Just one day after announcing that the annual Clash that begins the NASCAR Cup Series racing season has been moved to Los Angeles and the L.A. Coliseum, NASCAR announces the Cup Series schedule for the 2022 season.

Other changes include the addition of World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Homestead-Miami returns as one of the playoff races.

Gateway has been a part of the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series in the past but will make it Cup Series debut next June. With the addition of Gateway, Pocono will lose one of its races.


Despite weather issues, the dirt track race at Bristol was a hit with both fans and drivers in 2021 and will return for 2022; this time under the lights on Easter Sunday. Circuit of the Americas, Nashville Superspeedway, Road America, and the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will also be back for another season. After missing a couple of year due to Covid issues, Auto Club Speedway in Fontana returns to the schedule as a part of the early season west coast swing.

The inaugural race on the road course at Indy brought quite a controversy among fans and drivers when multiple cars were destroyed due to a curb issue. However, the road course returns to the schedule. NASCAR senior vice president of strategy and innovation spoke on the decision saying, “I think the reason behind that is just, the racing product that we saw on the road course, I think fans liked it quite a bit. “I think a few things to work through, and we’ve been working hand in hand with (IMS track president) Doug Boles and the entire team ever since that event, but I think as we look towards the future, it’d be great to get back to the oval. Obviously, a ton of history and prestige around running on the oval and the Brickyard 400, so looking forward to seeing us back there sometime in the future.”

A number of the tracks in the final 10 races of the season will be playing musical dates as they which around to host different playoff races.

Ben Kennedy spoke on the changes saying, “I think we have a really strong playoff slate right now. That said, we want to keep it fresh, we want to keep it new, we want to keep it exciting, and I think with a lot of the great tracks that we have online, a lot of great tracks that we already have in our schedule, I think we’ve got a bunch of options to play with in the future. So excited about some of the changes we’ll see in ’22. I think, that said, as I think about ’23 and beyond, I think the opportunity for us to rotate some of those playoff venues will be there, something that we’ll definitely take a look at.”

The annual All Star race returns to Texas Motor Speedway again next year; making it only the second track after Charlotte Motor Speedway to host the race more than once.

In seasons past, the NASCAR Cup Series did not race on Easter Sunday or Mother’s Day; they will be racing on both of those days but will take off for Father’s Day in 2022 for the only week off during the season.

Daytona International Speedway will start and end the regular season again next year.

The schedules for the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule:
Feb 6 – The Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Feb 17 – Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona International Speedway
Feb 20 – the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway
Feb 27 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA
March 6 – Penzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 13 – Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway
March 20 – Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 27 – EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas
April 3 – Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway
April 9 – Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway
April 17 – Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway
April 24 – Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway
May 1 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway
May 8 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway
May 15 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway
May 22 – NASCAR All Star races at Texas Motor Speedway
May 29 – Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 5 – NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
June 12 – Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway
June 26 – Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway
July 3 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America
July 10 – Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway
July 17 – NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire
July 24 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway
July 31 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Road Course
Aug 7 – FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Aug 14 – Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway
Aug 21 – NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International
Aug 27 – Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway
Sept 4 – Southern 500 at Darlington Racway (Playoffs begin)
Sept 11 – Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway
Sept 17 – Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept 25 – AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway
Oct 2 – YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway
Oct 9 – Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct 16 – South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct 23 – Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Oct 30 – Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway
Nov 6 – NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway