NASCAR: 3 tracks removed from the playoff schedule for 2025

Every single track that hosted a points race during the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to do so again in 2025, and the only track set to lose a points race date is Richmond Raceway. Richmond has dropped from two races to one to make room for Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which is scheduled to host its first ever Cup Series race in mid-June.

However, the calendar itself has still seen a bit of an overhaul, specifically as it pertains to the playoffs.

Three tracks that were on the four-round, 10-race postseason schedule in 2024 are no longer on the playoff schedule in 2025.

Changes made to 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule

In 2024, the playoffs opened up with races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International. Atlanta's second race date has now been moved back into the regular season, giving the track two regular season dates, and Watkins Glen has been moved back to the regular season after spending just one year in the playoffs.

Atlanta's two races are scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 23 and Sunday, June 28, with the latter date set to begin the first ever five-race in-season tournament on TNT Sports. Watkins Glen is scheduled to host its one annual race on Sunday, August 10.

Then there is Homestead-Miami Speedway, which used to host the Championship 4 up until 2019. Homestead made its way back to the playoff schedule in 2022 as a part of the round of 8, but now it has been moved to early in the regular season. Its race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 23 as the sixth points race of the year.

The three tracks that have been added to the playoff schedule are Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Darlington had opened up the postseason each year since 2020, but it hosted the regular season finale in 2024 due to the fact that the season was effectively extended by a week because of NBC's commitment to the Summer Olympics.

Now it is back in the playoff-opening slot, and it is set to be immediately followed by Gateway, which has hosted a regular season race since it was added to the Cup Series schedule for the first time in 2022. Bristol Motor Speedway is still scheduled to close out the first round.

As for New Hampshire, it has hosted races in the playoffs before, but not since 2017. Now it is scheduled to host the round of 12 opener. The round of 12 is still set to consist of races at Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, but Talladega Superspeedway has moved to the round of 8 thanks to Homestead's move back to the regular season.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway remain on the round of 8 schedule, and Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to host the Championship 4 for the sixth year in a row.

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 16 with the 67th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Fox is set to provide live coverage of the "Great American Race" beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.