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?
There are two races this weekend. Yes, all of TWO races. You may be sitting there, in your jammies, as it is Saturday morning and you don't feel like actually getting up yet because that would be silly, thinking "two races?! TWO RACES?! What in Sam Hill am I supposed to do with two races?" Well, baby, these are two races you're not going to want to miss.
The first race is, of course, the finale of the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide seasons, both held at the Homestead-Miami Speedway down in the beautiful, wonderful state of Florida. Florida is known and beloved throughout the world, so I'm not going to tell you much more about it, but Homestead itself is an interesting track. It originally attracted a bit of guff for being "slow" and "boring," two words which should never go with the word "racing," but that was the result of trying to ape Indy. In the past decade or so, though, they've quit all that aping-Indy business, curving out the squared-off corners and adding some sweet little banking to the curves. Now everyone likes it. Go figure.
The other big race is, of course, the Formula One United States Grand Prix. I love this race. Really, I do, and not just because it's a fancy new track and you get to see Texas Governor Rick Perry awkwardly jumping out of McLarens while wearing hipster glasses. And no, it's not just because they give the winner a big silly ill-fitting cowboy hat. And no, it's not just because you can take a lap of the track on Google Maps. And no, it's not just because we've decided to unilaterally name all the corners.
Okay, maybe it is partially because we're naming all the corners.
The main reason I love this track is because it's such a uniquely American experience in Formula One. Massive quantities of beer mixed with massive quantities of hot dogs that have been covered in cornmeal and deep-fried is a Beautiful Thing. Last year's driver's parade featured ridiculously un-F1 American Iron. It's an American driver on an American track. It's a microscope.
It is red, white, and beautiful, beautiful blue in a sport that has been severely lacking those colors (I hear they don't run). Seriously, the last time an American won an F1 race was in 1978. So, yay, America.
It also doesn't hurt that it's one of the few F1 races that gets ridiculous amounts of coverage. So there's that, too.
We know there's been a few site changes recently, so in the interests of comfort and familiarity we'll be keeping the races in the body of the posts. 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.
All times Eastern.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Ecoboost 400 Practice
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
12 PM Saturday on FS2
Formula One United States Grand Prix Qualifying
Circuit Of The Americas
Austin, Texas
1 PM Saturday on CNBC (replays at 6:30 PM and 11 PM Saturday and 10:30 AM Sunday on NBCSN)
NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford Ecoboost 300 Qualifying
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
1 PM Saturday on FS2
NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Ecoboost 400 Final Practice
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
3 PM Saturday on FS2
Formula One United States Grand Prix
Circuit Of The Americas
Austin, Texas
1 PM Sunday on NBC (replay at 6 PM Sunday on NBCSN)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Ecoboost 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
1 PM Sunday on ESPN