NASCAR Atlanta Labor Day Weekend Race 2011: Start Time, Starting Lineup, TV/Radio Listings And More

It’s NASCAR race night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and we’ve got the actual race start time, the starting lineup and some other facts about the AdvoCare 500 for you below.

Start time: The command to start engines will be given by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty at 7:39 p.m. Eastern time. After a few pace laps, honorary starter Richard Wright – the CEO of race sponsor AdvoCare will wave the green flag at 7:48 p.m. Eastern. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, flip on your TV set at 7:48. *****UPDATE: Due to impending rain, the start time has been moved up to 7:30 p.m. EDT*****

Race name/distance: The AdvoCare 500 is sponsored by a company new to NASCAR. AdvoCare is a health and wellness company that makes an energy drink called “Spark.” The race distance is 325 laps around the 1.5-mile track for a total distance of 500 miles.

TV and radio: ESPN resumes its coverage of the Sprint Cup schedule’s latter half after the race was on ABC last week. If you aren’t near a TV or can’t watch, the radio broadcast can be found on your local Performance Racing Network (PRN) affiliate. Click here to see a list of PRN stations where you can listen.

National anthem: Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound will once again perform the anthem. The gospel quartet has performed many anthems at sporting events before, including at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Tickets: There are plenty of tickets still available for Sunday’s race.

Weather: NOT GOOD! According to the unofficial NASCAR weatherman, rain is expected to arrive around the start of the race. That’s not good, because he expects it to last through Monday once it arrives.

Last time: Tony Stewart, who hadn’t won all season, beat Carl Edwards on the final restart of the night to win last September’s Atlanta race.

Starting lineup for tonight’s NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway: