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NASCAR is, has been, and always will be about one basic thing: speed. While plenty of things happen during a race, the fastest drivers, teams, and cars often end with the trophy, the big check, and the glory at the end. But how fast do these drivers go, and what is the fastest track these modern-day daredevils race on?
The unceremonious title of the slowest track in NASCAR goes to the Chicago Street Course, which is ironic given that it’s become one of NASCAR’s premier events. However, it makes sense, given the nature of the track. With relatively short straightaways, tight turns, and menacing concrete walls, this track is more about precision than pure speed.
While Circuit of the Americas has long straightaways, it also has plenty of technical sections that slow the overall speeds. The track is the longest on the NASCAR calendar, forcing teams to balance horsepower and handling.
The slowest oval track on the calendar is also NASCAR’s oldest, Martinsville Speedway. Martinsville is the only current NASCAR oval track to never post a pole speed over 100 MPH. While the long straightaways give the cars top speeds of around 120 MPH, the right turns with little banking force cars to slow down significantly.
Sonoma Raceway leap-frogged Martinsville this year thanks to a repave. Repaved tracks naturally have more grip, which leads to faster cornering speeds.
The Charlotte Roval combines a high-banked intermediate track with a technical infield road course, making it the second-fastest road course in NASCAR. It is a unique venue that produces a unique product.
Richmond Raceway’s slightly increased banking and longer length give it faster speeds than Martinsville. However, the aging track surface keeps the speeds down. The summer 2023 pole speed of 113.689 MPH was the slowest since the track was reconfigured to its’ modern 0.75-mile configuration in 1988.
Watkins Glen was built to showcase speed. With sweeping esses, long straightaways, and fairly wide corners, it is the fastest road course in NASCAR.
Many probably expected Bristol to be the fastest short track, but that is no longer true. While the high banks make it the fastest half-mile track NASCAR races on, it’s not quite as fast as one other short track.
New Hampshire saw a massive dropoff in pole speed from 2022 to 2023, but we didn’t get a qualifying session for 2024. While it’s just over a mile long, the almost flat corners make the corners last ages, forcing the drivers to use more finesse.
Phoenix is very similar to New Hampshire, but the combination of slightly more banking and slightly wider turns means the drivers travel at a more consistent speed. The 2011 reconfiguration probably helped, too.
Yes, Iowa Speedway is NASCAR’s fastest short track. The partially repaved venue provides unparalleled grip in the corners, and the wide corners themselves lead to higher sustained speeds. It has officially overtaken Bristol as NASCAR’s fastest short track.
While New Hampshire and Phoenix are technically intermediate tracks, Gateway is the first track on this list, 1.0 miles or more, that actually uses the intermediate track package. This gives Gateway the loosely held title of NASCAR’s slowest intermediate track, which is credited to its tight and flat turns.
Nashville Superspeedway is unique for intermediate tracks. The corner is slightly pinched in to shorten the track from the traditional 1.5 miles to 1.33 miles. This makes the track slightly slower than its’ cookie-cutter counterparts.
While Dover is not as fast as other tracks, it feels very fast. The high banks and long corners make this track feel like an expanded Bristol, but the racing product is closer to an intermediate track.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is the only cookie-cutter 1.5-mile track that is a true oval. Despite the progressive banking up to 20 degrees, the track’s tightish turns keep it below other tracks on this list.
Pocono Raceway is unlike any other track on the schedule. It has long straights that require lots of horsepower, but the flat corners mean drivers have to slam on the brakes, downshift, and finesse their way through the turns. Nothing tests a driver’s skill quite like Pocono.
Darlington is NASCAR’s original superspeedway (then considered tracks longer than 1.0 miles in length). The track has banks greater than 20 degrees, but it’s a much narrower groove with a slightly shorter, which keeps speeds down slightly.
Atlanta Motor Speedway is more similar to a superspeedway than an intermediate track despite being 1.5 miles in length. The restricted engines keep speeds below a few traditional intermediates, and the track’s length and lack of grip keep it slower than many superspeedways.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the same length as Pocono, but the four turns are much wider, allowing cars to carry more speed through the corners. This puts Indianapolis around the same overall speed as the superspeedway, with a top speed just below 200 MPH.
If engines were unrestricted, Cup Series cars could run well over 200 MPH at this track, but the restricted engines keep things slower. Things have slowed down more in the Next-Gen era, with Daytona 500 pole speeds down to speeds not seen since the 1960s.
Talladega Superspeedway is the same story as Daytona, except it’s slightly longer and has a little bit more banking. It’s the same product with slightly faster speeds.
Kansas Speedway saw its pole speed increase around three MPH in 2024 compared to past years. What exactly caused it, we don’t know, but it makes Kansas one of the five fastest tracks in NASCAR.
Charlotte Motor Speedway and the rest of the 1.5-mile tracks on this list have 24 degrees of banking, which allows for higher speeds. Charlotte’s average pole speed is close to 184 MPH, but the slightly tighter turns keep it below the other tracks.
Las Vegas also has 24 degrees of banking and slightly wider turns than Charlotte. The track’s pole speed has increased by four MPH since the first Next-Gen race in 2022, making it the third fastest in the sport.
While Texas’ reconfiguration is controversial, it’s produced some incredible speeds. It’s one of two tracks in the Next-Gen era to produce a 190 MPH+ pole lap, and that’s down to the newish, grippy track surface, high banks, and long, sweeping corners.
Michigan International Speedway has held the title of NASCAR’s fastest race track since it was repaved in 2012. The track saw qualifying speeds in excess of 200 MPH throughout the 2010s, but NASCAR’s recent horsepower reduction has brought speeds down to the low 190s.
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