Jeff Gluck has an article titled "All 38 NASCAR Cup Series races for 2022, ranked by interest level" in The Athletic a couple weeks ago. I'll go ahead and copy/paste it here. Sorry Gluck.....
1. The Clash (Feb. 6)
As if the debut of NASCAR’s game-changing Next Gen car isn’t enough, this is a proof-of-concept race for potential stadium events in the future. If the L.A. Coliseum race goes well, the impact could go well beyond this season and open the door to all sorts of venues. Maybe it will be a flop, but if so? Then it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event to attend (assuming you weren’t around for the 1956 NASCAR race at Soldier Field). Either way, I’m extremely curious about what’s going to happen, and the setting itself will add to the excitement and anticipation of a new season.
2. Daytona 500 (Feb. 20)
The first points race with the new car will be fascinating. Daytona is known for having the Big One, but none of us can be sure what a high-speed, multi-car wreck with the Next Gen will look like. How will these cars hold up? And how about the drivers? Hopefully, the safety element will be a non-story. But in addition to the annual hype and buildup that comes with NASCAR’s most important race, the hold-your-breath element of this year’s version makes it particularly intriguing.
3. Phoenix 2 (Nov. 6)
It’s the championship race. This could easily be in the No. 1 spot, but the initial curiosity factor of the Next Gen’s launch bumps it down a couple notches.
4. Martinsville 2 (Oct. 30)
The race to determine NASCAR’s final four will always be compelling no matter the venue, but holding it at Martinsville raises it to a crazy level of anticipation. You just know something is going to happen there.
5. Bristol Night Race (Sept. 17)
NASCAR, Fox Sports and Bristol are still dead-set on ruining the spring race by throwing dirt on the greatest track in the stock car world, so we have to soak up every lap of the pavement race when allowed the chance. Last year’s Bristol Night Race was one of the best and most entertaining NASCAR races of the past decade; there’s no reason to think it would be any different this year.
6. Talladega 2 (Oct. 2)
It’s the playoff race at Talladega. The excitement and unpredictability levels for this one — as well as the playoff impact — put it near the top.
7. Charlotte Roval (Oct. 9)
The Roval keeps delivering, and its position in a cutoff spot for Round 2 of the playoffs means it has a great opportunity to do it again. Plus, as Kevin Harvick showed us last year, it’s an ideal chance to exact some stone-cold revenge from the Bristol race three weeks earlier.
8. Homestead-Miami (Oct. 23)
After losing the championship race, poor Homestead seemed left for dead. It was thrown into early-season irrelevancy and didn’t give people much of a reason to attend. But now Homestead is back in a prime playoff spot — Race No. 2 of the third round — and that feeling of postseason importance will return to NASCAR’s best 1.5-mile track.
9. Daytona 2 (Aug. 27)
The second Daytona race has been thrilling since it moved to the regular-season finale — a perfect showcase for those trying to race their way into a last-gasp playoff spot. A tremendous scheduling decision that I initially underrated, putting Daytona in this slot has seemingly ensured the race will have plenty of storylines and will never be boring.
10. Southern 500 (Sept. 4)
The combination of a historic track in Darlington, a crown jewel race and the Cup Series’ playoff opener makes this a tone-setter for Round 1 and perhaps the final 10 weeks as a whole.
11. Las Vegas 2 (Oct. 16)
Vegas might seem surprisingly high on this list, but the winner of this race (which moves to Round 3 this year) becomes the first driver to lock himself into the final four. I’ll definitely be anxious to see what happens in this one.
12. St. Louis (June 5)
Inaugural races always seem to have some juice, so World Wide Technology Raceway’s first crack at hosting a Cup Series event should carry some excitement with it. That said, it’s not like this is a brand-new track; similar to Nashville Superspeedway last year, the importance is more reaching a new market than the venue itself.
13. Fontana (Feb. 27)
NASCAR’s first visit to Auto Club Speedway since the pandemic began will also be the first “real” race with the Next Gen car (after the Clash and Daytona), so that makes it automatically interesting. We’ll be able to answer a lot of questions after this one. Plus, fans finally get to return to the worn-out, 2-mile surface for perhaps its last hurrah before construction begins on a transformation into a short track.
14. Atlanta 1 (March 20)
Will Atlanta’s bold track reconfiguration work? I’m highly skeptical the racing will translate into becoming the third superspeedway its designers envision. But this is the chance to find out, so the degree of curiosity is fairly high.
15. Talladega 1 (April 24)
It’s hard to predict how this one will turn out until we see the Daytona 500’s results with the Next Gen car. But it’s still Talladega, so both the anticipation level and fear factor will be high.
16. Martinsville 1 (April 9)
The Martinsville night race won’t have much impact on the season as a whole, but it could generate some bad blood that carries over to other races. Plus, it’s Martinsville. (And yeah, maybe it’s a bit repetitive to have multiple races at Martinsville, Talladega and Daytona in the first half of this list, but there’s a reason they’re known as some of NASCAR’s best tracks.)
17. Texas 2 (Sept. 25)
Does Texas have good racing? Nah. But given its position in the playoffs — the only straightforward race of Round 2, with potentially chaotic Talladega and the Roval to follow — it’s an important one for playoff drivers looking to avoid two weeks of uncertainty ahead.
