After a stressful year that saw sports put on the back burner, the NASCAR Federated Auto Parts 400 provides a breath of fresh air as part of the 2020 Cup Series’ Round of 16.
Or to sum it up in one word: Playoffs.
The race is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST on NBCSN — A channel that’s available through a variety of live-streaming platforms. More on that later, but first, let’s take a look at how things are turning out for the competitors heading into this race.
How to watch the NASCAR Federated Auto Parts 400:
Your pool of options leaves a lot of the decisions up to you in terms of NASCAR viewership. Like most races from this season, NBCSN is the way to go for all of your NASCAR needs. Besides a handful of nationally televised competitions on mainstay stations, NBCSN is and has been home to the best of the Cup Series.
($55/month) and ($60/month) each carry NBCSN in their live television streaming packages. There’s some variety in the offers of these two streaming services, so you may want to go through the channel lists to make sure its the right fit for your household. However, each of them will get you the race at a decent monthly rate.
Things get a bit more complicated with . You can sign up for Sling’s Blue package for $30 per month and never look back, but that only offers a limited pool of channels. The Orange package doesn’t have NBCSN but does offer other sports channels like ESPN. If you like the way Sling operates, you can sign up for a bundle that includes both for $45 per month.
The offerings of change based on your local market, but one mainstay is NBCSN. If this is enticing for you, the $55 per month price point should make it an easy decision at a reasonable fee.
However, if you have the means to invest a bit more, should be in consideration. It’s a bit more expensive at $65 per month. However, its versatility and reliability with various devices make it a strong option to catch this weekend’s race.
What to watch for in the NASCAR Federated Auto Parts 400:
Carrying the glory of a resounding victory into the next rally of the Round of 16, racer Kevin Harvick enters as one of the early favorites to win it all. His 2106 points and eight victories lead the Race for the Cup this season, which he doubled-down on with a commanding victory at the Cook Out Southern 500.
Harvick led the race for a resounding 32 laps, trailing only Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr., who started at first and sixth respectively. The eventual winner started at eighth and made up for lost time toward the end of the race that ultimately resulted in his victory. He’s now the lone racer assured a spot in the Round of 12, which will begin after the final two races of this round are concluded.
As for the aforementioned Treux and Elliott, there’s some ground to be made up. The two racers bumped each other during the final 15 laps, ultimately causing them to fall out of top contention. These two heavy-hitters will look to redeem themselves in pursuit of a Cup Series championship bid after contending as favorites throughout the season.
Similarly, Denny Hamlin needs to regain some traction after falling behind to a 13th place finish at Darlington Raceway. After skidding as low as 19th overall, he came back and asserted himself in the end. Unfortunately for Hamlin, it should limit just how well he can start in the next race, putting him in a difficult position to succeed. That shouldn’t be too difficult for the runner-up in total points and wins from this season.
For the biggest stars of the Cup Series to rejoin the chase for glory, they’ll need to learn how to play from behind in Richmond, VA.
