NASCAR Truck Series: 5 tracks to add to the Truck Series schedule

The NASCAR Truck Series schedule has 23 races, but it has become stale. Here are five tracks that NASCAR could add to the Truck Series schedule.

When NASCAR signed five-year sanctioning agreements with the race tracks, NASCAR wanted to help those race tracks. Instead, the plan has backfired, and the NASCAR schedule is now a popular topic of conversation.

Many people suggest race tracks for NASCAR races, yet there has been little change to the schedule. Keep in mind, race tracks cannot be easily added to the schedule because of the fact that those sanctioning agreements guarantee those race tracks at least one race on their respective series schedule.

Most people suggest new race tracks for the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series, yet both schedules are full of races. The 2019 Cup Series schedule has 36 races and the 2019 Xfinity Series schedule has 33 races. Meanwhile, the Truck Series schedule only has 23 races, so that series arguably has the most room to add races at new race tracks.

The most recent addition to the Truck Series schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway. After a two-year absence, the track began hosting the second race of the Truck Series season in 2015. However, the newest race track to NASCAR is Eldora Speedway.

In 2013, Eldora Speedway hosted the inaugural Eldora Dirt Derby. As the only dirt track on any of the NASCAR’s three major series schedules, the race has become a crown jewel on the Truck Series schedule. Following the 2018 Eldora Dirt Derby, track owner Tony Stewart suggested the track should host either a Cup Series or Xfinity Series race.

Before I get into the main topic of this article, I want to thank Matt Weaver, associate motorsports editor at Autoweek and founder of Short Track Scene, for his insights into what NASCAR seeks from race tracks in order for them to host NASCAR races.

First of all, there are the sanctioning fees. Sanctioning fees are the fees that the tracks pay NASCAR to host a NASCAR race. For many tracks, the sanctioning fee is too expensive. Unless NASCAR lowers the sanctioning fees, many tracks cannot financially afford to host Truck Series races.

Safety is also a concern for NASCAR. NASCAR has seen many horrendous wrecks, yet many times the drivers walk away only a little sore. That is thanks to SAFER barriers. As a result, race tracks need SAFER barriers, or some sort of protective padding on their walls, in order to host NASCAR races.

The infrastructure of a race track extends beyond safety, however. NASCAR asks these questions of prospective race tracks. Is there sufficient parking for all fans, teams, TV personnel, etc.? Are there suites for NASCAR management and corporate sponsors, and is there an area for media members, especially for TV and radio broadcasters? How many concession stands are there? If a race track can provide those amenities, it may grab NASCAR’s attention.

Lastly, money is a huge factor for prospective race tracks. Is there a company willing to sponsor the race, which will in turn determine the purse for each driver? Will the purses be sufficient for teams to make the journey to the track, especially with some Truck Series teams such as Brad Keselowski Racing folding because their owners lost money?

Because teams spend money on equipment, tires, lodging, etc., team owners may elect to skip the races if there isn’t much money to be made from them. So unless the tracks find someone to foot the bill, they probably won’t host NASCAR races.

With all of these factors, I am proposing five tracks for NASCAR to add to the Truck Series schedule. The Truck Series has raced more than 23 times before in its history. From the 2003 season through the 2011 season, the schedule featured 25 races. The 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons only featured 22 races, and since then, the schedules have featured 23 races.

Keep in mind, the following tracks are suggestions, and the earliest any new track can be added to the NASCAR Truck Series schedule is 2021.