Another NASCAR schedule rumor has come from a rather unlikely source, IndyCar schedule rumors. Nathan Brown of the IndyStar reported that one of the hang-ups regarding scheduling the IndyCar race at Texas is the potential date for the Texas NASCAR race in 2024. The rumor, according to Brown, is that Texas is looking at NASCAR weekend to the springtime.
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According to Brown, Texas Motor Speedway is not sure they like running in direct conflict with the Dallas Cowboys in the fall. Texas has run spring races for the vast majority of its existence, so it’s not like it’s a completely new concept.
Between 1997 and 2019, Texas ran a race during either late March or early April plus the All-Star Race in the spring of 2021 and 2022. The only reason Texas did not run a spring race in 2020 is because of the pandemic.
If Texas is down to one race per year, then they need to find a date to best suit getting the highest TV ratings and the best crowd. The Playoffs, while very prominent in the NASCAR schedule, do not always bring in the highest TV ratings because of what those races are competing with in terms of ratings. Just take a look at the Bristol TV ratings from this past weekend, which registered less than a 1.0 Nielsen rating and 1.562 million viewers.
As strange as it may sound, it may be worthwhile for Texas Motor Speedway to return to a spring date, and NASCAR and the TV partners would probably go along with it. Texas Motor Speedway is not the most popular race track amongst the fans, so, NASCAR is probably not against putting the track in a date that is less prominent on their schedule. It seems it could work out for everyone, but there is one major detractor.
Nathan Brown also reported that NASCAR is eyeing March 24th for the COTA race in 2024, which is the same weekend it was held in 2023. COTA seems like it will stay on the NASCAR schedule for the foreseeable future, and, with TMS down to one points date, it has taken the proverbial place the Texas spring race once held.
If this rumor actually becomes reality, that could create a major conflict between COTA and Texas Motor Speedway. The two tracks are three hours apart, but COTA now serves a large Texas market where Texas Motor Speedway is the only track for, Houston. Houston is much closer to COTA than it is to Texas Motor Speedway, and how many fans in that area can justify going to two races in the span of a couple of weeks to a month?
It is entirely possible that putting the two races so close together could have a negative effect on the crowd for both events. Now, this could be overblown because the two tracks are three hours apart after all, but it is still something to consider.
The fun thing to talk about with this race date is which track could replace Texas Motor Speedway in the Playoffs. Keep in mind, that Texas is an SMI-owned race track, so an SMI track would have to replace it.
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway has embraced NASCAR since its’ return in 2021, and the weather would be great in late September for a Playoff race. The issue with this would be finding a track to take that summer slot, but it could also serve as a date NASCAR could use to push some races back so that they can do their two-week Olympic break in late July/early August.
Atlanta Motor Speedway
It would be very easy to just swap the spring Atlanta date with the spring Texas date on the 2024 schedule, however, there are a couple of things to consider. First off, the weather is a consideration with the race being potentially held in mid-March. Secondly, having two superspeedways in the Playoffs may be a bit much, but having two in the same round would be very controversial. At that point, Talladega would need to be moved somewhere else on the schedule.
North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway is a track that has been rumored to be getting a points date, so, why not give it a date in the Playoffs? North Wilkesboro used to host a fall race throughout most of its history, so it can host a race during that time of year. However, there would have to be some significant shuffling because the All-Star Race would need a new venue, and an SMI venue would have to give up a points date. Maybe one Bristol concrete race could be an All-Star Race with another being a points date?
Texas moving to the spring is an interesting rumor that many were not expecting to hear. It further fuels that the 2024 schedule will be an interesting one, and one can only wonder what will be on it when it comes out.
Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought against the former Daytona 500 Champion by his former employer.
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart, alleging he took confidential team information…
Gabehart departed Joe Gibbs Racing this past offseason following eight seasons as a Crew Chief and one as the team’s Competition Director, while serving as an unofficial Crew Chief for Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 team.
This move surprised fans, as, under his tenure in 2026, the team scored 13 wins, 47 top fives, 69 top tens, and placed three cars in the Playoffs, with two in the Championship Four.
Nonetheless, with his future still in the air, JGR sued Gabehart last week, claiming he “embarked on a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most sensitive information and use it for the benefit of a direct competitor in NASCAR.”
While the industry veteran responded to the allegations last week in a post to social media, he expanded his side of the story in a scathing response filed Wednesday afternoon.
In his response, Gabehart claims that in 2025, he became discontented with his role at JGR “and other aspects of how JGR’s race teams were being run.”
Expanding on this opinion, Gabehart stated first that his duties at JGR as Competition Director were “materially inconsistent with my reasonable expectations when I accepted the position,” going on to say that the structure at JGR was “dysfunctional.”
“I was promised a COO-type role overseeing all competitive operations with autonomy to lead. Instead, I found myself constantly intertwined with Coach Gibbs, senior JGR executives, and family members when making even routine competition decisions—a dysfunctional organizational structure that I could not continue in.” — Chris Gabehart
Ironically, since his departure, Joe Gibbs confirmed during an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on February 12, that the team now uses a committee approach for the Competition Director duties.
