Welcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
Racing... racing... let's see... any racing this weekend? Oh wait, there's only the 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. In case you're new to racing (it's totally cool, don't worry, we were all new once) the 24 Hours of Le Mans is, in essence, a race through the streets surrounding a small French city that takes 24 hours to complete. Doesn't sound too crazy, until you remember that 24 hours is a long time for anybody, let alone the cars, and that Le Mans has been the most fantastic and grueling race in the world since 1923.
Le Mans features the biggest names in motorsport competing for one of the most glorious titles. Don't believe me? Here's what former race non-winner Michael Ballaban has to say about it:
It's awesome.
Go watch it.
Seriously.
-Michael Ballaban, June 22nd, 2013
Such eloquent, inspiring words. Need to know more about it? Reader Porsche9146, 98 Forever posted an excellent (it's really great) Megaguide to this year's race, with special guest appearances from OppositeLock All Stars like McNewbie1 and Nobody. I imagine they all have the same voice as Bob Varsha. If you're having trouble picking out which car is which, be sure to check out the Spotter's Guide created by Andy Blackmore and you should soon have the eagle eyes of a British racing fan looking for the beer stand.
For easy-reading purposes, I've listed the start times of when Le Mans programming starts on the SPEED network, but they're doing the right thing and will be showing the race in almost its entirety, save for a few half-hour breaks here and there. So just keep that in mind for your Le Mans viewing.
Of course, if you don't care for silly French races in the silly French countryside full of silly French people, there's still good old 'Murrikan motorsports with NASCAR at Sonoma (I wonder where I've heard of Sonoma Raceway before...), IndyCar, AMA Motocross, and NHRA drag racing. I personally think this is a great weekend for NASCAR especially, as it features both the Sprint Cup series and the Nationwide series on road courses, meaning the cars turn both left and right. Something about seeing those V8 monsters sliding themselves around the apex of a corner just leaves me tickled.
We've heard your pleas and we'll be keeping the races and times in the body of posts, as well as on the map for now. Of course, please use our image annotation tool on the map above to show us races we might have missed, where they're being held, and where we can livestream them.
Get it while it's good.
All times Eastern.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans
Circuit de la Sarthe
Le Mans, France
8:30 AM Saturday on SPEED
NASCAR Nationwide Series Johnsonville Sausage 200 Presented By Menards Qualifying
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
12 PM Saturday on ESPN2
AMA Motocross Budds Creek National
Budds Creek
Mechanicsville, Maryland
1 PM Saturday on FUEL
3 PM Saturday on NBC
4 PM Saturday on NBCSN
AMA Pro Racing Triumph Superbike Classic - Race #1
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
2:30 PM Saturday on CBSSN
NASCAR Nationwide Series Johnsonville Sausage 200 Presented By Menards
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
5 PM Saturday on ESPN
The 24 Hours of Le Mans
Circuit de la Sarthe
Le Mans, France
12 AM Sunday on SPEED
NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota-Save Mart 350
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma, California
2 PM Sunday on TNT
IndyCar Iowa Corn 250
Iowa Speedway
Newton, Iowa
2:30 PM Sunday on ABC
AMA Pro Racing Triumph Superbike Classic - Race #2
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
3 PM Sunday on CBSSN
NHRA New England Nationals
New England Dragway and Motorsports Park
Epping, New Hampshire
7 PM Sunday on ESPN2