NASCAR: 3 tracks added to the playoff schedule for 2025

As a long-time NASCAR enthusiast with years of trackside experiences under my belt, I can confidently say that the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule has certainly spiced things up! The playoff format revamp is particularly intriguing, especially the addition of Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

For the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series, while all 36 races on the initial 2024 schedule are retained, an additional track, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, has been added due to Richmond Raceway reducing its race dates from two to one. However, there have been notable adjustments in the overall calendar layout.

Many adjustments are being made for the playoffs this year, and they will appear quite distinct from what was seen in 2024. Out of the four rounds in the 10-race postseason, only the Championship 4 will maintain its similarity to last year, with Phoenix Raceway slated to continue hosting the championship-deciding event for a sixth consecutive year.

The Atlanta Motor Speedway has shifted its second race from the playoffs to the regular season in 2024, while Watkins Glen International will also move its race to the regular season, having previously held the second playoff race in 2024.

Moreover, Homestead-Miami Speedway will be hosting a race at the start of the regular season for the first time since 2021. Previously, it had been a venue for the Championship 4, but this role was handed over in 2022. However, it has been reinstated on the playoff schedule from 2022 and will remain so until 2024.

As a result, three other tracks have been added to the playoff schedule.

As of next year, Darlington Raceway will kick off the playoffs, a role it has played from 2020 to 2023. In 2024, it was where the regular season concluded, as the season was extended by a week because of NBC’s commitment to the Summer Olympics, resulting in a summer break.

The next round after Darlington will take place at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, a venue that joined the Cup Series schedule in 2022 and has been hosting a regular season race from 2022 until 2024.

The other playoff addition is New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Talladega Superspeedway is set to move from the round of 12 to the round of 8 to replace Homestead, freeing up a spot for New Hampshire to make its long-awaited playoff return to the round of 12. Loudon has not hosted a playoff race since 2017.

The remaining playoff races will keep their positions throughout each round. Bristol Motor Speedway is planned as the final event for the round of 16, while Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval are scheduled to take place during the round of 12. Additionally, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway have maintained their spots in the round of 8.

In 2025, the 67th Daytona 500, marking the start of the NASCAR Cup Series season, is scheduled for February 16 on Sunday. Fox will broadcast live from Daytona International Speedway starting at 2:30 PM Eastern Time. The playoffs kick off on August 31 with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, with coverage starting at 6:00 PM ET on USA Network (though this could potentially change).

2024-12-27 16:02

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