |
10/8 1:50 SPEED |
| 31 | 10/15 Sat Night |
Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, NC |
Bank of America 500 | 334 | 1.5 | 501 | ABC PRN |
~7:46 7:30 |
10/13 7:10 ESPN2 |
10/14 5:50 ESPN2 |
| 32 | 10/23 Sun |
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, AL |
Good Sam Club 500 | 188 | 2.66 | 500.08 | ESPN MRN |
~2:19 2:00 |
10/22 12:15 SPEED |
10/21 4:00 SPEED |
| 33 | 10/30 Sun |
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville, VA |
Tums Fast Relief 500 | 500 | 0.526 | 263 | ESPN MRN |
~1:43 1:30 |
10/29 12:10 SPEED |
10/28 3:30 SPEED |
| 34 | 11/6 Sun |
Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX |
AAA Texas 500 | 334 | 1.5 | 500.5 | ESPN PRN |
~3:16 3:00 |
11/4 4:40 SPEED |
11/5 11:00a ESPN2 |
| 35 | 11/13 Sun |
Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, AZ |
Kobalt Tools 500(k) | 312 | 1.00 | 312 | ESPN MRN |
~3:15 3:00 |
11/12 1:40 SPEED |
11/11 5:30 ESPN2 |
| 36 | 11/20 Sun |
Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, FL |
Ford 400 | 267 | 1.5 | 400 | ESPN MRN |
~3:16 3:00 |
11/19 2:40 SPEED |
11/18 6:05 ESPN2 |
| Race# | Scheduled Race Date |
Track Location (click for track info) |
Race (click for race info if available) |
Laps | Track Size Miles |
Race Length Miles |
Television Radio Coverage |
Time Green Flag TV Start (approx) |
Qualifying Time/TV |
Happy Hour Time/TV |
All times Eastern and are PM unless noted
All times are scheduled RACE START TIMES; NOT when coverage begines for the pre-race.
*Non-Points Race
(t) = tape delayed
SC = SPEED