The start time for Wednesday night's NASCAR All-Star Race technically is a little earlier than originally scheduled. But the start time is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the changes the 2020 All-Star Race has endured as part of NASCAR's schedule shake-up.
Due to the same coronavirus pandemic-related issues that shut down live sports in the spring, NASCAR created a modified schedule of races that continues tonight at 7 p.m. ET with the running of The Open, a qualifying race for drivers not yet locked into the All-Star Race, and a start time of 8:30 p.m. ET for the main event.
The 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race, of course, was originally scheduled to run on its traditional May weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Salvaged and rescheduled for July, the All-Star Race now will play out at Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time in its 36-year history.
Scheduled to take the green flag shortly after 7 p.m. ET, Wednesday night's Open will feature three stages (35 laps, 35 laps, 15 laps), and the winner of each stage will advance to the All-Star Race. The main event will feature four stages (55 laps, 35 laps, 35 laps, 15 laps) and will start shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET.
Below is all you need to know about the schedule for Wednesday night's NASCAR All-Star Race and beyond.
MORE: Watch the NASCAR All-Star Race live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
What time does the NASCAR All-Star Race start today?
- Race: NASCAR All-Star Race (and Open) at Bristol Motor Speedway
- Date: Wednesday, July 15
- Start time: 7 p.m. ET (Open) | 8:30 p.m. ET (All-Star Race)
The first green flag of the night Wednesday will wave shortly after 7 p.m. ET for The Open, a quick qualifying race for those not yet locked into the All-Star field. The Open will feature stage lengths of 35, 35 and 15 laps. The winners of those three stages will earn spots in the back of the All-Star race lineup.
The All-Star Race itself has a start time of 8:30 p.m. ET and features stage lengths of 55, 35, 35 and 15 laps. Both green flag and yellow flag laps will count in Stages 1-3 with only green flag laps counting in the final stage.
FS1's NASCAR All-Star Race coverage will start at 6 p.m. ET.
What channel is NASCAR on today?
- TV channel: FS1
- Live stream: Fox Sports Go | fuboTV (7-day free trial)
The TV channel for Wednesday night's NASCAR All-Star Race is the same as originally scheduled even though the event had to be moved back to July and relocated from Charlotte to Bristol.
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 Wednesday night's All-Star Race. They will do so remotely from the Fox studio rather than the booth at the track.
The NASCAR All-Star Race is Fox's last Cup Series event of the 2020 season before NBC and NBCSN officially take over as the TV channels for the rest of the year. 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 All-Star Race at Bristol
Anybody who has a cable or satellite subscription can stream Wednesday's NASCAR All-Star Race 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.