This weekend promises an action-packed lineup across all three NASCAR national series! The Cup and Xfinity Series will light up Daytona with high-octane excitement, while the Craftsman Truck Series kicks off its playoffs at Milwaukee. With 10 drivers vying for the Truck championship, the intensity is set to soar. Ty Majeski, fresh off back-to-back wins at Indianapolis and Michigan, is a standout contender. Racing on his home turf on Sunday, Majeski’s presence adds an extra spark to the playoff opener.

On the other hand, with just two races left in the regular season, the Cup Series is heating up. Chris Buescher, last year’s Daytona winner, and William Byron, Daytona 500 champion, are among the favorites. However, the unpredictable Daytona International Speedway often produces surprising results, making it a prime opportunity for underdogs to secure a playoff spot.

When and where to watch: Whole Race Schedule

NASCAR is going into its penultimate race of the regular season. First up is the Xfinity race, where Justin Allgaier will look for a back-to-back win. It might come easy for him, as John Hunter Nemechek will not be there. He’s racing in the Cup at Daytona. The weekend will kick off with the Xfinity Series qualifying at 3:00 p.m. ET. It will be followed by a much-awaited Cup Series qualifying at 5:05 p.m. ET. The sundowner event would be the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola race at 7:35 p.m. ET. Fans can catch all the Friday action on the USA Network and the NBC Sports app.

Saturday will be more packed as we have ARCA events, the Truck Series at the Milwaukee Mile, and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race at Daytona. The afternoon will start with the ARCA Menards Series practice at 2:00 p.m. ET. Immediately followed by the ARCA Menards Series qualification at 3:00 p.m.

All the Truck Series fans who missed the Truck racing last week have plenty to watch. After all, the playoffs are starting! The Truck Series practice will begin at 4:00 p.m. ET, followed by the qualification at 4:30 p.m. ET. Fans can catch all the action on Fox Sports 1.

The showstopper for Saturday is the thrilling Cup Series race. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will take the green flag at 7:53 p.m. ET. All the action will be broadcast live on NBC Sports. Good news for fans! NBC Sports is bringing NASCAR fans a non-stop experience at Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta, providing live coverage of every green flag lap in the upcoming Cup Series races. It will also be available to watch on Peacock, the NBC Sports app.

The action won’t stop after the Cup series race on Saturday. NASCAR will have its first playoff race for the Truck Series! First, it would be the ARCA Menards, Sprecher 150 at 1:00 p.m. ET. on FS1. Followed by the Truck Series playoff race at 4:18 p.m. ET, the nail-biting thriller can be caught on FS1.

Get pumped for thrilling NASCAR racing at Daytona International Speedway! While tickets for the Cup Series might be snatched up (who wouldn’t want to see that action?), you can still snag tickets for the Xfinity Series race on the official Speedway website: www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. For the Milwaukee Mile, tickets are still available and can be booked at trackenterprises.com.

One thing that could dampen these exciting races is rain, and the forecast shows there’s a chance of some wet weather. So, be prepared to adjust your plans if needed.

NASCAR Weekend weather forecasts, qualification lineup

The Florida weather is notoriously unpredictable, and this weekend’s Daytona Beach race could be affected. According to NBC Miami, there’s a decent chance of rain on both Friday (34%) and Saturday (33%). While showers are expected in the evenings and mornings, there’s hope that the precipitation will clear up for the main event, making it nice and sunny. So, keep an eye on the weather forecast as race day approaches. As for the Truck series in Milwaukee, Sunday looks to be clear with no signs of rain.

