How to watch the NASCAR Cup race at COTA on Sunday: TV information and start time

For the season’s first road course race, NASCAR Cup teams make their way back to Circuit of the Americas.

At COTA, Tyler Reddick is the reigning champion. The other two drivers with Cup wins at the Texas road track are Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott.

There are 39 entries in the race on Sunday, 36 of which have charters and three of which do not.

Shane van Gisbergen will be driving the No. 16 for Kaulig Racing, while AJ Allmendinger will be driving the open entry No. 13. Reentering the Cup, Kamui Kobayashi will drive the No. 50 for 23XI Racing. In their first Cup appearance since 2022, MBM Motorsports will field Timmy Hill behind the wheel of the No. 66.

Specifics for the COTA Cup race on Sunday

(Every time in Eastern)

START: At 3:38 p.m., actor Giancarlo Esposito will give the order to start the engines. At 3:49 p.m., head coach Steve Sarkisian of the University of Texas football team will throw the green flag.

PRE-RACE: At 2:40 p.m., drivers will gather. The driver introductions are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., kicker Cameron Dicker of the Los Angeles Chargers will deliver the invocation. At 3:31 p.m., San Antonio Police Department Officer Rebecca Vermeulen will play the national anthem.

DISTANCE: The race takes place on a 3.410-mile road course over 68 circuits, or 231.88 miles.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 15. Stage 2 ends at Lap 30.

STARTING LINEUP: On Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET, qualifying will take place.

TV/RADIO: The race will be televised by Fox at 3:30 p.m. NASCAR RaceDay on FS1 kicks up pre-race coverage at 2:00 p.m. NASCAR RaceDay on Fox begins pre-race programming at 3 p.m. Coverage on the Performance Racing Network starts at 2:30 p.m. PRN broadcasting will take place on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

FORECAST: Weather Underground: At the beginning of the Cup race, there will be cloudy skies, a high of 72 degrees, and a 2% chance of rain.

LAST TIME: William Byron led 28 laps and won stage one after starting from the pole. After starting second, Tyler Reddick led 41 laps and won stage 2. With four laps remaining to go before the race’s planned distance, Reddick overtook Byron in the lead, but a caution for debris forced an overtime finish. After that, Reddick successfully avoided the field on three overtime attempts to record his first victory with 23XI Racing. The top five was completed by Byron, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, and Alex Bowman.