NASCAR: Predicting an ‘aggressive’ 2024 Cup schedule
NASCAR President Steve Phelps’ prediction of an “aggressive” schedule in 2024 could see the calendar looking different than it has in past years. The sample schedule below is one example.
The annual NASCAR schedule release always draws the attention of fans as they plan their race day outings for the following season. In recent years, NASCAR has gotten experimental with their schedules, shifting race dates, adding and removing tracks, and reaching new markets that previously didn’t get much exposure to the sport.
During Sports Business Journal’s CAA World Conference of Sports, NASCAR President Steve Phelps boldly stated that the 2024 NASCAR schedule will be “the most aggressive schedule” the sport has ever seen in terms of schedule variation and could feature new and old venues.
The schedule below is one that may answer NASCAR’s demand for aggressive variation on the circuit and incorporates both rumored and confirmed ideas that could culminate in one of the wildest schedules ever produced for the NASCAR Cup Series.
Regular season
Exhibition — Sunday, Feb. 4 — The Clash, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Race 1 — Saturday, Feb. 10 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Duels — Friday, Feb. 16 — Daytona International Speedway
Race 2 — Sunday, Feb. 18 — Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500)
Race 3 — Sunday, Feb. 25 — Rockingham Speedway
Race 4 — Sunday, Mar. 3 — Sonoma Raceway
Race 5 — Sunday, Mar. 10 — Phoenix Raceway
Race 6 — Sunday, Mar. 17 — El Dorado Speedway
Race 7 — Sunday, Mar. 24 — Circuit of The Americas
Race 8 — Sunday, Mar. 31 — Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt)
Race 9 — Sunday, Apr. 7 — Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race 10 — Saturday, Apr. 20 — Richmond Raceway
Race 11 — Sunday, Apr. 21 — Richmond Raceway
Race 12 — Saturday, Apr. 27 — Martinsville Speedway (Night)
Race 13 — Sunday, May 5 — Talladega Superspeedway
Race 14 — Sunday, May 12 — Darlington Raceway (Throwback Weekend)
Exhibition — Sunday, May 19 — All-Star Weekend, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway
Race 15 — Sunday, May 26 — Charlotte Motor Speedway (Coca-Cola 600)
Race 16 — Saturday, Jun. 1 — Kansas Speedway (Night)
Race 17 — Sunday, Jun. 9 — World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
Race 18 — Sunday, Jun. 16 — Nashville Superspeedway
Race 19 — Sunday, Jun. 23 — Pocono Raceway
Race 20 — Sunday, Jun. 30 — Chicago Street Course
Race 21 — Saturday, Jul. 6 — Daytona International Speedway (Night)
Race 22 — Sunday, Jul. 14 — Watkins Glen International
Race 23 — Sunday, Jul. 21 — Brooklyn Street Circuit
Race 24 — Saturday, Jul. 27 — Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course)
Race 25 — Sunday, Jul. 28 — Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Oval)
Race 26 — Sunday, Aug. 11 — Michigan International Speedway
Race 27 — Sunday, Aug. 18 — Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Race 28 — Sunday, Aug. 25 — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race 29 — Sunday, Sep. 1 — Darlington Raceway (Southern 500)
Race 30 — Sunday, Sep. 8 — Atlanta Motor Speedway
Playoffs – Round of 16
Race 31 — Sunday, Sep. 15 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 32 — Sunday, Sep. 22 — Talladega Superspeedway
Race 33 — Saturday, Sep. 28 — Bristol Motor Speedway (Night)
Playoffs – Round of 12
Race 34 — Sunday, Oct. 6 — Dover Motor Speedway
Race 35 — Sunday, Oct. 13 — Kansas Speedway
Race 36 — Sunday, Oct. 20 — Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval)
Playoffs – Round of 8
Race 37 — Sunday, Oct. 27 — North Wilkesboro Speedway
Race 38 — Sunday, Nov. 3 — Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race 39 — Sunday, Nov. 10 — Martinsville Speedway
Playoffs – Championship 4
Race 40 — Sunday, Nov. 17 — Auto Club Speedway
The first and one of the biggest changes to this mock schedule is the number of races on it. In recent weeks, accredited motorsports journalist Lee Spencer mentioned on an episode of PRN’s The Pit Reporter Podcast that rumors indicate an expanded schedule for the NASCAR Cup Series.
