Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series continues with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The drivers planned on participating in this race on March 29, but COVID-19 forced its postponement until Sunday. Here’s when the race begins and how to watch.
Following the FOX portion of the NASCAR schedule, NBC Sports Network will take over coverage for the Auto Parts 500, which starts at 3 p.m. ET. PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio call. Rick Allen, Steve Letarte, and 21-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton will give the call during the race, along with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rutledge Wood will interact with social media users and pose questions to the in-booth announcers.
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Racing in the Lone Star State.
Retweet if you’re ready to drop the green flag this afternoon at @TXMotorSpeedway! pic.twitter.com/7qm3wsez4J
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 19, 2020
Prior to the green flag, Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw will serve as the grand marshal. He will tell the drivers to start their engines in front of the largest crowd in Texas since the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. Gov. Greg Abbott allowed a 50-percent capacity crowd for Sunday’s race. Bradshaw’s daughter, Rachel Bradshaw, will also sing “God Bless America” before the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
Heading into Sunday’s race, Aric Almirola secured the pole position after a random draw based on owner points. Ryan Blaney will join him on the front row as they lead the field to the green flag. Brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch will line up in the second row as they both search for their first wins of the season.
Denny Hamlin, the winner of 2019’s race, will start Sunday from the seventh position as he looks for a repeat performance. However, he will have to contend with Kevin Harvick, the man responsible for three wins in the last six races at Texas. Harvick will start fifth overall as he looks to build upon his lead in the points standings.
While some drivers will search for their first win of the season, four will try to stay alive in the playoff race. William Byron and Jimmie Johnson will enter Sunday’s event just ahead of the cutoff point. They have a minor lead in points over Austin Dillon and rookie Tyler Reddick, both of whom will try to move forward in the standings with strong performances and avoid seeing their seasons end early.
