NASCAR: Proposing a 2023 Cup Series schedule
As the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into the second half of the 2022 regular season, scheduling changes for 2023 are already being talked about. Let’s take a look at some of the changes we would like to see.
NASCAR has made it very clear as an organization that reaching new markets and traveling to more venues to reach new fans has been a key strategy in formulating their schedules from year to year over the past half-decade.
New tracks in new states and familiar tracks from long ago have become part of the premier series schedule in past seasons, and with 2023 preparations to begin soon, fans are already wondering, “what’s next?”
Last year, we created a mock-up schedule for 2022. This article will take a look at a 2023 Cup Series schedule created by Beyond the Flag which refreshes the schedule with some major differences from this season.
Take a look.
REGULAR SEASON
Exhibition – Feb. 5 – The Clash, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Daytona 500 qualifying – Thursday, Feb. 16 – Daytona Duels
Race 1 – Sunday, Feb. 19 – Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500)
Race 2 – Sunday, Feb. 26 – Texas Motor Speedway
Race 3 – Sunday, Mar. 5 – World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
Race 4 – Sunday, Mar. 12 – Phoenix Raceway
Race 5 – Sunday, Mar. 19 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 6 – Sunday, Mar. 26 – Sonoma Raceway
Race 7 – Sunday, Apr. 2 – Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 8 – Saturday, Apr. 15 – Martinsville Speedway (Night)
Race 9 – Sunday, Apr. 23 – Talladega Superspeedway
Race 10 – Sunday, Apr. 30 – Dover Motor Speedway
Race 11 – Sunday, May 7 – Darlington Raceway (Throwback Weekend)
Race 12 – Saturday, May 13 – Richmond Raceway (Night)
Race 13 – Sunday, May 21 – Circuit of The Americas
Race 14 – Sunday, May 28 – Charlotte Motor Speedway (Coca-Cola 600)
Race 15 – Sunday, Jun. 4 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race 16 – Saturday, Jun. 10 – Auto Club Speedway (Night)
Race 17 – Saturday, Jun. 17 – Atlanta Motor Speedway (Night)
Race 18 – Sunday, Jun. 25 – Michigan International Speedway
Race 19 – Sunday, Jul. 2 – Road America
Race 20 – Saturday, Jul. 8 – Kansas Speedway (Night)
Race 21 – Sunday, Jul. 16 – Pocono Raceway
Race 22 – Sunday, Jul. 23 – Watkins Glen International
Race 23 – Saturday, Aug. 5 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Grand Prix Circuit)
Race 24 – Sunday, Aug. 6 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Oval)
Race 25 – Sunday, Aug. 13 – Chicagoland Speedway
Race 26 – Saturday, Aug. 19 – Daytona International Speedway (Night)
Exhibition – Aug. 27 – All-Star Open and All-Star Race
PLAYOFFS – ROUND OF 16
Race 27 – Sunday, Sep. 3 – Darlington Raceway (Southern 500)
Race 28 – Sunday, Sep. 10 – Dover Motor Speedway
Race 29 – Saturday, Sep. 16 – Bristol Motor Speedway (Night)
PLAYOFFS – ROUND OF 12
Race 30 – Sunday, Sep. 24 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race 31 – Sunday, Oct. 1 – Talladega Superspeedway
Race 32 – Sunday, Oct. 8 – Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval
PLAYOFFS – ROUND OF 8
Race 33 – Sunday, Oct. 15 – Auto Club Speedway
Race 34 – Sunday, Oct. 22 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 35 – Sunday, Oct. 29 – Martinsville Speedway
PLAYOFFS – CHAMPIONSHIP 4
Race 36 – Sunday, Nov. 5 – Nashville Superspeedway
The mock-up schedule has a few new dates and new features, as well as some ideas returning from the past few years.
The season would kick off yet again at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with the Busch Light Clash ahead of Daytona Speedweeks. The Daytona 500 would officially start the 2023 season on President’s Day weekend, one week after Super Bowl LVII.
The first major change to the schedule would take place just after the Daytona 500. The west coast swing would be pushed back by two weeks to give teams more time before they travel out west.
Texas Motor Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway would fill the gap. When teams do roll into the west coast swing, It would include the series’ only trip to Phoenix Raceway, the first trip of two trips to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and a trip to Sonoma Raceway when the grass is still green, something NASCAR has rarely seen.
Teams would arrive back from the west coast with a day race on Bristol Motor Speedway’s concrete surface. The dirt race would be removed from the schedule altogether, and it would be followed by an Easter off-weekend for the series. After that, Martinsville Speedway would host the first night race of the season.
About a month after the first Saturday night shootout would be the second. This one would be at Richmond Raceway, which would lose its second date later in the season.
The early summer stretch would look very different than it has in past years. Races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway would kick off the summer.
The first of the two races at Auto Club Speedway, as well as the one and only race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on the schedule, would become night races. Atlanta Motor Speedway would utilize the same aero package from the spring 2022 race weekend, so with its loss of a race date, the number of pack races would be brought down from six to five for the year.
The middle to the end of the summer would see familiar tracks such as Road America and Watkins Glen International, plus a night race at Kansas Speedway, but it would also bring back two former circuits.
Chicagoland Speedway would get a race date back to accommodate fans’ outcries to have the track back after a string of great races there before it lost its races during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
In addition, fans would be able to witness a historic doubleheader weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with a race on the Grand Prix circuit on Saturday and then the return of the Brickyard 400 on the 2.5-mile rectangle on Sunday.
Having the two races on one weekend wouldn’t just bring attention to the sport at one of the world’s most famous racetracks, but it would also afford teams an extra week off during the season, which would occur right before the doubleheader.
After the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, the All-Star Race, which typically takes place in May or June, would be moved to the final weekend of August and would break up the regular season and the playoffs.
This change would be made to attempt to showcase the talent of the All-Stars who will be competing for the championship over the following 10 weeks. Ideally, the venue would rotate from year to year.
The playoffs would also see some modifications. In the first round of the playoffs, Dover Motor Speedway would get a playoff race once again. Homestead-Miami Speedway would be moved up a few weeks to open up an accommodation for the sport to take one final trip out west to open the round of 8 with races at Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The championship race would also be hosted at Nashville Superspeedway for the first time. This would allow for a quick transition to the award ceremonies that also take place in Nashville, Tennessee.
Perhaps most notably about this schedule are not the tracks that are returning, but the track that is missing. Just over a month ago, it was announced by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) that racing would return to North Wilkesboro Speedway later this year, with the track hosting both asphalt and dirt racing before a repave in 2023.
SMI president Marcus Smith has already shut down hopes of a major NASCAR series returning to the 0.625-mile oval next year, stating that the earliest possible year for it to happen would be 2024, most likely with the Truck Series.
Next. New manufacturer rumors re-emerge yet again. dark
What are your thoughts on these schedule changes? Which changes would you like to see implemented? While some surely won’t happen and others are unlikely, we want to know your thoughts!