NASCAR announces start times, networks for 2026 national series races

NASCAR on Wednesday announced the start times and networks for all of its national series races for the 2026 season, with the Daytona 500 set for 2:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 15 on FOX. Two weeks earlier, on Feb. 1, FOX will televise the Cook Out Clash's return to Bowman Gray Stadium at 8 p.m. ET. This will be the second straight season that the annual exhibition race will take place in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, venue affectionately known as "The Madhouse." RELATED: Buy tickets Prime Video will kick off its second year of NASCAR coverage at 6 p.m. ET on May 24 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Another highlight of Prime's five-race run will be the 4 p.m. ET race on June 21 at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego as NASCAR celebrates the 250-year anniversary of the U.S. Navy. TNT Sports will take over with a 3:30 p.m. ET start time on June 28 from picturesque Sonoma Raceway. This road-course showdown will also mark the beginning of the In-Season Challenge, a five-race segment where the top drivers will battle for a $1 million prize in a tournament-style format. USA Sports will close out the season with the final 14 races across USA Network, NBC and Peacock, starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 9 from Iowa Speedway on USA Network. The season will culminate with the NASCAR Championship airing on NBC at 3 p.m. ET on Nov. 8 from Homestead-Miami Speedway. The newly named NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity) will be televised exclusively on The CW again and will start its 2026 season at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 14 from Daytona International Speedway. The Craftsman Truck Series will once again be carried on FOX Sports and will get underway on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. ET  on Feb. 13 from Daytona International Speedway. In addition, and as announced previously, FOX will air all 20 ARCA Menards Series races across FOX, FS1 and FS2, beginning with the season opener at noon ET on Feb. 14 from Daytona International Speedway. Look below for the full slate of start times for the NASCAR national series and start making your plans to attend the 2026 NASCAR races: *Playoff Races NASCAR CUP SERIES [table id=600 /] NASCAR O'REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES [table id=601 /] NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES [table id=603 /]