F1, MotoGP, IndyCar, and NASCAR Are All Racing the Same Weekend — Good Luck Picking Which One to Watch

This July 9-12 racing weekend has plenty going on even though Formula 1 and IndyCar are catching their breath. That just means more room on the couch for everyone else. Between a Georgia short-track doubleheader that splits its own paddock across two states, a German road course that’s chewed up tires since the Cold War, and a sports car field trip to Canada, there’s a full slate whether you wake up early or sleep in.

NASCAR’s weekend is oddly geographic. The Craftsman Truck Series breaks away from the rest of the tour entirely, running Lime Rock Park on Saturday afternoon while the Xfinity and Cup regulars set up shop at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Xfinity gets Saturday night under the lights, and Sunday belongs to the Quaker State 400 — 260 laps that have turned into one of the more physical dates on the Cup calendar now that Atlanta’s repave gave the place superspeedway-style tempers on a mile-and-a-half footprint. Chase Elliott held this trophy last year, and Atlanta has a habit of embarrassing whoever the algorithm likes going in.

Overseas, MotoGP lands at the Sachsenring for the German round, a circuit so tight and left-heavy that riders have joked for years it’s really just one long corner with sponsors on it. Sunday’s Grand Prix kicks off at 8 AM Eastern, giving fans a legitimate reason to set an alarm before a NASCAR race that doesn’t start until that evening.

Meanwhile, IMSA’s WeatherTech Championship packs up for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where the Chevrolet Grand Prix closes out a weekend that also features a VP Racing SportsCar Challenge doubleheader. It’s a quieter stop than Atlanta or Sachsenring, but for prototype and GT fans it’s arguably the technical highlight of the four days.

Add it up and it’s a rare racing weekend where the biggest story might be who’s missing. F1 and IndyCar are both between races, and NHRA doesn’t fire up again until Sonoma. For once, that’s not a complaint — it just means there’s time to watch everything else.

Where to Watch This Racing Weekend

Where to watch: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Lime Rock Park, Saturday 1 PM ET on FS1. NASCAR Xfinity Series, EchoPark Speedway, Saturday 7 PM ET on The CW. NASCAR Cup Series’ Quaker State 400, EchoPark Speedway, Sunday 7 PM ET on TNT Sports. MotoGP’s German Grand Prix, Sachsenring, Sunday 8 AM ET on FS1/FS2 and the MotoGP app. IMSA’s Chevrolet Grand Prix, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Sunday 2 PM ET on Peacock.

About the Author

Shawn Henry

Administrator

Shawn Henry has spent years writing about cars, and it shows—not in a resume kind of way, but in how he talks about them. He's the type who'll notice the weird trim option nobody remembers and actually know why it mattered. At Backfire News, he covers pretty much the whole spectrum: off-road trucks and trail builds, performance cars, racing, and the collector market. He's comfortable getting into the technical weeds, but he never forgets that most people read about cars because cars are fun, not because they want a spec sheet. His beat runs from classic and collector vehicles to overlanding culture, modified performance builds, new automotive tech, and the industry news that actually affects what ends up in your driveway. Mostly, though, Shawn thinks the best car stories are about people—the builds they pour money into, the road trips, the communities that form around a shared obsession. That's the stuff he likes writing about, and it's what you'll find in his work here.

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