As the playoffs begin in the 2025 NASCAR racing season, NASCAR officials release the schedule for 2026 with a number of changes and additions.

Included in next year’s schedule are new locations for the All Star and street races, a return to old tracks, and a few new additions for the points races.  The In Series Challenge returns.

With North Wilkesboro getting a points race next season, Miles the Monster sinks his concrete teeth into the All Star event.

And with the street race moving to the Naval Base in San Diego, Chicago shifts its focus from the streets to Chicagoland Speedway for the Fourth of July weekend.

The season opens on February 1 with a return to Bowman Gray Stadium for the Busch Light Clash.

And the final race of the season returns to southern Florida and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue & racing innovation officer Ben Kennedy spoke on the new schedule saying, “obviously, a lot of collaboration, a lot of time, a lot of energy that went into it, and it’s just a good blend like we’ve had over the past few years of innovation and tradition, of being able to celebrate our history and our roots and where we come from, but then also having these bold new moves that we’re introducing to the schedule. For events like a street race in San Diego at the Naval Base Coronado or taking the championship race back to Homestead-Miami Speedway or even a beloved track that our fans have been asking for the past several years in bringing a points race back to Chicagoland, or bringing a points race to North Wilkesboro for the first time in 30 years. So a lot of milestone moments that will be created next year, certainly a lot of anticipated moments, I think, that our fans are going to have. Certainly proud of the work that everyone’s done to help put this together.”

The biggest change isn’t in the schedule but the naming rights for one of the series.  As previously announced, the Xfinity Series will become the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series beginning January 1.  The series features 33 races next season with 25 races in the Craftsman Truck Series.

The Cup Series will have Easter weekend off but the O’Reilly and Truck Series will make a return to Rockingham.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will not travel to the northwest and the road course race in Portland, OR next season.

And the Truck Series will join the NTT IndyCar Series on February 28 for some street racing in St. Petersburg, FL and they will make it a triple header weekend in San Diego on the streets of the Naval Base.

Kennedy added, “before you announce anything, you can only realistically get so much done, and then after you announce it, then the floodgates are really open after that.  We’ve been really focused in on finalizing the course design, building the manifest and getting ready for going on sale in the next couple of months, and then really understanding everything that’s going to happen on track and then off track throughout the event weekend. For the fans that are ready to come there, they’re going to expect a ton of on-track content, but then also some unique activations that we’ve never had at NASCAR race tracks before. …”

He continued, “we have a lot of work to do. I think the good news is we already have a little bit of a playbook from Chicago over the past few years. And you know, I think it’s going to be an incredible event for that part of the season.”

The In Season Challenge tracks next season are Sonoma, Chicagoland, EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), North Wilkesboro, and The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Ben Kennedy noted, “we received a lot of helpful insight from teams and drivers after we took the two weeks off a couple of years ago for the Olympic break and I think for us, we would like to have some consistency in where off-weeks are. So I think Easter weekend for the Cup Series, obviously we’ll have the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series at Rockingham that weekend, but then also having all three series off between the TNT and NBC Sports portion of the season was really important for us and for the industry to take a little bit of a pause before we hit the ground running again for the last four (races) of the regular season, and then to take us through the playoffs. From February to November, we have a ton of content, and I think it’s really good for the industry to just take a step back, hit the reset button and come back with a ton of energy for these final 14 races.”

With the World Cup coming to North America next year, NASCAR has skipped scheduling an international race.  Kennedy said, “it’s a great partnership and was an incredible feat for our industry to be able to pull that off in terms of the logistics and planning that went into it, but then also to bring so many new fans out to a race track that have never had the chance to experience our sport before and have a really good time.  The majority of fans want to see the Cup Series return there again in the future, so hopefully back in Mexico, but we’ve also had conversations north of the border as well with a handful of different potential promoters and opportunities. Obviously, nothing to report on 2026 but something that we’re considering for ’27 and beyond is more opportunities outside the United States.”

2026 NASCAR schedule:
Cup Series:
Feb 1 – Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium   
Feb 15 – Daytona 500
Feb 22 – EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
March 1 – COTA
March 8  – Phoenix Raceway
March 15 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 22 – Darlington Raceway
March 29 – Martinsville Speedway
April 12 – Bristol Motor Speedway
April 19 – Kansas Speedway
April 26 – Talladega Superspeedway
May 3 – Texas Motor Speedway
May 10 – Watkins Glen International
May 17 – All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway
May 24 – Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 31 – Nashville Superspeedway
June 7 – Michigan International Speedway
June 14 – Pocono Raceway
June 21 – San Diego for the street race at Naval Base Coronado
June 28 – Sonoma Raceway
July 5 – Chicagoland Speedway
July 12 – EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
July 19 – North Wilkesboro Speedway
July 26 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug 9 – Iowa Speedway
Aug 15 – Richmond Raceway
Aug 23 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Aug 29 – Daytona International Speedway
Playoffs begin:
Sept 6 – Darlington raceway
Sept 13 – World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
Sept 19 – Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept 27 – Kansas Speedway
Oct 4 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct 11 – Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct 18 – Phoenix Raceway
Oct 25 – Talladega Superspeedway
Nov 1 – Martinsville Speedway
Nov 8 – Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series:
Feb 14 – Daytona International Speedway
Feb 21 – EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Feb 28 – COTA
March 7 – Phoenix Raceway
March 14 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 21 – Darlington Raceway
March 28 – Martinsville Speedway
April 4 – Rockingham Speedway
April 11 – Bristol Motor Speedway
April 18 – Kansas Speedway
April 25 – Talladega Superspeedway
May 2 – Texas Motor Speedway
May 9 – Watkins Glen International
May 16 – Dover Motor Speedway
May 23 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 30 – Nashville Superspeedway
June 13 – Pocono Raceway
June 20 – San Diego street race at Naval Base Coronado
June 27 – Sonoma Raceway
July 4 – Chicagoland Speedway
July 11 – EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
July 25 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug 8 – Iowa Speedway
Aug 28 – Daytona International Speedway
Sept 5 – Darlington Raceway
Sept 12 – World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
playoffs begin:
Sept 18 – Bristol Motor Speedway
Oct 3 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct 10 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct 17 – Phoenix Raceway
Oct 24 – Talladega Superspeedway
Oct 31 – Martinsville Speedway
Nov 7 – Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Craftsman Truck Series:
Feb 13 – Daytona International Speedway
Feb 21 – EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Feb 28 – Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
March 20 – Darlington Raceway
April 3 – Rockingham Speedway
April 10 – Bristol Motor Speedway
May 1 – Texas Motor Speedway
May 8 – Watkins Glen International
May 15 – Dover Motor Speedway
May 22 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 29 – Nashville Superspeedway
June 6 – Michigan International Speedway
June 19 – San Diego street race at Naval Base Coronado
July 11 – Lime Rock Park
July 18 – North Wilkesboro Speedway
July 24 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Aug 14 – Richmond Raceway
Aug 22 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
playoffs begin:
Sept 17 Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept 26 – Kansas Speedway
Oct 9 – Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct 16 – Phoenix Raceway
Oct 23 – Talladega Superspeedway
Oct 30 – Martinsville Speedway
Nov 6 – championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway