Should every track have one date?

     What’s becoming a question that gets asked almost every day, one would have to start wondering what would happen if the 38 race cup series schedule could feature 38 different tracks.  In the past few seasons NASCAR has quickly transitioned from a sport that mainly runs on ovals to many different road courses and venues that aren’t the traditional oval.  

   With a lot of different tracks interested in hosting a NASCAR race, I think now is a great time to expand on the different tracks that we go to as well as returning to tracks of old. That were once on the schedule. There’s been recent additions of tracks such as WWT raceway and Nashville, as well as returning to tracks of old such as North Wilksboro speedway and the brickyard layout of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The current schedule has tracks of different shapes and sizes and it could get even crazier as the announcement of the 2025 schedule draws closer.

     Now there are also multiple race tracks that can see a spot on the schedule in the future but one thing limiting those spots, are the race tracks that NASCAR visits twice a year. Nascar travels to Daytona, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Bristol, martinsville, Richmond, Talladega, Charlotte (even though second race is on different layout) and Kansas. Now arguments can be made if some of these tracks deserve a second date or not but the fact is going to one track twice automatically takes away an opportunity for a new track to enter. Phoenix specifically I don’t think should have two dates because it hosts the championship finale. Bristol, martinsville, and Richmond are all within a close proximity of each other and race almost stacked on top of each other in the first half of the season. Daytona and Talladega are fan favorite’s both dates out of the year so removing one of those would be most likely faced with backlash but that’s normal these days. Charlotte and Kansas are arguably the best intermediates on the schedule.  That leaves Vegas, which race one has good attendance but as a tv watcher race 2 sees dips in attendance even with the track being in the playoffs. Which leads to another argument, how does attendance affect if a track has two race dates compared to one. Dover, Pocono, and New Hampshire are a few tracks that went from 2 to 1 race date over the years and the stands have looked packed. Pocono even sold out.

       Now that that’s been discussed, let’s talk about tracks that could potentially be added if one of these tracks loses a second date. For starters The Rock in North Carolina currently sits fresh off of renovations ready for a Cup race. Many fans miss the track and want it back. There’s also been talks of racing in Montreal or Mexico, one of which is heavily rumored to be on the schedule soon. Chicagoland also sits waiting for a return to action and with the uncertainty of the Chicago street race future, it’s possible that Chicagoland can return soon. Kentucky is another track that could return to the schedule as well.

  There’s an urge from Nascar also to expand into new markets while existing with the current markets that they currently race in. A street race even if not in Chicago certainly seems possible as well. There was a lot of positive feedback from the race both years and I think NASCAR can build on that momentum. Nascar proved that they can race in a stadium like environment with the clash at the coliseum and this could lead to racing inside of another stadium in the future. While Bristol dirt didn’t work out like NASCAR had hoped, maybe NASCAR can go to a real dirt track rather than covering one of their already existing tracks with dirt. 

      With only 38 weeks and the bidding list seeming to get longer and longer, some tracks hopes of hosting a NASCAR cup series race are probably a fever dream while for other tracks with 2 race dates, one could be on the chopping block.