2026 NASCAR Schedule

Blah, nostalgia for 2 good finishes in 20 bad races. This car is getting worse on 1.5 milers, not excited at all.

Fans are clamoring for Kentucky now too because of how good the races were there and how good this car is on intermediates (when it's sucked on those tracks this year).

It's wild. That track's never had a good race.
 
I've said for years that the only reason the majority of fans wanted more road courses at the end of last decade was because Chase Elliott was dominating on them.

Which is part of it. Watkins Glen was my favorite track in the mid-90s because it was a guaranteed Mark Martin victory. Same with when Phoenix was a guaranteed Kevin Harvick win.
 
The car shines on the 1.5's and 1.5's love or hate are the heart of the series. I believe 10 intermediate tracks were used in 2025 and the doesn't include Chicago.
 
The car shines on the 1.5's

Did shine. There have been some awful races on intermediates this year.

1.5's love or hate are the heart of the series

Daytona, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, Darlington, and Bristol are the heart of the series. So much so that they tried to bury North Wilkesboro and couldn't.
 
Still shining. Opinions vary. Atlanta is a 1.5 intermediate. So is Darlington at 1.33
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Like a broken record. The networks overpaid a ton for Nascar Cup races. Stage breaks that fill the airways with commercials isn't going anywhere.
 
They've been road courses since the beginning. It's a racing series.

Even before the car was messed up, I enjoyed a lot of the road courses. 5 or 6 is a good number. 👍🏻

I enjoy the occasional road courses too, I think we have too many right now. We are gonna have to agree to disagree here.
 
I enjoy the occasional road courses too, I think we have too many right now. We are gonna have to agree to disagree here.
That's fine with me. I think adding anything past 7 would probably be bad. That's to me when it gets to be to many. The thing I like about them is they are all so drastically different. But agree to disagree for sure.
 
NASCAR is an oval series, if the car isnt performing well enough then fix the car, don't change the series.
I think Nascar is a racing series. Unlike others, it's the diversity of tracks that make it great for me. I wish they would throw in a couple of dirt tracks while they are at it. :idunno:
 
I think Nascar is a racing series. Unlike others, it's the diversity of tracks that make it great for me. I wish they would throw in a couple of dirt tracks while they are at it. :idunno:
As long as it's actual dirt tracks and not tracks they just throw dirt on for the weekend, I'm on board with that idea.
 
Fans are clamoring for Kentucky now too because of how good the races were there and how good this car is on intermediates (when it's sucked on those tracks this year).

It's wild. That track's never had a good race.
Kentucky is a lot different than Chicagoland tho lol. The Gen 7 works well on multu-groove intermediate tracks, particularly with wrecked pavement. Kentucky was single-groove.
 
Kentucky is a lot different than Chicagoland tho lol. The Gen 7 works well on multu-groove intermediate tracks, particularly with wrecked pavement. Kentucky was single-groove.
I wish IndyCar would race at Kentucky but that is a whole different conversation. I will chime in though and say I doubt Cup ever goes back to Kentucky. I could see a world where its an Xfinity, Trucks and ARCA weekend there though. I went to the 2014 Cup race there, cool facility. A bit run down but it was nice enough to catch a Cup race at.
 
San Diego to Host NASCAR’s Latest Cup Series Innovation with a Street Race at Naval Base Coronado on June 21, 2026
Gonna have to be some scheduling adjustments in 2026 as that was the Pocono date in 2025.

And with the Chicago Street Race out of the picture, what track gets the July 4th weekend date ?

With next year's schedule losing Mexico City and the Chicago Street race, that opens up two race dates, Father's Day and the Fourth of July weekend.

San Diego took this year's Pocono date which means, unless there are more changes to come, that a decision will have to be made as to which date Pocono and Chicagoland Speedway end up getting.

Whatta say, whatta know ?
 
San Diego took this year's Pocono date which means, unless there are more changes to come, that a decision will have to be made as to which date Pocono and Chicagoland Speedway end up getting.
Some will root for returning to Daytona for July 4th. Many of them will then b!tch about the inevitable summer rain.

Leave the summer to the northern tracks.
 
What, you mean you don't like pausing the race to coast around a long ass road course for 20 minutes??? /s
So, for the 250th anniversary when Trump announced the UFC fight, he mentioned there would be a number of other special events next year as well.
We now know one of those is Nascar San Diego. Think he would lend them the Octagon? Instead of the care center send them there after a crash to settle it and fill those caution breaks. Of course with a doctor there on standby for after they are done.
 
With next year's schedule losing Mexico City and the Chicago Street race, that opens up two race dates, Father's Day and the Fourth of July weekend.

San Diego took this year's Pocono date which means, unless there are more changes to come, that a decision will have to be made as to which date Pocono and Chicagoland Speedway end up getting.

Whatta say, whatta know ?
Any of the other races can easily be slid into those dates. Except for the Daytona 500, NASCAR no longer has fixed dates for any of their races.
 
Any of the other races can easily be slid into those dates. Except for the Daytona 500, NASCAR no longer has fixed dates for any of their races.

I'd argue that the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 are the only fixed dates.

The Daytona 500 is going to be moved off President's Day Weekend within the next few years when the NFL goes to an 18-game regular season.

If/when that happens, NASCAR should consider opening with the Western Swing, then go to Daytona.
 
Okay, why? I'll ask although I see a next-to-zero chance of the season ever starting outside Daytona.

Thanks.

I'd argue that the Daytona 500 already isn't the opener ever since they moved the Clash away from Daytona. The Clash feels less like a preseason exhibition and more like an actual race now.

Daytona's identity wasn't that it was the opener, it was that it's "the Super Bowl of Stock Car racing." Except NASCAR literally has a "Super Bowl" now.

And honestly, it's lost a lot of appeal being such a crapshoot that anyone can win.
 
The Clash feels less like a preseason exhibition and more like an actual race now.
Different perceptions, I guess. If it has only a partial field, no competitive pit stops, and no points, it doesn't feel like a 'real' Cup race to me. I watched the first LA Coliseum race and haven't watched a Clash since. I can't remember when I last looked at an All-Star race.
it was that it's "the Super Bowl of Stock Car racing."
Yeah, I never bought into that CBS hype.

Thanks for the response.
 
Different perceptions, I guess. If it has only a partial field, no competitive pit stops, and no points, it doesn't feel like a 'real' Cup race to me. I watched the first LA Coliseum race and haven't watched a Clash since. I can't remember when I last looked at an All-Star race.

Literally the whole field competes for a spot in the main event.
 
Literally the whole field competes for a spot in the main event.
That feels like Saturday night at a local track to me. That's great if that's where I am, but that's not what I personally want from a Cup race. I want all 36+ cars racing on the track together at the same time, making pit stops at each team's discretion that directly affect track position (preferably with no scheduled stops but that's another thread). Using a 'Heats and Main, pit only when scheduled and restart where you entered' format for Cup teams seems like they're being squeezed into a setting that doesn't showcase their full capabilities. To me, it's like the MLB playing with whiffle balls and bats on a Little League diamond, or holding a PGA tournament at the local par 3 course.

Just me.
 
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