What’s Happening? Team Owner Joe Gibbs broke down the new structure of JGR in the aftermath of the departure of former…
Gabehart then turned his barrel at the No. 54 team, a car driven by Gibbs’ grandson Ty Gibbs, and a team that Gabehart served as the substitute Crew Chief of during the 2025 season, before returning the reins to the team’s official shot caller, Tyler Allen.
The long-time Crew Chief said that in his opinion, the No. 54 team is not held to the same standards as other teams in the organization, saying, “It was my view that the No. 54 car should be managed and held accountable in the same manner as the organization’s other cars.”
He even alleged that Joe Gibbs directly oversaw his grandson’s team and “pressured” Gabehart to take over as Crew Chief early on during his time as JGR’s Competition Director.
“Beginning early in the 2025 season, Coach Gibbs repeatedly pressured me to take over as crew chief of the No. 54 car. I consistently declined, explaining that as Competition Director, I did not believe this was the right move, that it would undermine the long-term development of the team, and that I did not want to be crew chief of the No. 54 or any other car.” — Chris Gabehart
Gabehart even explained how he took over for Tyler Allen before returning duties to the team’s original Crew Chief:
“Despite my objections, Coach Gibbs and ownership continued pressing, and I eventually conceded to the pressure by first helping the No. 54 team more behind the scenes and then, beginning on June 28, 2025, by publicly serving as the crew chief and calling the races on Sundays for nine consecutive races before returning those duties to the original crew chief, Tyler Allen, against the strong desires of ownership, when I made it clear that I did not want to serve as a crew chief for the long term.” — Chris Gabehart
During Gabehart’s tenure with the No. 54 team, which per his account began with the summer race at EchoPark Speedway and concluded after nine races with the Playoff cutoff race at Daytona, the team scored two top fives, four top tens, and tallied an average finish of 14.3. The team also won the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge Tournament during this stretch of races.
Furthermore, at the start of that stretch, JGR initially claimed that Gabehart was not the Crew Chief and was a race strategist for the No. 54 team, though this may have been for one race.
In the 17 races prior to Gabehart’s time as the No. 54’s Crew Chief, with Allen on the box, the team had just two top fives, three top tens, and a 19.4 average finish.
But despite this improvement, the team failed to make the Playoffs, with Gabehart focused on his role as Competition Director. However, he notes in his filing that it is his opinion that the “differential treatment” of Gibbs’ team undermined my position as Competition Director.”
He even touted that Gibbs had a different meeting attendance standard than other JGR team members.
“I also identified specific examples of the No. 54 team’s differential treatment that undermined my position as Competition Director. For example, key personnel decisions were made without my counsel or input despite my role as Competition Director; and critically the No. 54 driver was not held to the same meeting attendance standards as others on the team.” — Chris Gabehart
Ultimately, the real bitterness in this filing is found later on, when Gabehart alleges the lawsuit isn’t about stolen information, rather, as he puts it, “it is about punishing a former employee for daring to leave.”
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing alleged that former competition director Chris Gabehart took a wide range of confidential team information regarding…
Gabehart also addressed the origin of the lawsuit in his filing, backing up a claim in his social media post last week that Spire Motorsports, now a co-defendant in this lawsuit, is willing to let a forensic examiner look through their information to confirm Gabehart did not take “sensitive information” from the team.
JGR alleges that he used several methods to take setup information from JGR, including an allegation that he synchronized his personal Google Drive account with a JGR-issued laptop to supply it to a rival team, known to be Spire Motorsports.
In Wednesday’s filing, Gabehart provided a letter from attorneys at the law firm Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson claiming that Spire, which now employs him as their Chief Motorsports Officer, is willing to allow a neutral forensic examiner to look through Spire materials to “confirm that no JGR information was transmitted to or used by Spire.”
Tuesday night, JGR filed a new document of its own, which requested the court grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent Gabehart from working at Spire in a similar role to his job at JGR for the next 18 months and require Spire to return any information to JGR.
Nonetheless, this filing, alongside one from JGR Tuesday night, shows there are no signs of this lawsuit slowing down, with Gabehart’s accusations making this one of the most bitter breakups in recent NASCAR history.
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has added to its lawsuit filed against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, filing…
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NASCAR’s 2026 All-Star format has fans going from “hell yeah” to “what the hell” in record time. With a 350-lap, three-segment race at Dover Motor Speedway and no Open or LCQ, the exhibition’s identity suddenly feels very different — and not everyone is thrilled about it.
The new structure locks in recent winners, past champions, and a fan vote — leaving limited spots available through the segments. It’s structured. It’s legitimate. But it trades exclusivity and simple, high-stakes transfer battles for something that feels more procedural than electric. For many fans, the All-Star race used to mean night racing, short bursts, bold strategy, and desperation. Now, with a longer format and no true “win-and-you’re-in” showdown, Jaret believes it risks feeling like an obligation rather than a spectacle.
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NASCAR’s All-Star shakeup, a growing legal fight in the garage, and major early-season momentum swings have all collided at once. With COTA up next, the timing couldn’t be more dramatic, and the ripple effects might be bigger than they first appear.
This isn’t just about one exhibition race or one court filing. It’s about direction, leverage, and momentum at a critical point in the season. The format decisions affect the show. The lawsuit could affect how teams operate. And COTA might start separating early contenders from everyone else.
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