Report Reveals Why Portland Was Removed From NASCAR Schedule

What’s Happening?

This past weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series raced at Portland International Raceway for what is, as of now, the final time. While the tracks’ removal from the schedule was not as talked about as others, it was a mystery why NASCAR would abandon the Pacific Northwest, but a new report may have the answers race fans were looking for.

When NASCAR released the 2026 schedule on Aug. 20, several tracks were not renewed for the coming season. These included Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, the Chicago Street Race, and, to the surprise of many, Portland International Raceway.

While Portland was an outlier in the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule, with the soon-to-be O’Reilly Auto Parts Series being the only National Series to make the venture to Oregon, the track served an important role in not only the series but for NASCAR as a whole.

Portland, as the only track in the Pacific Northwest on one of the three NASCAR National Series schedules, represented a significant portion of the country that has seemingly been overlooked by NASCAR throughout the years.

Now, with the historic track removed from the schedule after just four seasons, fans are still wondering what will happen with the Pacific Northwest Market and why NASCAR is leaving PIR, with most suspecting the track’s outlying nature could be a key factor.

But, per a new report from Owen Sexton of The Chronicle, NASCAR’s reason for leaving might have to do more with the track, rather than it’s location.

In this report, BRK Racing owner Randy Knighton told Sexton the track was removed due to its outdated amenities. With the report claiming “there are no electronic or internet connections on pit row for the teams to hook up their pit boxes.” Of course, hookups like these are a necessity for teams in modern NASCAR, making this reasoning, though unconfirmed by NASCAR, understandable.

Nonetheless, NASCAR officials are open about returning to the market, with NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Venue and Racing Innovation Officer Ben Kennedy, saying during an Aug. 20 media availability that the sport has “good relationships” with several tracks in the region and Green Savoree, the now former Xfinity Series race promoter at PIR.

At the time, Kennedy was cautious about confirming the sport would return to the region any time soon, saying, “We’ve had a few conversations with them. Nothing has come to fruition quite yet, but would love to have an opportunity to have a Cup Series event up there in the future.”

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