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For 20 years, NASCAR's Cup Series schedule remained largely unchanged despite massive shifts in the style of racing, rule set, and even championship format used by the series. That changed in 2020, and every season since has seen major shake-ups. According to a reportedly full schedule first shared by The Athletic, that pattern will continue into 2026.
Major changes include the announced new race at San Diego's Coronado Naval base and a return to the Chicagoland Speedway, which effectively replaces the now-paused street circuit event in downtown Chicago. Other differences include Dover's one-mile concrete oval becoming the host of the non-championship All-Star Race and North Wilkesboro's resurrected short track returning to the regular season calendar after previously holding that event.
Another major change is Homestead-Miami's return to hosting the final round of the playoffs, a change first reported in April. That event replaces the finale at Phoenix, which took over for Homestead starting in the 2020 season.
Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a major addition to the 2025 schedule, joins Chicago in being dropped for the 2026 calendar. Two other unique venues added in the 2020s, the short-track showcase inside of the Los Angeles Coliseum and the dirt track built over Bristol Motor Speedway, are also not returning after having been dropped in previous years.
The full 2026 schedule shared by The Athletic can be seen below:
February 1st: Bowman-Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (non-points)
February 15th: Daytona 500, Daytona, Florida
February 22nd: Atlanta, Georgia
March 1st: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
March 8th: Phoenix, Arizona
March 15th: Las Vegas, Nevada
March 22nd: Darlington, South Carolina
March 29th: Martinsville, Virginia
April 12th: Bristol, Tennessee
April 19th: Kansas City, Kansas
April 26th: Talladega, Alabama
May 3rd: Fort Worth, Texas
May 10th: Watkins Glen, New York
May 17th: Dover, Delaware (All-Star race, non-points)
May 24th: Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte, North Carolina
May 31st: Nashville, Tennessee
June 7th: Brooklyn, Michigan
June 14th: Pocono, Pennsylvania
June 21st: Coronado Naval base, San Diego, California
June 28th: Sonoma, California
July 5th: Joliet, Illinois (Chicagoland oval)
July 12th: Atlanta, Georgia
July 19th: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
July 26th: Brickyard 400, Indianapolis, Indiana
August 9th: Newton, Iowa
August 15th: Richmond, Virginia
August 23rd: Loudon, New Hampshire
August 29th: Daytona, Florida
September 6th: Darlington, South Carolina (playoff round of 16)
September 13th: Madison, Illinois (playoff round of 16)
September 19th: Bristol, Tennessee (playoff round of 16 elimination race)
September 27th: Kansas City, Kansas (playoff round of 12)
October 4th: Las Vegas, Nevada (playoff round of 12)
October 11th: Charlotte, North Carolina (Roval) (playoff round of 12 elimination race)
October 18th: Phoenix, Arizona (playoff round of 8)
October 25th: Talladega, Alabama (playoff round of 8)
November 1st: Martinsville, Virginia (playoff round of 8 elimination race)
November 8th: Homestead, Florida (Championship Four finale)
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