NASCAR working through final details of 2026 Cup Series calendar

NASCAR is aiming to release its 2026 schedule next week, but the puzzle pieces keep moving around the board.

There are a few things the industry knows for certain, which starts with the first events of the season. Bowman Gray Stadium will host the Clash on Feb. 1. The season-opening Daytona 500 will follow on Feb. 16.

Other previously announced events include San Diego joining the schedule during Father’s Day weekend, June 19-21. Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the championship weekend Nov. 6-8.

So, what else are we hearing?

A familiar start

Bowman Gray and Daytona kick off the season, and they will lead into other familiar races. RACER understands that the first five races of the 2026 season will be the same five that began the ’25 season. Those races would be Daytona, Atlanta, Circuit of The Americas, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Additionally, there are two races that appear set for earlier race dates next year. Those being Darlington Raceway (potentially in March) and Richmond Raceway (in May).

Sonoma Raceway is expected to follow San Diego on June 26-28. Running back-to-back road course weekends on the West Coast would be a logistical help to the teams.

Uncertainty over Mexico City

NASCAR visited Mexico City for the first time with the Cup Series in June. The Xfinity Series also made a return, having not competed in Mexico since 2008.

However, there has been increasing talk that Mexico will not be on the 2026 schedule. NASCAR’s partnership with Mexico City is a multiyear deal, but the country is set to co-host the FIFA World Cup next year, and that event will be held through June and into July. So, if NASCAR does return, it would likely be during a different time period.

After the inaugural event, Ben Kennedy, NASCAR EVP, chief venue and racing innovation officer, was noncommittal about the sport returning next year. But he did offer, “We’re very hopeful to be back here in the future.”

Fireworks at Chicagoland? And what about Iowa?

The 1.5-mile intermediate track in Joliet, Ill., has been mentioned a lot in recent months. But what started as a seemingly scheduled wish list item appears to be turning into reality, with a weekend date for Chicagoland Speedway around the Fourth of July, after San Diego and Sonoma.

Surprisingly, there is also uncertainty around Iowa Speedway. The facility hosted its first Cup Series race in 2024 and welcomed back the series earlier this month. However, there is chatter that its future on the schedule could go either way, despite selling out both of its NASCAR race weekends.

A second off weekend

It’ll be welcome news for the Cup Series garage to have a second in-season weekend off after having just one this year for Easter. But the math looks to be working out for an Easter off weekend again in ‘26 and a second off weekend later in the year, which could be in early August after the Brickyard 400.

New date for New Hampshire

The one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway is expected to move out of the postseason next year, which wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened. New Hampshire has been a one-race place since 2018, and that is when it stopped being a playoff location. However, the facility is back in the postseason this year, but is tipped to be moving dates again in ’26.

Changes ahead for Dover and North Wilkesboro?

The Athletic is reporting that Dover Motor Speedway is being considered as the 2026 location of the All-Star Race. If so, it opens up the possibility of North Wilkesboro Speedway, which has been the home of the All-Star Race the last three years, hosting a points-paying race.

North Wilkesboro is a beloved facility, and since it returned to the NASCAR schedule in 2023, there have been hopes of it one day getting a points race for the first time since 1996.