While it was mentioned on the podcast that this idea likely would not come to fruition until new broadcasting deals were achieved, the sport’s sanctioning body could elect to make this rumor a reality as early as 2024.
The extra slots on the schedule could assist NASCAR in creating a schedule with greater variation and help the sport add new markets while still retaining existing venues.
The Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, after making its debut in 2022 and returning for 2023, would host its third consecutive preseason event to help retain NASCAR’s newfound fans in one of California’s largest sports markets.
In a major twist, the first championship points race would not be the Daytona 500. Instead, NASCAR would stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend to run the season-opening race.
While Las Vegas isn’t a new market, NASCAR could team up with the NFL, which is scheduled to host Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, February 11, to expand their reach and grab the interest of football fans and Las Vegas sports fans.
The Daytona 500 would be the second race of the season, falling on Presidents’ Day weekend. The Duel qualifying races would be held on Friday instead of Thursday, further condensing the sport’s time at the track. If it happened, it would mark the first time since 1981 that the Daytona 500 was not the first points-paying event of the season.
Rockingham Speedway, formerly known as North Carolina Speedway during some of its NASCAR years, would return and host a race for NASCAR’s top stars following the Daytona 500, very much like it did during the early 2000s.
Rockingham Speedway, which hasn’t held a Cup Series race since February 2004, is currently getting repaved, as well as receiving 5,000 additional seats and additional lighting for night races.
The revitalization of the track is a result of the $10 million grant the venue received as part of the American Rescue Plan, which also benefited North Wilkesboro Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Rockingham Speedway wouldn’t be the only track returning after an extended absence. Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, which is also due to be revitalized in the coming years, would host the All-Star Race.
It would be the first time NASCAR’s premiere series has raced at the track since July 1984 and would also meet Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s targeted date for the sport’s return to the track as the venue gets set for a transformation.
A trio of new racks would bring the Cup Series into three new markets. El Dorado Speedway, a 0.625-mile track in Northern Mexico, and Circuit Gilles Villenueve, a road course in Montreal which once hosted Xfinity Series races, would fit the bill for NASCAR to finally expand internationally on either side of the country.
In addition, NASCAR could fulfill its wish to race on a New York street course by utilizing a configuration of the Brooklyn Street Circuit, which is already being used by Formula E.
With the longer schedule, a pair of doubleheader weekends would be utilized to allow the series a few off weekends. The first doubleheader weekend would occur in April at Richmond Raceway.
Later in the season, an Indianapolis Motor Speedway doubleheader weekend would have the series run on both the road course and oval circuit, as seen on Beyond the Flag’s 2022 and 2023 proposed schedules.
Tracks currently on the schedule would get shuffled around in 2024. Some races, such as those at Pocono Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Circuit of the Americas, and Martinsville Speedway, would see minor or no adjustments to their race dates.
Other tracks would see bigger adjustments to their schedules. Sonoma Raceway’s June date would be moved to March, the Daytona International Speedway night race would be moved from late August to the first weekend after July 4th, and the second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway would be moved from July to the end of the regular season.
The playoffs would see a handful of adjustments to wrap up the season. Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway would still keep playoff dates, but both would be moved to the round of 16, with the Bristol Motor Speedway night race retaining its spot as the first round elimination race.
Dover Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway would be moved into the round of 12, with the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval remaining as the final race of the second round.
The round of 8 would still consist of races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, but the round would open with the first points race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996 after the venue holds the non-points All-Star Race in 2023.
To cap off the season, the championship would be held at the newly redone half-mile Auto Club Speedway, which is scheduled to host its last race on the current two-mile configuration in 2023. Notably lost from this version of the schedule is Texas Motor Speedway, which could be undergoing a reconfiguration after it hosts its 2023 race.
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This sample schedule has the potential to offer NASCAR what it seeks for the Cup Series calendar moving forward.