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JOLIET, IL – SEPTEMBER 17: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota, leads the field to turn one after taking the green flag to start the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 17, 2017 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
The wait is over. NASCAR released the 2026 schedules for its top three touring series Wednesday and while 2025 was a year of surprises, 2026 looks more like a year of refinement\u2014trading international flair and big experiments for a reshuffled deck of classics, a new San Diego street race on a Navy base, and the long-awaited return of North Wilkesboro as a full points-paying stop.<\/p>\n
The stops include tracks where there some winners, losers, and some odd choices of dates. Yes, North Wilkesboro gets a race that actually means something, its first points-paying race since 1996, but at the expense of Dover Motor Speedway a storied track in the annuals of the sport. NASCAR has raced at the 1-mile concrete oval in the First State since 1969 when Richard Petty became the first winner. The track held two races a season until 2021 when it lost a date to Nashville Superspeedway.<\/p>\n
Next season, Dover\u2019s lone date becomes the All-Star Race, which, outside of a hefty check, means very little in the bigger picture. But Dale Earnhardt Jr., who helped resurrect North Wilkesboro, isn\u2019t complaining.<\/p>\n
“You know I’m a big believer in the value of short track racing and its history in our sport, so to me this is the biggest news on the 2026 schedule,” he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Dover reached out to a politician for part of its response.<\/p>\n
\u201cHosting the NASCAR All-Star Race at The Monster Mile is a win for Delaware\u2019s economy and tourism industry,\u201d said Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer. \u201cIn 2026, as we celebrate America\u2019s 250th anniversary, fans from across the globe will come here for the thrill of race weekend, discovering our beaches, history, and hospitality along the way.\u201d Ending by dropping a line straight out of Talladega Nights: \u201cAnd take it from the First State: if you\u2019re not first, you\u2019re last!\u201d And take it from the First State: if you\u2019re not first, you\u2019re last!\u201d<\/p>\n
DOVER, DELAWARE – JULY 20: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 SiriusXM Toyota, race to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on July 20, 2025 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
In another curious move, Watkins Glen International, the famous road course long a summer staple, shifts to Mother\u2019s Day. Traditionally that date was reserved for tracks on life support, a last chance before the axe. And in upstate New York, May doesn\u2019t guarantee sunshine. Snow isn\u2019t unheard of, meaning fans might be swapping T-shirts for mittens.<\/p>\n
Other shuffles include Atlanta, er, \u201cEchoPark\u201d Speedway, swapping dates with Sonoma. The spring Darlington race moves earlier, replacing Homestead\u2019s spring slot\u2014Homestead in turn closes the season a move we already knew.<\/p>\n
Speaking of returns, NASCAR heads back to Chicagoland Speedway in 2026. The Joliet oval lost its date when the pandemic scrapped the 2020 season, and when the 2021 schedules were revealed, it was quietly left behind after hosting Cup races since 2001.<\/p>\n
It was already well known that NASCAR\u2019s trip outside the States to Mexico wasn\u2019t going to be happening, and that date is replaced by Pocono.<\/p>\n
The former Pocono date will belong to San Diego the race held on the streets of a Navy base that made news when it was announced a few weeks ago. Speaking of street races, NASCAR will return to Chicago, not to race on that city\u2019s streets but in 2026 but at Chicagoland Speedway. The 1.5-mile oval in Joliet was left behind when the pandemic cancelled races everywhere in 2020, and when the 2021 schedules were revealed, the speedway was left behind after hosting NASCAR since 2001.<\/p>\n
NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 18: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, and Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota, lead the field on a pace lap prior to the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
The overall structure of the Playoffs remains featuring the same familiar mix and will end at Homestead-Miami for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n
At the end of it all, there is no real \u201cwow\u201d in the 2026 schedule. It\u2019s a little Southern California sun, a little more nostalgia, and no need for a passport.<\/p>\n
As always, some fans will hate it, some will love it, still others won\u2019t care. But come 2026 at Bowman-Gray Stadium the preseason Clash will kick off the season and at the end of it all a champion will be crowned.<\/p>\n
For those haters bemoaning the schedule for next year. As NASCAR has displayed in the last few years the schedules are no longer sealed in concrete, but more a Spotify playlist\u2014one year it\u2019s classic rock, the next it\u2019s EDM, and we are all just along for the ride.<\/p>\n
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Schedule <\/p>\n
NASCAR Media<\/p>\n
The 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Schedule<\/p>\n
NASCAR Media<\/p>\n
The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Schedule <\/p>\n
NASCAR Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JOLIET, IL – SEPTEMBER 17: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota, leads the field…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":162201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-162200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115063440300159247","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}