NASCAR Kentucky start time, lineup, TV schedule and more
SPARTA, Ky. — It's NASCAR race night at Kentucky Speedway, and we've got some essential information you need to get ready for Saturday night's Quaker State 400.
START TIME: A Quaker State executive will instruct drivers to start their engines at 7:38 p.m. Eastern Saturday, followed by the green flag at 7:46 p.m. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV at 7:38 p.m.
RACE DISTANCE: As you might guess by the title of the race, the Quaker State 400 is a 400-mile race (actually 400.5 if you want to get specific), which means drivers will make 267 laps around the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Marlana Vanhoose, a blind teenager, wowed a University of Kentucky women's basketball game earlier this year. The video of her performance has gotten more than 300,000 views on YouTube and she'll sing the anthem tonight.
TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: TNT will broadcast tonight's race and has a pre-race show beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will call the race on the radio.
WEATHER: Iffy. The National Weather Service says there's a 50% chance of thunderstorms throughout the evening, meaning NASCAR could be dodging rain all night. Temperatures are expected to start in the high 70s and drop into the mid 60s by the checkered flag.
LAST TIME: Brad Keselowski launched his championship run by winning at Kentucky and starting an incredible streak in which he only finished outside the top 15 once for the rest of the season.
STARTING LINEUP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first pole position since last September's Richmond race thanks in part to a well-timed cloud in Friday's qualifying.
Here's the starting lineup for Saturday night's Quaker State 400:
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Carl Edwards
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kyle Busch
- Marcos Ambrose
- Denny Hamlin
- Ryan Newman
- Brad Keselowski
- Brian Vickers
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Joey Logano
- Jeff Gordon
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Jeff Burton
- Clint Bowyer
- Matt Kenseth
- AJ Allmendinger
- Aric Almirola
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Greg Biffle
- Kasey Kahne
- Kevin Harvick
- Jamie McMurray
- Paul Menard
- Tony Stewart
- Austin Dillon
- Kurt Busch
- David Stremme
- Danica Patrick
- Landon Cassill
- Casey Mears
- Dave Blaney
- Michael McDowell
- David Gilliland
- JJ Yeley
- David Reutimann
- Josh Wise
- David Ragan
- Mike Bliss
- Travis Kvapil
- Joe Nemechek
- Scott Riggs
- Ken Schrader