What You Should Know About the 2026 NASCAR Schedule

The Cup Clash will have a second year at the classic 1/4-mile oval of Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 1. Iowa Speedway will also hold another race for the Cup Series, also as the first race of the NBC broadcast. North Wilkesboro returns to the schedule, this year as a points-paying race, the first one since 1996.

However, other changes across the schedule marked some implications across the year and the playoffs. First, the Chicago Street Race did not renew for 2026, moving the Independence Day weekend race back to Chicagoland Speedway , the first race back in Joliet since 2019. Alex Bowman is the defending race winner.

But NASCAR did not lose a street course race. Instead, they will run on the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego on June 19-21 with all three series, making another return to southern California after losing Auto Club Speedway.

The first of two unexpected moves was Watkins Glen International moving up in the schedule to the spring on Mother’s Day weekend. Second, the All-Star Race will be held at Dover Motor Speedway. With no lights around the 1-mile concrete oval, the race will need to be run during the day, the weekend before Memorial Day.

Lastly, at the request by fans and industry members across the board, NASCAR moved the Championship Finale back to Homestead-Miami Speedway after its last time as the title event in 2019 when Kyle Busch won his second Cup championship.

For the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the biggest change is the drop of Portland International Raceway, removing NASCAR’s presence from the Pacific Northwest. The series will also race at Watkins Glen, Naval Base Coronado and Iowa, with another return to Rockingham Speedway.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will join forces with the NTT IndyCar Series at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Saturday, Feb. 28. They will also return to Lime Rock Park for a second year. The Truck schedule continues its 25-race plan, an increase from 2024’s 23-round schedule and continuing from the 2025 slate.