The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season saw New Hampshire Motor Speedway return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, which was back in the days when the track still hosted two races per year.
It also marked the first time since the Loudon, New Hampshire, venue began hosting Cup Series races in 1993 that the track did not appear on the regular season schedule at all. The playoffs only began in 2004, and the track hosted both a regular season race and a playoff race each year until 2017, after having hosted two races per season from 1997 to 2003 as well.
But its move back to the postseason was short-lived, as the four-turn, 1.058-mile (1.703-kilometer) "Magic Mile" oval was removed from this year's playoff schedule and moved back into the regular season as the host of this Sunday afternoon's Dollar General 301, the penultimate race on the 26-race regular season calendar.
New Hampshire back to the regular season, but only for one year
New Hampshire is one of two tracks that have been removed from this year's playoff schedule, the other being the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The Roval race has simply been shifted back to the Charlotte oval for the first time in nine years, so Loudon is the only venue that isn't returning from 2025.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is effectively set to replace New Hampshire in the playoffs, albeit as the new host of the championship finale, placing it six weeks later on the calendar.
Phoenix Raceway, which had hosted each title decider since 2020, has had its race moved up by three weeks. Other changes include Kansas Speedway's race moving up by one week and Las Vegas Motor Speedway's race moving up by two.
However, New Hampshire's return to the regular season is also set to be short-lived, as it was recently confirmed that it is set to return to the playoffs, along with Richmond Raceway and Watkins Glen International, next year. Tracks on this year's playoff schedule that are not on next year's playoff schedule include Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
Tune in to USA Network this Sunday, August 23 at 3:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Dollar Tree 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
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