Is NASCAR Finally Heading to Canada in 2026?

What’s Happening?

In a recent report, NASCAR Executive Ben Kennedy hinted that a race weekend in Canada could join the NASCAR Cup Series schedule sooner rather than later.

As @NASCAR makes history in Mexico City, @MotorsportBB sits down with @BenKennedy33 to find out:

🏙️ Lessons learned from Chicago
🇲🇽 Importance of FTA coverage
🏎️ Increasing pressure from F1
🇨🇦 Is the next step north?#SportsBiz #Nascarhttps://t.co/71YkLNFms8

— Cian Brittle (@cianbrittle) June 10, 2025

While NASCAR fans have settled in for a quiet silly season in the garage area, the 2026 schedule Silly Season has remained a hot topic since the green flag dropped at Bowman Gray Stadium in February.

Of all the major topics of conversation, more international races are at the forefront. A recent report from Cian Brittle of Blackbook Motorsport claims that NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Venue and Racing Innovations Officer Ben Kennedy hinted that “NASCAR will ‘take a race north of the border’ at some point soon.”

In that report, Kennedy went on to say, “We’ve also talked to folks north of the border as well at a few different locations, and we’d still love to have an event up in Canada at some point.” This is not the first time a NASCAR official has spoken openly about racing in Canada, but Kennedy’s words seem to suggest that the gears are fully in motion to do so.

Of course, when racing in Canada is mentioned, venues such as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Québec (both of which have hosted NASCAR National Series races) come to mind. In fact, a March report from a French-Canadian newspaper, Le Journal de Québec, claimed that NASCAR was heading to Gilles Villeneuve in 2026, though this was never confirmed.

The Rumor Mill, Brazil, and Chicago

Throughout 2024, rumors swelled that NASCAR would send a race to Mexico City and one of those two tracks in 2025. While this did not come to pass, NASCAR is headed to Mexico City this weekend for the Cup Series’ first international points race since a 1958 race at Toronto’s Canadian Exposition Stadium.

While these rumors have persisted in 2025, Canada is not the only country in which NASCAR officials have expressed interest. Recently, NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps said he would still like to see a race in Brazil despite rumors of the country hosting the 2026 Clash falling through.

Nonetheless, it’s hard to see where a race would fit into the 2026 NASCAR schedule. Though there is still no word on whether Circuit of the Americas and Speedway Motorsports will have a contract after 2025, another potential road course candidate could be the Chicago Street Circuit.

This race, NASCAR’s only street circuit, may not return to the schedule in 2026. Furthermore, the street circuit’s rumored replacement, a street race in San Diego, may not be ready for 2027, meaning there could be an open slot for a one-year trial in Canada.

As of right now, there is only one confirmed date on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule: the 2026 Championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Nonetheless, as we await the release of that schedule, which is typically released in August, rumors and reports can help spell out that schedule. The link below features an article with all confirmed race dates alongside rumors.

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