CHARLOTTE, N.C. – FOX Sports has announced the details of its first live NASCAR Cup Series broadcast in 10 weeks since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Sunday’s 400-mile event at Darlington Raceway marks the first of seven races at two tracks across three series in the span of 10 days, all airing on the FOX family of networks and the FOX Sports app.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to Darlington on Tuesday, May 19 (8 p.m. ET on FS1 and FOX Deportes), followed by a second NASCAR Cup Series race, a midweek 300-miler, on Wednesday, May 20 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and FOX Deportes).
Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Larry McReynolds will call Sunday’s race from the FOX Sports studios in Charlotte. Reporter Regan Smith will cover the action live from Darlington.
Race producer Barry Landis will be based in Charlotte with the broadcast team, while director Artie Kempner is positioned at the track.
FOX Deportes broadcasters, including play-by-play announcer Tony Rivera and analyst Jessi Losada, will be live from the FOX Deportes studios in Los Angeles. A special edition of NASCAR Race Hub will air on Sunday (3 p.m. ET on FOX) immediately prior to the race.
“We are thrilled for the return of FOX NASCAR this weekend and are incredibly honored to use this time to acknowledge health care workers across the country as they help us kick off Sunday’s race from Darlington,” said Mark Silverman, President, National Networks, FOX Sports. “The health and safety of our employees and all involved remains paramount, and we will continue working in lockstep with our partners at NASCAR and the racetracks to follow all national, state and local health guidelines.”
Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip and NASCAR Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer will call Tuesday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Darlington race from the Charlotte studio, with at-track reporting by Smith.
NASCAR Race Hub will air at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 immediately preceding the Xfinity race.
For Wednesday’s NASCAR Cup Series encore at Darlington, Joy, Gordon and McReynolds will return to the studio for the call, with reporter Matt Yocum live at the track and a 6:30 p.m. ET edition of NASCAR Race Hub airing immediately before on FS1.
To honor those who selflessly have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle, NASCAR, FOX Sports and its local affiliates have selected 36 health care workers from various markets across the country to serve as special grand marshals for Sunday’s return race at Darlington.
These local heroes appear in an on-air mosaic to simultaneously give the command to start engines. NASCAR drivers, who have been paired with these local heroes, will be posting videos to their social channels to honor these individuals on Thursday, May 14, around 7 p.m. ET.
Following Darlington, NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a four-race run that kicks off with the 61st running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24 (6 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX Deportes), its customary Memorial Day Weekend spot.