NASCAR previously announced some elements of its 2026 season, including the switch from downtown Chicago to the San Diego naval base.

Chicago will still get a race, however. Chicagoland Speedway will receive a multi-million-dollar facelift to bring the Cup Series back for the first time since 2019.

Other changes include moving the season finale to Homestead-Miami Speedway having been held at Phoenix Raceway since 2020.

North Wilkesboro Speedway will host a points-paying event next year, meaning the All Star Racing moves to Dover Motor Speedway.

North Wilkesboro Speedway has hosted the All Star Race for the past three years, and the move ends a 30-year drought between points-paying races there.

There is one less road course on the schedule with no return to Mexico City, despite a successful debut in 2025.

NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue & racing innovation officer Ben Kennedy said the FIFA World Cup across the United States, Canada, and Mexico proved too difficult a hurdle to overcome.

Kennedy foreshadowed NASCAR’s plan to eventually take the Cup Series to Canada, something that has long been rumoured but never eventuated.

“It’s a great partnership and was an incredible feat for our industry to be able to pull that off in terms of the logistics and planning that went into it, but then also to bring so many new fans out to a race track that have never had the chance to experience our sport before and have a really good time,” Kennedy said.

“The majority of fans want to see the Cup Series return there again in the future, so hopefully back in Mexico, but we’ve also had conversations north of the border as well with a handful of different potential promoters and opportunities.

“Obviously, nothing to report on 2026 but something that we’re considering for ’27 and beyond is more opportunities outside the United States.”

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will have a slightly different look in 2026.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway shifts from its Round of 12 slot to the back end of the regular season.

Homestead Miami Speedway’s return as the Championship Race means Phoenix Raceway moves to the Round of 8.

The knock-on effect of that is Las Vegas Motor Speedway moving from the Round of 8 to the Round of 12.

“Obviously, a lot of collaboration, a lot of time, a lot of energy that went into it, and it’s just a good blend like we’ve had over the past few years of innovation and tradition, of being able to celebrate our history and our roots and where we come from, but then also having these bold new moves that we’re introducing to the schedule,” Kennedy said of the calendar.

“For events like a street race in San Diego at the Naval Base Coronado or taking the championship race back to Homestead-Miami Speedway or even a beloved track that our fans have been asking for the past several years in bringing a points race back to Chicagoland, or bringing a points race to North Wilkesboro for the first time in 30 years.

“So a lot of milestone moments that will be created next year, certainly a lot of anticipated moments, I think, that our fans are going to have. Certainly proud of the work that everyone’s done to help put this together.”

2026 NASCAR Cup Series calendar

NASCAR also released the calendar for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly NASCAR Xfinity Series) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will have 33 races on its schedule while the Craftsman Truck Series continues with 25 races.

Arguably the biggest change to the Truck schedule is the addition of a double-header with IndyCar on the streets of St Petersburg.

“Before you announce anything, you can only realistically get so much done, and then after you announce it, then the floodgates are really open after that.

“We’ve been really focused in on finalising the course design, building the manifest and getting ready for going on sale in the next couple of months, and then really understanding everything that’s going to happen on track and then off track throughout the event weekend.

“For the fans that are ready to come there, they’re going to expect a ton of on-track content, but then also some unique activations that we’ve never had at NASCAR race tracks before.

“We have a lot of work to do. I think the good news is we already have a little bit of a playbook from Chicago over the past few years. And you know, I think it’s going to be an incredible event for that part of the season.

2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule

2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule

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