From the NHRA U.S. Nationals and NASCAR’s Southern 500 to Funny Car Chaos, IndyCar, WEC, dirt-track racing and grassroots short tracks, race fans have four days of horsepower to watch.
Are you ready to be overwhelmed? Labor Day weekend is one of those weekends when being a race fan can ironically become a full-time job.
From Friday afternoon through Monday evening, the 2026 Labor Day weekend is packed with racing action across drag strips, short tracks, road courses and dirt tracks throughout the United States. And thanks to an ever-growing number of streaming platforms, fans don’t have to be at the track to experience much of it.
NASCAR, NHRA, IndyCar, IMSA, FIA WEC, ARCA, High Limit Racing, CARS Tour, USAC, Funny Car Chaos and countless grassroots series will be competing throughout the holiday weekend.
Some races will be broadcast on traditional television, while others will stream through services such as FloRacing, Peacock, RacingAmerica.TV, RACER+ and YouTube.
Here is your RacingJunk guide to the biggest racing events to watch over Labor Day weekend 2026.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Funny Car Chaos – 61st Annual Labor Day Weekend Classic
Mo-Kan Dragway – Asbury, Missouri
Watch: Free on YouTube
What better way to start Labor Day weekend than with some outlaw Funny Car action at one of the coolest grassroots dragstrips in the US?
Funny Car Chaos headlines the 61st Annual Labor Day Weekend Classic at historic Mo-Kan Dragway in southwest Missouri. The two-day streaming event features Funny Cars from across the country, along with the super cool Dirty South Gassers and some of the best racers from the middle of the map.
Friday night features an all-pro show headlined by Dirty South Gasser competition and Funny Car qualifying at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The show continues on Saturday, but we’ll have more on that later in this article.
The best part for fans who can’t make the trip to the Show Me State? Funny Car Chaos is streaming the event free on YouTube. That’s a pretty good way to kick off the holiday weekend.
High Limit Racing – Skagit Nationals
Skagit Speedway – Alger, Washington
Watch: FloRacing
The High Limit Racing Series continues its invasion of Skagit Speedway on Friday. The Skagit Nationals is one of the marquee sprint-car events of the weekend, with three nights of racing leading to Saturday night’s massive finale. Fun Fact: The Thursday edition of this event is what we’re tuned into while writing this article.
CARS Tour – Florence Motor Speedway
Florence, South Carolina
Watch: FloRacing
The CARS Tour also gets rolling Friday at Florence Motor Speedway, bringing some of the country’s best late-model stock-car racers to South Carolina for the Cook Out 225.
Other Friday Racing
Friday’s television and streaming schedule also includes:
Crandon Off-Road Racing — RACER Network/RACER+
Indy NXT practice — FS2/FOX One
NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice — FS2/FOX One
FIA WEC practice at Circuit of The Americas — WEC+
USAC National Midgets — FloRacing
IRA Sprint Cars — FloRacing
Modified racing — FloRacing
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
Saturday might be the most diverse racing day of the entire year.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series – Darlington
Darlington Raceway – Darlington, South Carolina
7:30 p.m. ET — The CW
NASCAR takes center stage Saturday night at one of America’s most historic racetracks.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competes at Darlington Raceway, with the race scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW. Cup Series practice and qualifying take place earlier in the afternoon on truTV.
Funny Car Chaos – Eliminations
Mo-Kan Dragway – Asbury, Missouri
Watch: Free on YouTube
Saturday is championship night at Mo-Kan.
After Friday’s qualifying sessions, Funny Car Chaos competitors return to duke it out for eliminations at the penultimate event of the 2026 Chaos Championship Tour. Gassers, Hot Rods and the next generation of racers complete the lineup for a full day of racing on the Missouri-Kansas border.
For fans of grassroots drag racing, this is one you won’t want to miss.
High Limit Racing – Skagit Nationals Finale
Skagit Speedway – Washington
Watch: FloRacing
The High Limit Racing weekend reaches its conclusion Saturday night at Skagit Speedway. From all the racing we’ve seen from Skagit so far this week, Saturday looks to get western.
USAC Silver Crown – Ted Horn 100
DuQuoin State Fairgrounds – DuQuoin, Illinois
Watch: FloRacing
The USAC Silver Crown Series brings its traditional Labor Day weekend action to DuQuoin for the Ted Horn 100. The only track on our list that’s also hosted horse racing, the Silver Crown cars will be singing around this historic one-mile dirt oval.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour – Oswego
Oswego Speedway – Oswego, New York
Watch: FloRacing
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is also on track Saturday at Oswego Speedway. Do you like the Cup Series but wish the cars were faster? This ought to scratch that itch.