The qualification lineup for the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series is as follows:

Cup Series: 

1. #1 Ross Chastain
2. #2 Austin Cindric
3. #3 Austin Dillon
4. #4 Josh Berry (R)
5. #5 Kyle Larson
6. #6 Brad Keselowski
7. #7 Corey LaJoie
8. #8 Kyle Busch
9. #9 Chase Elliott
10. #10 Noah Gragson
11. #11 Denny Hamlin
12. #12 Ryan Blaney
13. #14 Chase Briscoe
14. #15 Cody Ware
15. #16 Shane Van Gisbergen
16. #17 Chris Buescher
17. #19 Martin Truex Jr.
18. #20 Christopher Bell
19. #21 Harrison Burton
20. #22 Joey Logano
21. #23 Bubba Wallace
22. #24 William Byron
23. #31 Daniel Hemric
24. #33 Austin Hill
25. #34 Michael McDowell
26. #38 Todd Gilliland
27. #41 Ryan Preece
28. #42 John Hunter Nemechek
29. #43 Erik Jones
30. #44 Joey Gase
31. #45 Tyler Reddick
32. #47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
33. #48 Alex Bowman
34. #51 Justin Haley
35. #54 Ty Gibbs
36. #66 Parker Retzlaff
37. #71 Zane Smith (R)
38. #77 Carson Hocevar (R)
39. #78 BJ Mcleod
40. #99 Daniel Suárez

Xfinity Series: 

1. #00 Cole Custer
2. #1 Sam Mayer
3. #2 Jesse Love
4. #5 Anthony Alfredo
5. #07 Patrick Emerling
6. #7 Justin Allgaier
7. #8 Sammy Smith
8. #9 Brandon Jones
9. #11 Josh Williams
10. #14 C.J. McLaughlin
11. #15 Gus Dean
12. #16 A.J. Allmendinger
13. #18 Sheldon Creed
14. #19 Joe Graf Jr
15. #20 Ryan Truex
16. #21 Austin Hill
17. #26 Jeffrey Earnhardt
18. #27 Jeb Burton
19. #28 Kyle Sieg
20. #29 Blaine Perkins
21. #31 Parker Retzlaff
22. #32 Jordan Anderson
23. #35 Akinori Ogata
24. #38 Matt DiBenedetto
25. #39 Ryan Sieg
26. #42 Leland Honeyman
27. #43 Ryan Ellis
28. #44 Brennan Poole
29. #45 Caesar Bacarella
30. #48 Parker Kligerman
31. #51 Jeremy Clements
32. #53 Joey Gase
33.  #74 TBA
34. #81 Chandler Smith
35. #91 Kyle Weatherman
36. #92 Josh Bilicki
37. #97 Shane van Gisbergen
38. #98 Riley Herbst

Craftsman Truck Series:

1. #1 William Sawalich
2. #2 Nick Sanchez
3. #02 Dexter Bean
4. #04 Marco Andretti
5. #5 Dean Thompson
6. #6 Norm Benning
7. #7 Sammy Smith
8. #9 Grant Enfinger
9. #11 Corey Heim
10. #13 Jake Garcia
11. #15 Tanner Gray
12. #17 Taylor Gray
13. #18 Tyler Ankrum
14. #19 Christian Eckes
15. #21 Blake Lothian
16. #22 Mason Maggio
17. #25 Ty Dillon
18. #32 Bret Holmes
19. #33 Lawless Alan
20. #38 Layne Riggs
21. #41 Bayley Currey
22. #42 Matt Mills
23. #43 Daniel Dye
24. #44 Mathew Gould
25. #45 Kaden Honeycutt
26. #46 Thad Moffitt
27. #52 Stewart Friesen
28. #56 Timmy Hill
29. #66 Conner Jones
30. #71 Rajah Caruth
31. #76 Spencer Boyd
32. #77 Chase Purdy
33. #88 Matt Crafton
34. #90 Justin Carroll
35. #91 Jack Wood
36. #98 Ty Majeski
37. #99 Ben Rhodes

The pole position is a game-changer, especially with just two races left before the playoffs. Drivers like Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace need strong finishes, ideally top 5, to cut. The same goes for the Xfinity race. Lastly, the top 10 at Truck will have an intense battle in the round of 10. The stakes are high, so get ready for an intense race!