Late season Cup race times moved to avoid conflict with NFL

NASCAR will stray from last year's standardized start times this season in an effort to boost sagging television ratings. Specifically NASCAR races in the last third of the season will slide back to a later green flag to avoid going head-to-head with NFL kickoffs. While the majority of the races televised in the first half of the year as part of the FOX television package will remain in the 1 p.m. ET start range, green flags will slide back later in the year. A 2 p.m. ET beginning is the plan for most of the races in September through November with west coast venues including Texas and Phoenix near the tail end of the schedule, going to a 3 p.m. ET start. The Homestead-Miami season-ending Ford 400 will also begin at 3 p.m. ET. CBS Sports