- NBC and its affiliates will cover the Games from their Friday, July 26 opening ceremonies through their final ceremonies on Sunday, August 11.
- The full 36-race schedule shows a new race on June 16 at the 7/8th-mile Iowa Speedway near Newton.
- The championship race will be Nov. 10 at Phoenix, a week later than this year.
NASCAR will take an unusual two-weekend break next summer while NBC-TV broadcasts the Summer Olympics from Paris. The 2024 Cup Series schedule released on Wednesday shows no races on July 28 and August 4, prime mid-summer dates when NASCAR has always presented events.
NBC and its affiliates will cover the Games from their Friday, July 26 opening ceremonies through their final ceremonies on Sunday, August 11. The August 11 race at Richmond, Va. is at night, allowing USA Network to broadcast. The Olympic coverage will fall between the July 21 Brickyard 400 at Indy and Richmond’s second race, on Aug. 11
The full 36-race schedule shows a new race on June 16 at the 7/8th-mile Iowa Speedway near Newton. The track’s first Cup race since it opened in 2006 comes at the expense of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. That 2-mile track, which has hosted 33 Cup Series races since it opened in 1997, is being razed and its land sold off to developers. It’s expected that a half-mile track will be built nearby in time for the 2025 or 2026 season.
Much of next year’s schedule had been released in drips and drabs in recent weeks. Previously confirmed were Feb. 18 for the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, May 26 for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the June 16 race in Iowa, the July 21 Brickyard 400 at Indy, and the Sept. 1 Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C.
The 10-race, championship-deciding Playoffs will have a slightly different look. The first three-race elimination series is Sept. 8 at Atlanta, Sept. 15 at Watkins Glen, then Sept. 21 at Bristol. Round 2 of the elimination tournament will be Sept. 29 at Kansas, then Oct. 6 at Talladega, and Oct. 13 on the Charlotte Roval. Round 3 will begin Oct. 20 in Las Vegas, then goes to Homestead on Oct. 27, and Martinsville on Nov. 3. The championship race will be Nov. 10 at Phoenix, a week later than this year.
Unlike recent years, when the track was covered in dirt, the 2024 spring race at Bristol will return to its half-mile, high-banked asphalt surface. And despite mixed signals from some within the Chicago community, NASCAR will run a second street race through downtown on July 7 weekend.
“NASCAR is committed to delivering an annual schedule that continues to be bold and dynamic across all three national series while maintaining the famed destinations that our fans love,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of Racing Development and Strategy.
“The 2024 schedules strike a great balance between visiting many of our traditional tracks that continue to put on a great show, and newer locations like our first Cup race in Iowa and our highly anticipated return to the streets of Chicago that create ‘bucket list’ moments and attract new fans to America’s leading motorsport.”
2024 NASCAR Cup Schedule
*Sun., Feb. 4: Busch Light Clash at the ColiseumLos Angeles Coliseum
*Wed., Feb. 14: Daytona 500 qualifying, Daytona International Speedway
*Thu., Feb. 15: Daytona 500 Duels, Daytona International Speedway
Sun., Feb. 18: Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway
Sun., Feb. 25: Ambetter Health 400, Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sun., Mar. 3: Pennzoil 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sun., Mar. 10: United Rentals 500k, Phoenix Raceway
Sun., Mar. 17: Food City 500, Bristol Motor Speedway
Sun., Mar. 24: Echopark Texas Grand Prix, Circuit of the Americas
Sun., Mar. 31: Toyota Owners 400, Richmond Raceway
Sun., April 7: NOCO 400Martinsville Speedway3:00pmFS1MRN
Sun, April 14: Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, Texas Motor Speedway
Sun., April 21: GEICO 500, Talladega Superspeedway
Sun., April 28: Würth 400, Dover Motor Speedway
Sun., May 5: AdventHealth 400, Kansas Speedway
Sun., May 12: Goodyear 400, Darlington Raceway
*Sun., May 19: All-Star Open, North Wilkesboro Speedway
*Sun., May 19: All-Star Race, North Wilkesboro Speedway
Sun., May 26: Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Sun., June 2: Enjoy Illinois 300, World Wide Technology Raceway
Sun., June 9: Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma Raceway
Sun., Jun 16: TBA, Iowa Speedway
Sun., June 23: Crayon 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sun., June 30: Ally 400, Nashville Superspeedway
Sun., July 7: Grant Park 220, Chicago Street Course
Sun., July 14: HighPoint.com 400, Pocono Raceway
Sun., July 21: Brickyard 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sun., Aug. 11: Cook Out 400, Richmond Raceway
Sun., Aug. 18: FireKeepers Casino 400, Michigan International Speedway
Sat., Aug. 24: Coke Zero Sugar 400, Daytona International Speedway
Sun., Sept. 1: Southern 500, Darlington Raceway
Playoffs Round of 16
Sun., Sept. 8: Quaker State 400, Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sun., Sept. 15: Go Bowling at the Glen, Watkins Glen International
Sat., Sept. 21: Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway
Playoffs Round of 12
Sun., Sept. 29: Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway
Sun., Oct. 6: YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway
Sun., Oct 13: Bank of America Roval 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval
Playoffs Round of 8
Sun., Oct. 20: South Point 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sun., Oct 27: Dixie Vodka 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sun. Nov 3: Xfinity 500, Martinsville Raceway
Championship Race
Sun., Nov 10: Season Finale 500, Phoenix Raceway
* Non-points event
Contributing Editor
Unemployed after three years as an Army officer and Vietnam vet, Al Pearce shamelessly lied his way onto a small newspaper’s sports staff in Virginia in 1969. He inherited motorsports, a strange and unfamiliar beat which quickly became an obsession.
In 53 years – 48 ongoing with Autoweek – there have been thousands of NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA, and APBA assignments on weekend tracks and major venues like Daytona Beach, Indianapolis, LeMans, and Watkins Glen. The job – and accompanying benefits – has taken him to all 50 states and more than a dozen countries.
He’s been fortunate enough to attract interest from several publishers, thus his 13 motorsports-related books. He can change a tire on his Hyundai, but that’s about it.
Read the full article here