18. Kansas 2 (Sept. 11)
This race slips down the list in 2022 because it moved to Round 1 of the playoffs — and is the middle race of the round, at that. So it has a lower profile than when it appeared in Round 3 or when it was an elimination race for Round 2. But no playoff race can be lower than this; by nature of the format, each has storylines and anticipation built into the event.
19. Circuit of the Americas (March 27)
COTA didn’t get a real chance to show what kind of race it can be in its inaugural edition, thanks to the low visibility and race-marring crashes in the rain last year. Hopefully it can redeem itself and prove it’s a good track for stock cars this year.
20. Las Vegas 1 (March 6)
This is the first 1.5-mile track race with the Next Gen car, which boosts it higher than it might otherwise be.
21. Phoenix 1 (March 13)
An early-season appearance at the championship track could help determine the narrative for the spring and give people something to talk about when examining November’s race.
22. Watkins Glen (Aug. 21)
The Glen is such a great track for NASCAR road racing. The amount of road courses on the schedule these days diminishes its importance from the days when there were only two per year, but it should still be a fun race.
23. Sonoma (June 12)
It’s been awhile since there was a top-notch Sonoma race, but the track’s recent decision to abandon the Carousel after a brief experiment (and instead return to the NASCAR layout with the Chute) might provide more action.
24. Coca-Cola 600 (May 29)
Some editions of NASCAR’s longest race haven’t been too watchable in recent years, but perhaps the Next Gen car’s increased level of difficulty will make for a more enjoyable event if cautions break up the monotony of long runs.
25. New Hampshire (July 17)
Seemingly out of nowhere, New Hampshire was quietly one of the better Cup Series races in 2021 and had a stunning winner in Aric Almirola. Can that type of race happen two years in a row?
26. Nashville Superspeedway (June 26)
Here’s a race that would have been in the top 15 if this list existed last year, but that’s because it was hosting a Cup Series race for the first time. Now it’s essentially in a “just another midseason race” spot — except its presence in the Nashville market will generate some enthusiasm a similar-style track might otherwise lack. And for those watching on TV, this will be NBC’s first race of the season after taking over from Fox.
27. Road America (July 3)
The Wisconsin track has almost the same situation as Nashville above, except it doesn’t have the big-market element attached. Still, July 4 weekend will have a lively camping scene and party-style atmosphere for this road race.
28. Darlington 1 (May 8)
Darlington’s official “Throwback Weekend” was moved to this slot last year, but it doesn’t seem to resonate the same as when it was linked to the Southern 500. Also, this race might get overshadowed by the combination of Mother’s Day and the inaugural Formula One race in Miami on the same day.
29. Dover (May 1)
Now owned by Speedway Motorsports, Dover has a chance to reinvent itself with the Next Gen car. The track didn’t race particularly well with the Gen 6 car, but perhaps the new model will help the Monster Mile put on a better show. I’m not ready to give up on Dover as a good track for NASCAR events.
30. Richmond 1 (April 3)
Both of Richmond’s races were a bit dry last year, continuing a trend for the venue once known as the “Action Track.” This will be its first race with the Next Gen car, so maybe there’s a glimmer of hope for better racing at this short track. Otherwise, it’s hard to identify much positive momentum for Richmond right now.
31. Bristol Dirt (April 17)
The existence of this race is like if the Louvre was struggling with attendance and decided to slap a temporary mustache sticker on the Mona Lisa, thereby drawing an influx of vacuous Instagram influencers who wanted selfies with a now-defaced piece of art. The only reason Bristol Dirt isn’t No. 38 of 38 on this list is because part of me wants to hate-watch this travesty. (But only a small part.)
32. Atlanta 2 (July 10)
By the time the second Atlanta race rolls around this summer, we will have already seen how it raced with its new “superspeedway” style. Again, I don’t think this is going to work as intended, so I’m not looking forward to Atlanta Race No. 2. That said, I’ll happily volunteer this for an old take exposed if Atlanta is a success.
33. Indianapolis Road Course (July 31)
This still seems like an unnecessary race. NASCAR doesn’t need another road course race, and if it wants to be at the prestigious Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it should just run the oval (as boring as that may be at times). Anyway, it’s hard to get too excited for this race while sitting here in mid-January.
34. Michigan (Aug. 7)
I don’t dislike Michigan. It’s fine. But it’s a tough sell to find something exciting or notable about this race when compared to the rest of the schedule.
35. Pocono (July 24)
Not a big Pocono guy. Sorry, just personal preference. At least it’s only a 350-mile race, which is a good length for Pocono.
36. Richmond 2 (Aug. 14)
This race spent 14 years in the regular-season cutoff spot. Then it got moved into the playoffs. Now it’s on a Sunday afternoon in August. Yikes. What can you say?
37. Kansas 1 (May 15)
Kansas is fine. I’m not necessarily anti-Kansas. It’s just another race at a 1.5-mile track during a time of the season that doesn’t really mean much.
38. All-Star Race at Texas (May 22)
This should honestly be its own category, because it’s the only race on the schedule I openly dread. Unless there’s a more interesting format or it’s held at an attention-getting venue (like the Clash!), there seems to be very little value in the All-Star Race anymore. Everyone likes to make a big deal out of the $1 million prize for the winner of this race, but I’d be curious how many drivers would give up a chance at $1 million to get a week off and go to the Bahamas instead.
