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One of the major hangups that is reportedly keeping the 2024 schedule from being released is Montreal. What once seemed to be a guarantee to some is now questionable at best. If Montreal does not make it onto the 2024 schedule, then where can NASCAR go instead with that race date?
Now, Road America announced that they would not be hosting the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season, so, this seems next to impossible. However, would having a race that NASCAR was banking on happening at a certain time of year not happening constitute an unexpected turn of events? That would be the only scenario where Road America could come back.
What this offers is another road course to replace a road course race that NASCAR was looking to add. It is also a popular road course that would definitely bring in a good crowd if they don’t feel too miffed by NASCAR continuing to leave them.
If NASCAR cannot reach the Montreal market, then why not try to go for a new market at Portland International Raceway? This would also work out pretty easily in the 2024 Cup Series schedule. If NASCAR were to swap the Sonoma and Auto Club dates, they could put Portland where Sonoma was and Sonoma where Auto Club was.
Portland’s Xfinity Series race was held during that time of year as well. It also is a brand new market that NASCAR’s highest division has not touched yet. It is not as exciting as Canada, but it is still worth a lot of hype.
If Montreal does not pan out, that opens up a date on the schedule for North Wilkesboro Speedway. If Montreal does not work out, it would be a nice PR save to give North Wilkesboro a points date. It would be a very popular move amongst many core NASCAR fans.
The issue with this would be the short track product. The short track product has just not been very good, and that could impede North Wilkesboro’s case. However, this would be about offering something cool in place of Canada from a PR standpoint.
The reason Michigan is on this list is because of its proximity to Canada. It is the closest NASCAR Cup Series track to Canada, and it even has a Canadian flag flying in Victory Lane. If Montreal cannot get a race, then why not give one to the track closest to it?
The issue with this is the lack of PR excitement. Instead of an exciting, new venue, we get a track NASCAR goes to every year getting a second date. Yes, the racing product has been good the last couple of years, but, is that enough?
Again, why not another inaugural event to replace what would have been an inaugural event? Iowa Speedway has come back to life in recent years with IndyCar running some incredible events there thanks to Hy-Vee. Would Hy-Vee be willing to support a NASCAR race? Iowa Speedway is also still owned by NASCAR.
This would be interesting to see, but is the track in a big enough market for NASCAR? There is a reason why Iowa has no major professional sports teams, and that is because of its’ small market. As a result, that could keep NASCAR away.
Maybe NASCAR can put another interesting event in place of Montreal should Montreal not work out. What other race tracks could NASCAR go to?
