NASCAR: 3 tracks added to the playoff schedule for 2025

Though every track on the 36-race 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule remains on the schedule for 2025, plus Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez thanks to Richmond Raceway losing one of its two race dates, there have been several significant changes made to the calendar itself.

A lot of those changes have to do with the playoffs, which are set to look a lot different than they did in 2024. The only one of four rounds in the 10-race postseason set to look the same as it did last year is the Championship 4, as Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to host the title decider for the sixth year in a row.

Atlanta Motor Speedway's second race date has been moved back to the regular season after the track opened up the 2024 playoffs, and Watkins Glen International's race date has been moved back to the regular season after it hosted the second playoff race in 2024.

Additionally, Homestead-Miami Speedway is scheduled to host a race early in the regular season for the first time since 2021. The former Championship 4 host site was added back to the playoff schedule in 2022 and was featured in the round of 8 through 2024.

As a result, three other tracks have been added to the playoff schedule.

Now set to open up the playoffs is Darlington Raceway, which actually did open up the postseason from 2020 to 2023. In 2024, it hosted the regular season finale, as the season was effectively extended by a week due to the "summer break" caused by NBC's commitment to the Summer Olympics.

Set to follow Darlington in the round of 16 is World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, which was only added to the Cup Series schedule in 2022. From 2022 to 2024, it hosted a regular season race.

The other playoff addition is New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Talladega Superspeedway is set to move from the round of 12 to the round of 8 to replace Homestead, freeing up a spot for New Hampshire to make its long-awaited playoff return to the round of 12. Loudon has not hosted a playoff race since 2017.

All other playoff tracks are set to stay in their respective rounds. Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled to conclude the round of 16, Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval are set to feature in the round of 12, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway have remained in the round of 8.

The 67th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to get the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season underway on Sunday, February 16. Fox is set to provide live coverage from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. The playoffs are scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 31 with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, with live coverage set to start at 6:00 p.m. ET on USA Network (though that remains subject to change).