NASCAR’s 2020s schedule shake-ups are persevering with for an additional yr because the 2024 NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Sequence characteristic numerous adjustments that, whereas maybe not as wide-scale as in recent times, are nonetheless main starting from the return of Iowa Speedway to configuration swaps for Bristol Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Cup and Truck Sequence’ Bristol Dust race has been dropped after a three-year experiment and can return to being on the concrete. Likewise, Indianapolis has stopped flirting with the infield highway course because the Cup and Xfinity Sequence race on the two.5-mile oval once more. With the Truck Sequence dropping Knoxville Raceway after 2022, NASCAR’s nationwide sequence now not have filth races for the primary time since 2012.
“We’re definitely open to filth racing, whether or not it’s with our Cup Sequence, Xfinity Sequence or Craftsman Truck Sequence. One thing we’re going to proceed to think about,” mentioned NASCAR’s senior vice chairman of racing improvement and technique Ben Kennedy. “That mentioned, I feel after we’ve seen racing on the filth at Bristol play out for the previous few years and listening to a number of the fan suggestions, we felt prefer it was a chance for us to shake issues up a bit, transfer again to the concrete floor within the spring, and transfer again to all asphalt and concrete tracks for ’24.
“I feel that mentioned, as we take into consideration what the long run seems to be like, filth racing does have a novel place in motorsports. You consider plenty of our drivers, they got here from filth racing. You consider a number of the finest racing that I’ve personally seen, it’s on filth. Do I feel there’s going to be a mud race someday sooner or later? I feel so. What that observe seems to be like or what the time is, we’ll see, but it surely’s one thing we’re going to maintain our pulse on for certain. I feel just like a few of these distinctive kinds of tracks like road programs, if it does come again on the schedule, I don’t assume it’s going to be one thing the place we now have fifteen totally different filth tracks. I feel it could be one or two that we’d have all year long and actually make it one thing particular.”
Maybe the most important change is the addition of Iowa Speedway to the Cup calendar. The observe, owned by NASCAR, had lengthy been thought-about a possible Cup host web site because it welcomed Xfinity and Vehicles solely to be dropped from each schedules as a consequence of COVID-19 in 2020.
Some schedule rumours that in the end didn’t come to fruition embody the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval being dropped for the oval structure, the return of Rockingham Speedway after a restoration effort, and the addition of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The latter, which presently hosts Components One’s Canadian Grand Prix, was an Xfinity observe from 2008 by way of 2012 and was teased as NASCAR continued increasing its observe variety as officers have lengthy mulled including a world date.
“As we take into consideration worldwide venues basically, we nonetheless are bullish about discovering our method both north of the border, whether or not that be in Montreal or Toronto or one other market, or south of the border down into Mexico,” Kennedy defined. “As we’ve talked about up to now, we wish to convey our NASCAR Cup Sequence there sooner or later. We expect it’s necessary for us to get outdoors of the USA with our sequence in a roundabout way, form or kind, in order that’s one thing we’re going to maintain our pulse on as we take into consideration 2025 and past.”
Within the meantime, the NASCAR México Sequence will help the Cup Sequence for the primary time by showing on the season-opening Busch Mild Conflict exhibition on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Date-wise, the Cup Sequence playoffs will likely be pushed again per week, making Darlington Raceway the final race of the common season somewhat than Daytona Worldwide Speedway. The playoffs will now start at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier than heading to Watkins Glen Worldwide, which joins the postseason whereas Texas Motor Speedway is swapped out and can now have its lone race in April.
Atlanta’s addition means the playoffs can have two superspeedway-based tracks. Its presence coupled with Watkins Glen and Bristol within the Spherical of 16 was designed to “check the variability of our drivers and their expertise”, as Kennedy put it.
On the Xfinity degree, Bristol and Kansas commerce locations such that the previous will as soon as once more be the common season finale. Portland Worldwide Raceway is the one standalone race as Street America is off the schedule for the primary time since 2009, although the latter’s absence has been attributed to NBC’s protection of the Summer time Olympics and is believed to be a one-off disappearance.
The Olympics, that are solely coated by NBC very similar to the Cup and Xfinity Sequence’ second halves, closely factored into delaying the schedule launch as NASCAR sought to place the items collectively. As a result of Paris Video games, the Cup Sequence has a two-week summer season break between Indianapolis and Richmond. NASCAR’s present tv contract with FOX and NBC additionally expires after 2024, although solely The CW has been confirmed as a broadcaster for 2025 onwards because the unique community for the Xfinity Sequence.
“I do know that ’25 goes to look totally different,” Kennedy commented. “Naturally, we’ll be in our new media rights settlement, so it received’t be an Olympic yr, so I feel the schedule general can have plenty of variability to it as we take into consideration ’25.
“[…] As you concentrate on the structure of the schedule, plenty of that’s pushed from our conversations with them and programming and occasions, whether or not it’s a day race, a primetime race, a Saturday evening race, the place plenty of our home windows are. They definitely have a really massive voice on the desk. That mentioned, we even have plenty of voices to listen to from, so our followers are most likely primary on that record. Broadcast companions are excessive on the record. Our groups and drivers are excessive on the record. Our companions are excessive on the record. There are plenty of people which can be definitely weighing in as we take into consideration these scheduling adjustments, and it’s incumbent upon us to absorb all that information and data and suggestions, attempt to make one of the best calculated choices as we take into consideration rolling out the following schedule.”
The Truck Sequence will solely have one highway course race at Circuit of the Americas as Mid-Ohio Sports activities Automobile Course has been dropped.
For the fifth yr in a row, all three sequence will conclude their seasons with NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
