What channel is the NASCAR race on today? What time does the NASCAR race start? These are the questions that plague race fans every Sunday, when each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will be on either NBC or NBCSN for the second half of the 2019 season with differing start times.
As for Sunday's First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the Cup Series' second visit to the track this season and the seventh race of the 2019 playoffs, the channel that will broadcast the race is NBCSN. The race at Martinsville will start at 3 p.m. ET.
The 3 p.m. ET start time for the Martinsville race Sunday is the first of three such start times for the Cup Series playoffs (Texas and Homestead) this season. As for the TV channel, the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend is on NBCSN for the 12th time this year. As part of NBC's TV deal with NASCAR for the 2019 season, NBC was slated to show seven of the final 20 races of the season, with the other 13 scheduled to be shown on NBCSN.
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Sunday's race at Martinsville, which will consist of three stages (130 laps, 130 laps and 240 laps), is the 34rd race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule (33rd when not counting the All-Star Race). There are just four races left this season and three races to go before the final cut-off point of the playoffs.
Martinsville Speedway is a 0.526-mile oval with just 12-degree banking in the turns and no banking on the straights. Brad Keselowski won the spring race this year at Martinsville, and his Penske teammate, Joey Logano, won the fall Martinsville race last year in dramatic fashion on his way to the Cup Series championship.
Below is all the info you need regarding how to watch Sunday's NASCAR race at Martinsville.
What channel is NASCAR on today?
- TV channel: NBCSN
- Live stream: NBC Sports App
- Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday's race at Martinsville is the 12th of 13 races this season scheduled to be shown on NBCSN. The network's broadcast crew consists of Rick Allen, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte in the booth, with Marty Snider, Dave Burns, Kelli Stavast and Parker Kligerman reporting from pit road.
In addition to the TV coverage on NBCSN, Sunday's race at Martinsville is available via live stream on the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com.
NASCAR at Martinsville: What time does today's race start?
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 27
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Martinsville Speedway
Since the Cup Series playoff inception in 2004, Martinsville has occupied two different positions on the playoff schedule. Until 2010, the Martinsville playoff race was the sixth race in the postseason. It has been the seventh race on the playoff schedule since 2011.
The winner of the Martinsville playoff race has gone on to win the Cup Series championship six times. Jimmie Johnson did it during his title runs in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2016. Tony Stewart did it in 2011, and Logano did it last season.
A non-playoff driver has won the Martinsville playoff race just twice: Jeff Gordon in 2005 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. The worst finish in the Martinsville playoff race by a driver who went on to win the title was 33rd by Kevin Harvick in 2014.
MORE: Current NASCAR playoff standings
NASCAR schedule 2019
| Date | Race | Track | Time/TV info/winner |
| Feb. 10 | Advance Auto Parts Clash | Daytona International Speedway | Jimmie Johnson |
| Feb. 14 | Gander RV Duel 1 at Daytona | Daytona International Speedway | Kevin Harvick |
| Feb. 14 | Gander RV Duel 2 at Daytona | Daytona International Speedway | Joey Logano |
| Feb. 17 | Daytona 500 | Daytona International Speedway | Denny Hamlin |
| Feb. 24 | Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Brad Keselowski |
| March 3 | Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Joey Logano |
| March 10 | TicketGuardian 500 | ISM Raceway | Kyle Busch |
| March 17 | AutoClub 400 | Auto Club Speedway | Kyle Busch |
| March 24 | STP 500 | Martinsville Speedway | Brad Keselowski |
| March 31 | O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | Texas Motor Speedway | Denny Hamlin |
| April 7 | Food City 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Kyle Busch |
| April 13 | Toyota Owners 400 | Richmond Raceway | Martin Truex Jr. |
| April 28 | Geico 500 | Talladega Speedway | Chase Elliott |
| May 5 | Cup Series Race at Dover | Dover International Speedway | Martin Truex Jr. |
| May 11 | Cup Series Race at Kansas | Kansas Speedway | Brad Keselowski |
| May 18 | Monster Energy Open | Charlotte Motor Speedway | — |
| May 18 | Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Kyle Larson |
| May 26 | Coca-Cola 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Martin Truex Jr. |
| June 2 | Pocono 400 | Pocono Raceway | Kyle Busch |
| June 10 | FireKeepers Casino 400 | Michigan International Speedway | Joey Logano |
| June 23 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway | Martin Truex Jr. |
| June 30 | Camping World 400 | Chicagoland Speedway | Alex Bowman |
| July 6 | Coke Zero Sugar 400 | Daytona International Speedway | Justin Haley |
| July 13 | Quaker State 400 | Kentucky Speedway | Kurt Busch |
| July 21 | Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Kevin Harvick |
| July 28 | Gander Outdoors 400 | Pocono Raceway | Denny Hamlin |
| Aug. 4 | Go Bowling at The Glen | Watkins Glen International | Chase Elliott |
| Aug. 11 | Consumers Energy 400 | Michigan International Speedway | Kevin Harvick |
| Aug. 17 | Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway | Denny Hamlin |
| Sept. 1 | Bojangles' Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway | Erik Jones |
| Sept. 8 | Big Machine Vodka 400 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kevin Harvick |
2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup playoff schedule
| Date | Race | Track | Time/TV info/winner |
| Sept. 15 | South Point 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Martin Truex Jr. |
| Sept. 21 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Richmond Raceway | Martin Truex Jr. |
| Sept. 29 | Bank of America ROVAL 400 | Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Coarse | Chase Elliott |
| Oct. 6 | Cup Series Race at Dover | Dover International Speedway | Kyle Larson |
| Oct. 13 | 1000Bulbs.com 500 | Talladega Superspeedway | Ryan Blaney |
| Oct. 20 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway | Denny Hamlin |
| Oct. 27 | First Data 500 | Martinsville Speedway | 3 p.m., NBCSN/fuboTV |
| Nov. 3 | AAA Texas 500 | Texas Motor Speedway | 3 p.m., NBCSN/fuboTV |
| Nov. 10 | Cup Series Race at ISM | ISM Raceway | 2:30 p.m., NBC/fuboTV |
| Nov. 17 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | 3 p.m., NBC/fuboTV |