NASCAR at Charlotte: Start time, lineup, TV/radio schedule
CONCORD, N.C. — It's NASCAR race night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and we've got some essential information you need to get ready for Saturday night's Bank of America 500.
START TIME: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Calvin James and British Army Royal Engineer Pvt. Karl Boon will instruct drivers to start their engines at 7:40 Eastern time tonight, followed by the green flag at 7:48 p.m. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV at 7:48.
RACE DISTANCE: As you might guess by the race name, the Bank of America 500 is a 500-mile race around the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. That means drivers will have to complete a total of 334 laps.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Christian musician Francesca Battistelli will sing the national anthem prior to tonight's race.
TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: ABC — not ESPN — 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: After a pleasant day in the mid-70s, the National Weather Service says race-time temperatures should dip into the mid-to-low 60s under cloudy skies. Fortunately, rain is not expected to be a factor.
LAST TIME: Kevin Harvick, who won last week's race at Kansas, is the most recent Charlotte winner after his Coca-Cola 600 victory in May. And one year ago, Michael Waltrip Racing's Clint Bowyer drove to victory lane for his third win of the season; Bowyer hasn't won since.
STARTING LINEUP: Jeff Gordon knocked Kevin Harvick off the pole as the final car to go out in Thursday night's qualifying session.
Here's the full starting lineup for tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte:
- Jeff Gordon
- Kevin Harvick
- Greg Biffle
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kasey Kahne
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Ryan Newman
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Kyle Busch
- Kurt Busch
- Aric Almirola
- Joey Logano
- Paul Menard
- Clint Bowyer
- Carl Edwards
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Denny Hamlin
- Brian Scott
- Matt Kenseth
- Kyle Larson
- Mark Martin
- Brad Keselowski
- Bobby Labonte
- Jamie McMurray
- Jeff Burton
- Brian Vickers
- Casey Mears
- Marcos Ambrose
- David Ragan
- Cole Whitt
- Landon Cassill
- Josh Wise
- David Gilliland
- Danica Patrick
- David Reutimann
- Michael McDowell
- Joe Nemechek
- Dave Blaney
- Timmy Hill
- Travis Kvapil
- JJ Yeley
- Blake Koch
Follow Jeff Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck