The Official NASCAR Talk Thread

[YankeeVol]

 

[jbeeman85]

Let's see how long it takes me call it the O'Reilly Series. I still will say Busch or even Nationwide sometimes before I say Xfinity.

 

[YankeeVol]

Let's see how long it takes me call it the O'Reilly Series. I still will say Busch or even Nationwide sometimes before I say Xfinity.

Same.

 

[CagleMtnVol]

They already have a catchy built in theme song.

 

[tbwhhs]

First look at NASCAR’s 2026 Cup Series schedule, from Daytona to Homestead​

By Jordan Bianchi


The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule features a new race at a military base, a return to a track once thought lost to time, a new All-Star Race host and a new site for the championship finale, according to a copy obtained by The Athletic and confirmed via multiple sources briefed on the league’s plans.

The 38-race season (36 points races and two non-points races) opens with the Clash exhibition on Feb. 1, 2026, followed by the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 and concluding with the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8, 2026. Homestead returns as the host track for the championship for the first time since 2019, replacing Phoenix Raceway, which is now slotted elsewhere in the 10-race playoffs. NASCAR announced the switch this spring, beginning a rotation of its championship race to different tracks on an expected yearly basis.

In addition to Homestead returning as the championship venue, the other three big changes to the 2026 schedule are a temporary street circuit constructed at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, the return of Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., after a six-year absence. To make room for San Diego and Chicagoland, NASCAR won’t return to Mexico City or the Chicago Street Course, a temporary circuit built in downtown Chicago that’s held Cup races for the past three years. In June, Mexico City hosted the first international Cup points race since the 1950s, but logistics and finding a spot on the calendar that fit for both the city and NASCAR prevented an encore visit next year.
NASCAR hopes to return to both Mexico City and Chicago in 2027.
Other notable changes to the 2026 schedule include:

• Watkins Glen is shifting from its traditional August date to Mother’s Day weekend in May;
• New Hampshire Motor Speedway has moved out of the playoffs to make room for Homestead and will now host the second-to-last regular season race;
• A second off weekend will come in early August, which will certainly be well-received within the industry after just a single off weekend this year and 28 straight races to end the season.

Although some reports had Iowa Speedway at risk of being dropped, the short track is again on the schedule for a third consecutive year, slated for Aug. 9. There was never any consideration that Iowa would not have a date, according to sources briefed on NASCAR’s thinking. Iowa has sold out each of the last two years and has strong sponsorship in place.
NASCAR intends to release the 2026 Cup Series schedule this week. The full schedule below is the final version, according to those sources briefed on the league’s plans

Sunday, Feb. 1	Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium	Fox/FS1
Sunday, Feb. 15	Daytona 500	Fox/FS1
Sunday, Feb. 22	EchoPark (Atlanta)	Fox/FS1
Sunday, March 1	Circuit of the Americas (Austin)	Fox/FS1
Sunday, March 8	Phoenix	Fox/FS1
Sunday, March 15	Las Vegas	Fox/FS1
Sunday, March 22	Darlington	Fox/FS1
Sunday, March 29	Martinsville	Fox/FS1
Sunday, April 5	Off weekend (Easter)	--
Sunday, April 12	Bristol	Fox/FS1
Sunday, April 19	Kansas	Fox/FS1
Sunday, April 26	Talladega	Fox/FS1
Sunday, May 3	Texas	Fox/FS1
Sunday, May 10	Watkins Glen	Fox/FS1
Sunday, May 17	All-Star Race (Dover)	Fox/FS1
Sunday, May 24	Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)	Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, May 31	Nashville	Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, June 7	Michigan	Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, June 14	Pocono	Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, June 21	San Diego	Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, June 28	Sonoma	TNT
Sunday, July 5	Chicagoland	TNT
Sunday, July 12	EchoPark (Atlanta)	TNT
Sunday, July 19	North Wilkesboro	TNT
Sunday, July 26	Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)	TNT
Sunday, Aug. 2	Off weekend	--
Sunday, Aug. 9	Iowa	NBC/USA
Saturday, Aug. 15	Richmond	NBC/USA
Sunday, Aug. 23	New Hampshire	NBC/USA
Saturday, Aug. 29	Daytona (regular-season finale)	NBC/USA
Sunday, Sept. 6	Darlington (playoff opener)	NBC/USA
Sunday, Sept. 13	World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway)	NBC/USA
Saturday, Sept. 19	Bristol (Round 1 elimination race)	NBC/USA
Sunday, Sept. 27	Kansas	NBC/USA
Sunday, Oct. 4	Las Vegas	NBC/USA
Sunday, Oct. 11	Charlotte Roval (Round 2 elimination race)	NBC/USA
Sunday, Oct. 18	Phoenix	NBC/USA
Sunday, Oct. 25	Talladega	NBC/USA
Sunday, Nov. 1	Martinsville (Round 3 elimination race)	NBC/USA
Sunday, Nov. 8	Homestead (championship race)	NBC/USA

 

[jbeeman85]

I don't like the All Star race at Dover, give them a regular race.

I didn't have an issue with Charlotte having it every year.

 

[gordonr24]

Nashville will have two races eventually. I’m glad to see that this track may finally be revived like Wilkesboro.

 

[jbeeman85]

Nashville will have two races eventually. I’m glad to see that this track may finally be revived like Wilkesboro.

Hopefully it doesn't get overhauled to the point that we lose the local racing. I'm concerned how they would handle putting up walls to block off the short track if the "big boys" show up. The current process has worked since the beginning of the place but with all the Safer Barrier stuff now, may not work.

Some of those quotes in that article are so infuriating. People saying Nashville residents "overwhelmingly" support the place being used for something else is ridiculous. There was a vote not too long ago where voters overwhelmingly said racing should continue at the track. I've been going to races there for 35 years now, would hurt to lose the place. A politician's stance on racing at the track has been my number one concern in every local election since the evil Karl Dean tried to shutter the place all those years ago. If they are against the track or wishy-washy on it, I won't even look at what stances they have in other areas.

I would like to see NASCAR at the Fairgrounds as the last Cup race there was just before I was born but not at the expense of the Local program (which has already sacrificed way too much used to be 20 races, now lucky to get 9).

There's also the dread I feel knowing what Speedway Motorsports has done to other tracks (such as North Wilkesboro) and basically abandon them for years on end and letting them rot.

 

[gordonr24]

I don't like the All Star race at Dover, give them a regular race.

I didn't have an issue with Charlotte having it every year.

Dover has long been one of my favorite tracks. The quality racing has deteriorated there with the next gen car.

But I can say the same for a lot of tracks with this car. This new gen car will long be remembered as NASCAR’s downfall or worst experiment, if the sport is still around in 10 years.

 

[95 Vol Alum]

Dover has long been one of my favorite tracks. The quality racing has deteriorated there with the next gen car.

But I can say the same for a lot of tracks with this car. This new gen car will long be remembered as NASCAR’s downfall or worst experiment, if the sport is still around in 10 years.

Downfall, if it comes to that, is partly due to the realization that sponsorship doesn’t generate enough return to support the rising cost of fuel, tires, cars, etc. Does anyone fully sponsor a ride anymore?

 

[YankeeVol]