What a difference a year has made for Martin Truex Jr.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star enjoyed a scintillating 2023 season, capturing the regular-season title after netting three wins and 15 top-five finishes in 26 races this year. He enters Sunday's Southern 500 with a mammoth 36 playoff points, placing him in excellent stead to qualify for the Round of 12.
LIVE: Updates, highlights from the Southern 500 at Darlington
That's a world away from his 2022, where he fell out of the postseason qualification during the final race of the regular season.
Truex is a NASCAR icon. But he still has more to prove; he found himself flushed under the crunch of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson during his younger years, limiting his chances at Cup Series gold. And although he reached the summit of NASCAR's premier competition in 2017, Truex has finished as the circuit's runner-up three times since.
Any good journey begins with a single step. For Truex, he's hoping that step comes at Darlington, a place he has found intermittent success at over the years.
MORE: Watch the Southern 500 live with Fubo (free trial)
With that, he's what you need to know about Sunday's Southern 500, including start time and broadcast information.
What time does the NASCAR race start today?
- Date: Sunday, September 3
- Time: 6 p.m. ET
The Southern 500 has a listed start time of 6 p.m. ET., but pre-race festivities are expected to push the waving of the green flag closer to 6:30 p.m. ET.
What channel is NASCAR on today?
- TV channel: USA (U.S.) | TSN5 (Canada)
- Live stream: Peacock, Fubo
- Radio: MRN
Saturday's race will be broadcast on USA Network in the United States. Canadian viewers can find the action on TSN5.
Veteran announcer Rick Allen will lead the race's lap-by-lap commentator. He'll be joined by former Cup Series stars Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as former Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte.
Cord-cutters can follow the action on Peacock, as well as with Fubo, which offers a free trial.
MORE: Updated points, scenarios as drivers chase Cup Series championship
NASCAR schedule 2023: Regular season
(All times Eastern)
| Date | Race (winner) | Track | Time (ET) | TV | Radio |
| Feb. 19 | Daytona 500 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) | Daytona International Speedway | |||
| Feb. 26 | Pala Casino 400 (Kyle Busch) | Auto Club Speedway | |||
| March 5 | Pennzoil 400 (William Byron) | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | |||
| March 12 | United Rentals Work United 500 (William Byron) | Phoenix Raceway | |||
| March 19 | Ambetter Health 400 (Joey Logano) | Atlanta Motor Speedway | |||
| March 26 | EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Tyler Reddick) | Circuit of the Americas | |||
| April 2 | Toyota Owners 400 (Kyle Larson) | Richmond Raceway | |||
| April 9 | Food City Dirt Race (Christopher Bell) | Bristol Motor Speedway | |||
| April 16 | NOCO 400 (Kyle Larson) | Martinsville Speedway | |||
| April 23 | GEICO 500 (Kyle Busch) | Talladega Superspeedway | |||
| May 1 | Wurth 400 (Martin Truex Jr.) | Dover Motor Speedway | |||
| May 7 | AdventHealth 400 (Denny Hamlin) | Kansas Speedway | |||
| May 14 | Goodyear 400 (William Byron) | Darlington Raceway | |||
| May 21 | NASCAR All-Star Open (Josh Berry) | North Wilkesboro Speedway | |||
| May 21 | NASCAR All-Star Race (Kyle Larson) | North Wilkesboro Speedway | |||
| May 29 | Coca-Cola 600 (Ryan Blaney) | Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||
| June 4 | Enjoy Illinois 300 (Kyle Busch) | World Wide Technology Raceway | |||
| June 11 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Martin Truex Jr.) | Sonoma Raceway | |||
| June 25 | Ally 400 (Ross Chastain) | Nashville Superspeedway | |||
| July 2 | Grant Park 220 (Shane van Gisbergen) | Chicago Street Course | |||
| July 9 | Quaker State 400 (William Byron) | Atlanta Motor Speedway | |||
| July 16 | Crayon 301 (Martin Truex Jr.) | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | |||
| July 23 | HighPoint.com (Denny Hamlin) | Pocono Raceway | |||
| July 30 | Cook Out 400 (Chris Buescher) | Richmond Raceway | |||
| Aug. 6 | FireKeepers Casino 400 (Chris Buescher) | Michigan International Speedway | |||
| Aug. 13 | Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (Michael McDowell) | Speedway Road Course | |||
| Aug. 20 | Go Bowling at the Glen (William Byron) | Watkins Glen International | |||
| Aug. 26 | Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Chris Buescher) | Daytona International Speedway |
NASCAR schedule 2023: Playoffs
(All times Eastern)
| Date | Race | Track | Time | TV | Radio |
| Sept. 3 | Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway | 6 p.m. | USA | MRN |
| Sept. 10 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway | 3 p.m. | USA | MRN |
| Sept. 16 | Bass Pro Shops Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway | 7:30 p.m. | USA | PRN |
| Sept. 24 | AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 | Texas Motor Speedway | 3:30 p.m. | USA | PRN |
| Oct. 1 | YellaWood 500 | Talladega Superspeedway | 2 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
| Oct. 8 | Bank of America Roval 400 | Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval | 2 p.m. | NBC | PRN |
| Oct. 15 | South Point 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | PRN |
| Oct. 22 | NASCAR Cup Series Race at Homestead-Miami | Homestead-Miami Speedway | 2:30 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
| Oct. 30 | Xfinity 500 | Martinsville Speedway | 2 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
| Nov. 6 | NASCAR Cup Series Championship | Phoenix Raceway | 3 p.m. | NBC | MRN |
Fans in Canada can watch all NASCAR races on TSN.