NASCAR Just Dropped Its Full Schedule for 2026
NASCAR’s 2026 calendar is official, and it comes with some noticeable changes. The season still opens with the Daytona 500 in February and keeps Darlington as its Labor Day anchor, but the rest of the map has a mix of returns, relocations, and firsts that will have fans debating the choices well into next year.
North Wilkesboro Makes Its Return to Points Racing
For the first time since 1996, North Wilkesboro Speedway will host a points-paying Cup race. After three straight seasons as the All-Star showcase, the short track earned a July 19 slot that matters in the championship chase.
North Wilkesboro is also a natural fit for the Next Gen car and has proven to be capable of producing tight, bruising short-track racing. Fans who wanted to see this revival go beyond exhibitions finally get their wish.
Dover Takes the All-Star Spotlight
Considering that North Wilkesboro is now part of the points battle, the All-Star Race will shift to Dover Motor Speedway. On May 17, the “Monster Mile” will set aside its points-paying tradition and host the exhibition for the first time. That’s no small change, as Dover has staged at least one points race every year since 1969.
This move is bound to split opinions. The track’s concrete mile is fast and punishing, which could be a perfect stage for an event designed to be unpredictable. But it also means fans in the Northeast lose a race that once carried real weight. Whether the All-Star format can deliver at Dover is one of the bigger questions heading into 2026.
A New Street Race in San Diego
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Andre Bulber
On June 21, NASCAR will roll into Naval Base Coronado in San Diego for the first race ever held on an active U.S. military base. It replaces the Chicago Street Course, which exits after three seasons.
The idea is bold, even by recent NASCAR standards. The San Diego layout hasn’t been finalized, but the setting guarantees a backdrop unlike any other on the calendar. Questions remain about how fans will access the event and what the course will look like, yet the novelty alone ensures it will draw eyes the way Chicago did in its debut.
Chicagoland Speedway Reopens
Fans who missed Chicagoland Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval get their wish: the track is back on July 5 to replace the Chicago street event. The Illinois oval last hosted Cup racing in 2019, and its return highlights how well the Next Gen car has performed on intermediate tracks.
For drivers, it means another shot at one of the smoother, multi-groove surfaces that usually put on a solid show. For fans in the Midwest, it restores a popular venue to the calendar after a six-year absence.
Chicagoland also falls into a prime summer slot as part of a TNT broadcast run that features North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis.
Watkins Glen Moves to Spring
Image via Wikimedia Commons/United Autosports
Watkins Glen International, long associated with the dog days of summer, now lands in early May. The Mother’s Day weekend date marks the earliest Cup stop at the New York road course in history. The move helps spread out the schedule’s five road races, now down one with Chicago’s exit, but it does raise questions about the weather.
Fans who typically camp out in August may find the early-May chill a curveball. Still, a spring trip to the Glen creates a different kind of anticipation. The change also reflects NASCAR’s broader strategy of mixing familiar venues with unfamiliar timing to keep the schedule unpredictable.
Homestead Back as Championship Finale
Perhaps the most popular switch among drivers and fans: Homestead-Miami Speedway is back as the championship decider. The Florida oval last hosted the finale in 2019, and its return ends Phoenix Raceway’s six-year run as the title track.
Homestead’s multi-lane racing and progressive banking have a proven history of producing compelling finales, and it reestablishes the track as a fitting stage for the sport’s biggest trophy.
This change bumps Phoenix into the Round of 8 and slots in as the first race of that cutoff stretch. New Hampshire, meanwhile, exits the playoffs entirely and shifts back to a late-August regular-season date.
Other Key Tweaks
Image via Pexels/Alexas Fotos
The 2026 season adds an extra off-week in August by breaking up what had been a marathon grind of nearly 30 consecutive races in 2025. Darlington moves its spring race up to March 22, the earliest Cup stop there in more than two decades.
Kansas also shifts earlier to April 19. And while Mexico City doesn’t appear on the 2026 slate due to scheduling conflicts with other events at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, officials maintain it’s a market they want to revisit in the future.
The lower divisions see notable tweaks as well. The Craftsman Truck Series will pair with IndyCar at St. Petersburg for its first-ever street race, while both Trucks and the newly renamed O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity) will join Cup for a tripleheader weekend in San Diego.