Discussing Major Points of Change in The 2026 NASCAR Schedules

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On Wednesday, NASCAR officially revealed the 2026 schedules for each of its NASCAR National Series (NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series). There were a variety of additions, subtractions, and shifts between all three schedules.

2026 NASCAR Schedules: Cup Series | O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | Truck Series

Racing America On SI’s Toby Christie and Joseph Srigley react to the schedule release in the conversation below:

Toby Christie: There’s a lot to unpack. Should we start with what we like or what we dislike about the 2026 NASCAR National Series schedules?

Joseph Srigley: Let’s start with the good things first!

Christie: Well, I for one, think the change of the championship venue, although it’s not new news, is a positive one. I had grown tired of the yearly trip to Phoenix Raceway to decide a champion. The facility is great. The area is excellent, as well. But for whatever reason, I just haven’t found Phoenix Raceway to be the most compelling site to decide a champion.

Homestead-Miami Speedway, on the other hand, delivers proven results, and I think this will be a popular move amongst fans.

Srigley: Honestly, I think the only person particularly sad about the move away from Phoenix Raceway for the season finale is Roger Penske. 

Christie: Yeah, but at least they extended The Captain an olive branch by partnering with IndyCar on a race weekend at St. Pete.

Srigley: Fair enough. But, like I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, was that with the current climate of short track racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, Phoenix Raceway has provided the perfect opportunity for a mid-November nap when deciding the championship, as opposed to Homestead-Miami Speedway, which produces banger after banger.

Christie: So, it seems we are definitely in agreement that Homestead is the correct call for the finale, but that’s not shocking at all. 

Srigley: At least for next year, yeah. I’m interested to see what tracks get tossed into the rotation, though, because I think there is still a hidden gem lying out there waiting to get its day in the sun as the host of Championship Weekend *cough* Darlington *cough*.

Christie: Speaking of Darlington, NASCAR bumped the Spring race at Darlington up in the season rotation next year as it’ll serve as the host of the sixth race of the season. I’d like to hear your thoughts about it, Joseph, but I really like Darlington being that early in the season as it will – I think – help keep some of the momentum going early in the season, as Darlington is a fan favorite.

You’ll have Daytona, and Atlanta – two superspeedway-style races, Las Vegas (a 1.5-miler), and Darlington in the opening six races. That’s a pretty solid open to the season as far as keeping people’s attention.

Srigley: I agree. Plus, you’ve got Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in there, too, which produced an absolutely EPIC showdown for the victory between Christopher Bell, William Byron, Kyle Busch, and others in 2025, and hey… maybe Shane Van Gisbergen won’t win this one… maybe?

Christie: Perhaps, but don’t count on it. Overall, I like most of the changes to the schedules this season. But the one thing I’m kind of curious/not sure about is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heading to not one, but two street courses, and one of them being the streets of St. Petersburg.

Srigley: Listen, I’m not saying I love chaos… because I don’t. But, at the very least, that race at St. Petersburg is going to be interesting to watch. While the decision might seem puzzling, it provides NASCAR with the opportunity to strengthen its relationship with INDYCAR by having a double-header weekend in Florida, plus it brings the NASCAR Truck Series to a brand new market.

I can understand the skepticism, especially since we’re going from zero street races to two street races in the matter of a year, but this is a standalone race, and provides the opportunity for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to have some unique flair. Plus, an INDYCAR/Truck Series crossover would be epic!

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Christie: Yeah, we’ll see. I am more hopeful than pessimistic for now, but I would not be surprised if it turns the other way once that race shows up next season. However, a new race that I feel like will be a great addition to things next year is North Wilkesboro Speedway, hosting its first NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race since 1996.

I know, the Next Gen car hasn’t produced super compelling racing, but the All-Star Race this year was so damn good there. If North Wilkesboro comes out and puts on a great show, it will make a lot of folks who started watching the sport in the early 1990s or before very happy. And that’s a good thing.

Srigley: There’s quite a bit of hype behind it… But that’s kind of what I’m worried about.

This year’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was pretty good, but this is (presumably) going to be a 400-lap event with the NextGen car at a short track, and it’s going to be in the scorching heat of mid-July. For the fanbase, I hope everything works out, but I am kind of worried that it’s not going to be… but maybe some more horsepower will take all of my worries away, right, Elton Sawyer?

Christie: They haven’t released start times.. Who’s to say we could or could not have a Sunday Night NASCAR Race at North Wilkesboro?

Srigley: It’s July in North Carolina, it’s still going to be hot as balls.

Another kind of upsetting thing… we lost Portland. I’m not a fan of the move, considering we aren’t in the Pacific Northwest, at all, but I guess it makes it so that the Xfinity… err O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams don’t have to make the trip out west.

Christie: At least I’m not the only one who has thrown $1 into the Xfinity/O’Reilly jar, now. But yeah, I agree, I feel like the Northwest market has a lot of passionate race fans, and they were finally represented on the schedule with Portland, but that’s gone – at least for now. But I agree, it will likely provide a bit of financial relief for the race teams.

Another puzzling move is that we have no International races on the schedule for next season. We had such a buzz about Mexico City this season, and just like that, we’re fully contained to the United States. I feel like in that respect, we’ve taken such a step back in modern NASCAR.

We used to go to Canada, Australia, Japan, and Mexico. In the year 2026, we won’t go to any of them.

Srigley: Let’s talk about that… Mexico City hosted incredible races this year, with a ridiculously passionate fanbase, and then all of a sudden, what was a multi-year deal is just gone. Now, NASCAR says they want to return, and it’s not that I don’t believe them, but frankly, I’ve heard this story before. There’s been a conceded attempt to get the NASCAR Cup Series into Canada, with the sanctioning body saying it's a top priority, but it’s never gotten finished.

Maybe it’s circumstantial and things keep happening that prevent a return to Canada, but in theory, it’s much easier to host a race there than in Mexico, and NASCAR seemed to pull that off fairly well in 2025. Plus, as a Canadian NASCAR fan (turned industry member), I would love nothing more than for any NASCAR National Series, especially the Cup Series, to come North.

Christie: Yeah, it is perplexing to see that we aren’t branching out to other countries next season, but there is hope with how welcoming to change NASCAR has been with their schedules in the last few years. Now, there’s always hope that even if you don’t see your desired track on the NASCAR National Series schedule that there’s a chance it can be there next year.

And if there is an International track or tracks included in the 2027 schedule, I’m sure we’ll weigh in on that next year around this same time.

Srigley: Oh, wait, we almost forgot! Dover is the NASCAR All-Star Race… can you believe the monstrosity that is that decision (get it, because Miles the Monster)? I mean, the crowd was fantastic for that race this year, but I don’t think the racing is going to provide anything remotely captivating. What do you think?

Christie: My mom always told me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, not to say anything at all. So, I think that means we’re out of time for this installment.