More Saturday Grassroots Racing
Fans with a FloRacing subscription will have plenty of other choices, including NASCAR Weekly Racing at Langley, Jennerstown and Riverhead, along with additional modified and sprint-car events.
RacingAmerica.TV will also have a full slate of road-course and grassroots stock-car racing, including the ASA Southern Super Series at Mobile International Speedway and other Labor Day weekend events.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
If Saturday is busy, Sunday is absolutely loaded.
Race fans can bounce between Formula 1, off-road racing, IndyCar, NHRA, WEC, NASCAR and ARCA throughout the day.
Formula 1 – Italian Grand Prix
Monza, Italy
Watch: Apple TV
While it’s not an American event, U.S. race fans can start their Sunday morning with the Italian Grand Prix. Monza is one of the most historic racing venues in our solar system. Add to that the current championship leader starting from the back of the grid, this is a great way to start your Sunday.
Crandon Off-Road Racing
Crandon, Wisconsin
Watch: RACER Network/RACER+
Off-road racing takes over much of the day, with Crandon coverage scheduled from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. ET. If you like your racing with a little bit of hangtime, this’ll be a good one.
Indy NXT – Laguna Seca
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California
Watch: FS1/FOX One
Indy NXT competes at Laguna Seca before the main event later in the afternoon. Future stars from around the world will look to score big at one of the most topographically challenging circuits in the US.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Indianapolis, Indiana
Watch: FS1/FOX One
There are nearly 50 big-show fuel cars on property – the most in more than a decade. We’re hearing reports you can smell burnt nitro in downtown Indy. The NHRA U.S. Nationals is already one of the biggest events of the entire drag racing season, and Sunday is packed with action.
NHRA.TV also provides live streaming of the event’s qualifying sessions. The best part of this broadcast is getting to see all the action from every category. It’s always fun to root on the guy in Z/SA and see what kind of oddball combinations you can spot.
IndyCar – Laguna Seca
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California
3 p.m. ET — FOX/FOX One
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES season reaches its conclusion at one of America’s most spectacular road courses. With the championship already wrapped up, it’ll still be worth watching to see who can carry momentum through the off-season and into an already very silly, silly season.
The Laguna Seca race is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX One.
FIA WEC – Lone Star Le Mans
Circuit of The Americas – Austin, Texas
2-8:30 p.m. ET — truTV/HBO Max/WEC+
Endurance racing takes over COTA as the FIA World Endurance Championship stages the Lone Star Le Mans. What could be one of the hottest endurance races on record, it’ll be a tall order to keep pace and make it to the finish line.
The six-and-a-half-hour broadcast makes this one of the weekend’s longest continuous racing programs.
NASCAR Cup Series – Southern 500
Darlington Raceway – Darlington, South Carolina
5 p.m. ET — USA Network/HBO Max
And then there’s the Southern 500.
Few races carry the history and prestige of Darlington’s Labor Day weekend classic. The NASCAR Cup Series takes to the “Lady in Black” Sunday evening, with the green flag scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. This is the first race for the Cup Series’ revamped playoff format with every race being critical for drivers looking to put their name in the history books.
The race will air on USA Network and HBO Max.
ARCA Menards Series – DuQuoin
DuQuoin State Fairgrounds – DuQuoin, Illinois
8:30 p.m. ET — FS1/FOX One
Once the Southern 500 is underway, stock-car fans can also catch ARCA action from DuQuoin later Sunday night. Racing at a fairground is always a cool scene. Slinging full-bodied stock cars around a low-banked one-mile dirt track is also, pretty darn cool
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
NHRA U.S. Nationals – Eliminations
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Indianapolis, Indiana
Noon-5 p.m. ET — FS1/FOX/FOX One
Labor Day belongs to drag racing.
The NHRA U.S. Nationals close out the holiday weekend taking center stage with eliminations from Indianapolis. No matter your preferred flavor of motorsport, this is one you’ll want to tune in for. This isn’t just a big one, it’s the biggest.
Coverage begins at noon ET on FS1 and FOX One before moving to FOX from 2-5 p.m. ET.
For drag racers and fans, this is one of the traditional signs that the summer racing season is beginning its final push toward the championship battles – and boy do we have some battles this year.
Grassroots Racing
RacingAmerica.TV continues its Labor Day weekend coverage Monday with events including the Oxford Championship Series at Oxford Plains Speedway and continued action from the World Stock Car Festival at Winchester Speedway.
So, whatever kind of racing gets your heart rate up, there’s a good chance you’ll find it somewhere on the screen this Labor Day weekend. So fire up the TV, load up the streaming apps and get comfortable. Labor Day weekend is for racing!
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