NASCAR: Charlotte playoff race no longer on USA Network
By Asher Fair
A while back, NASCAR made a broadcast network change for the Xfinity Series playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
The opening round, the round of 12, of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs is scheduled to wrap up this Saturday afternoon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval with the Drive for the Cure 250.
This race is a 67-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.28-mile (3.669-kilometer) course in Concord, North Carolina, which debuted on the Xfinity Series schedule back in 2018. It encompasses parts of the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval and the venue’s interior road course.
The Drive for the Cure 250 is the third of seven races on this year’s playoff schedule, and it was supposed to be one of six shown live on USA Network.
USA Network is the NBCUniversal-owned alternative broadcast channel during NBC’s portion of the schedule. This was a role held by NBC Sports Network until its shutdown at the end of 2021.
But earlier this year, NASCAR announcer a significant broadcast change for the Charlotte Roval event.
The Drive for the Cure 250 is now the one and only Xfinity Series playoff race set to be shown live on NBC. Along with that announcement, NASCAR also confirmed that the start time of the event would be moved up by 30 minutes.
Instead of beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET, the race is now scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET this coming Saturday, October 7.
The Contender Boats 300, which is scheduled to be the second of three races in the round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, had been the only Xfinity Series playoff race on NBC’s schedule. But that race has now been moved to USA Network. It is still set to be shown live beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 21; no adjustment has been made to its start time.
Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don’t miss NBC’s live broadcast of the Drive for the Cure 250 from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval this coming Saturday, October 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET!
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Sunday’s Cup Series playoff race, the Bank of America Roval 400, is also set to be broadcast live on NBC, not USA Network, beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET.