Rumor Mill: Are These the Top Candidates For Legacy Motor Club’s Expansion?
What’s Happening? The NASCAR rumor mill is heating up as a new rumor suggests that a former series champion and an…
If one thing has been certain about the NASCAR schedule throughout the 2020s, it’s that there has been constant change. Tracks have come and gone from the schedule as the decade has progressed, and, today, we have compiled all of the tracks that have been gained or lost from the schedule throughout the years.
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Chicagoland Speedway (Last Race: 2019)
Chicagoland Speedway was originally on the 2020 schedule, but, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the race. NASCAR never returned to the 1.5-mile facility, and fans were disappointed. While the track was seen as a cookie-cutter, some solid races in previous years made fans feel the track was entering a “Golden Age”. However, NASCAR was not done with the market.
Kentucky Speedway (Last Race: 2020)
Kentucky Speedway had one last hurrah in 2020 during the pandemic with a 4-wide battle for the win on the last lap. However, a recent reconfiguration made the track unpopular amongst the fans, so, NASCAR moved on. Kentucky Speedway now serves as a car storage lot, and any hopes of NASCAR returning seem to be quenched.
Daytona Road Course (Last Race: 2021)
The Daytona Road Course was originally added as a replacement for Sonoma on the pandemic-revised 2020 schedule, but, NASCAR decided to return to the track in 2021. However, hosting 3 races at the same venue proved to be too redundant, and, with the recent influx of other road courses like Road America and Circuit of the Americas, the Daytona Road Course just did not serve a purpose.
Road America (Last Race: 2022)
Road America was a popular addition to the calendar as a replacement for Chicagoland Speedway in 2021. An estimated crowd of over 100,000 fans turned out for the first Cup Series race there in over 60 years, but, the return was short-lived. With the Chicago Street Race joining the schedule in 2023, NASCAR did not see the purpose of returning the Cup Series to Road America.
Auto Club Speedway (Last Race: 2023)
NASCAR announced they had sold much of Auto Club Speedway’s land in 2020 with plans to reconfigure the facility into a short track. In 2023, the sale had finally closed, and NASCAR was forced to host their last race at the 2.0-mile facility. Motorsports fans were sad to see the track go as it had hosted good races, and it was where the fastest lap in auto racing history was turned by Gil DeFerran in 2000.
Bristol Dirt (Last Race: 2023)
In 2021, NASCAR decided to return to dirt by turning Bristol Motor Speedway into a dirt track. The move was highly controversial as some liked NASCAR diversifying, but, others were not happy that NASCAR took a date away from a very popular track to do so. In 2024, the spring race at Bristol will be back on the concrete, but, Bristol Dirt had some interesting moments.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (Last Race: 2023)
To spice up the show at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR elected to race on the infield road course instead of the Indianapolis oval. However, fans and drivers felt racing on the road course was not the same as racing on the oval, and the racing product at the track was hit-or-miss. Many grew weary of the first-turn pileups on restarts.
Circuit of the Americas (First Race: 2021)
After years of Eddie Gossage kicking and screaming for no NASCAR race at COTA, NASCAR finally went to COTA in 2021. The first race was marred by weather, but, the next two races were very well-received by fans. Given that this is one of the newest purpose-built road courses in the United States, it’s a no-brainer for NASCAR to keep coming back.
Nashville Superspeedway (First Race: 2021)
While NASCAR and SMI have been courting the Nashville Fairgrounds for some time, in 2021, they did the next best thing. Nashville had welcomed NASCAR with open arms by hosting the NASCAR Awards in 2019, so, NASCAR gave them a race in 2021. Fans have shown great support for the race with 2 sellouts in 3 years.
LA Coliseum (First Race: 2022)
In 2022, NASCAR did something unorthodox wth their season-opening Clash. They built a 0.25-mile race track on top of the USC football field at the LA Coliseum. While the future of the venue hosting NASCAR is uncertain, many have applauded NASCAR for thinking outside of the box.
Gateway (First Race: 2022)
In 2022, the NASCAR Cup Series made its long-awaited debut at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis. Much like Nashville, the local market has supported the race well with great crowds in both seasons. 2024 is the final year of the original 3-year contract between NASCAR and the facility, however, so, we will see if NASCAR stays.
North Wilkesboro Speedway (First Race: 2023)
After 26 years of sitting dormant, one of NASCAR’s original tracks came back to life in 2022, and NASCAR made its return in 2023 with the All-Star Race. While the main event itself was not great, the preliminary events, atmosphere, and nostalgic moments made this one of the best weekends of the year. Could North Wilkesboro host a points race in the future?
Chicago Street Race (First Race: 2023)
In 2023, NASCAR hosted its first street race on the streets of Chicago. While the first race was marred by weather, a surprise winner and incredible race made it a major success for NASCAR. It’s uncertain what the future of the event looks like given the current political landscape of the city, but, NASCAR hosting a street race was a major win.
Iowa Speedway (First Race: 2024)
In 2024, the NASCAR Cup Series makes its debut at Iowa Speedway. The track previously hosted the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series, but, NASCAR left there for a few years. A successful IndyCar weekend piqued the interest of NASCAR, and the Cup Series will be in Iowa this June.
The schedule has been changing a lot in recent years. One can only wonder what those changes will be in 2025.
With the NASCAR team Legacy Motor Club set to expand, there are many names in the rumor mill as to who will drive the team’s third car in 2027, but one new name entering the rumor mill could be the biggest surprise yet.
What’s Happening? The NASCAR rumor mill is heating up as a new rumor suggests that a former series champion and an…
During the 2025 season, Legacy Motor Club, which missed the opening to buy one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s three Charters for sale at the end of the 2024 season, was aggressively pursuing a third charter for its NASCAR Cup Series team.
This mission took the team to court, where it battled Rick Ware Racing over a Charter sale gone awry, with hopes of getting this charter ahead of the 2026 season.
While this goal never came to fruition, per a settlement between the two parties, LMC will have a third Charter for 2027, as RWR will sell the charter currently leased to RFK for their No. 60 at year’s end.
Now that all the excitement has leveled off, it’s decision time for LMC, as they search for a driver to fill this new seat ahead of the 2027 season.
The rumor mill concerning this third seat is heating up, as two names floated through the NASCAR community earlier this week, when a post from a well-known rumor mill account listed Riley Herbst and Jesse Love as potential candidates to drive for LMC in 2026.
Herbst, for one, is facing the loss of his ride at 23XI Racing with the rumored (and all but confirmed) promotion of top prospect and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Corey Heim to full-time status in 2027.
Love, on the other hand, seems destined for a Cup Series ride as the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion, alongside this rumored spot at LMC, could see a spot open up at his current home, Richard Childress Racing, depending on how Kyle Busch’s 2026 season shapes out.
But, not even three races into the 2026 season, the rumor mill is still spitting out potential candidates for this third car.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club is suing Rick Ware Racing over a…
This time, the online rumor mill is heating up for a potential return to the Cup Series, with rumors pointing to former Wood Brothers Racing driver Harrison Burton as another potential candidate to join LMC in 2026.
Burton, the son of former Cup Series standout turned NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton, most recently raced full-time with WBR in the Cup Series in 2024 before losing his ride at year’s end, moving to AM Racing for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and eventually jumping to Sam Hunt Racing (and Toyota) for the 2026 NASCAR OAP Series season.
While Burton’s return to NASCAR’s second-highest division has not produced any wins, the 25-year-old still maintained a solid effort in 2025, granting AM Racing its first-ever run in the playoffs on points alone.
Much like Herbst, Burton has a winning resume in the OAP Series, and, most important of all, loyal sponsorship, with brands like Dex Imaging sticking with him throughout most of his development, time in the Cup Series, and his return to the OAP Series.
Burton is the type of driver that fits the LMC mold, as, if he were to return to Cup, he would have taken a similar path back to the top that fellow second-generation driver and LMC Cup Series talent John Hunter Nemechek took before landing with LMC in 2024.
A potential return to the Cup Series would also mark an ironic turn in Burton’s career, as he was once a top prospect for Toyota, even making a Cup Series start with the manufacturer before jumping ship to Ford in 2022.
Of course, many fans would say that, given a choice, they would pick Love over Burton, but, then again, LMC may not have a choice, and a driver as experienced as Burton could be a safe bet to get this third team off the ground at the very least.
As always, these are just rumors, and it’s important to note that neither party has expressed plans for the still very, very far away 2027 season. Furthermore, as most NASCAR fans know, even rumors that may seem like a done deal can change at the very last second.
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An email sent by former Joe Gibbs Racing Competition Director Chris Gabehart claims that resentment towards him from members of the Gibbs family made him feel that the future of JGR was a “no-win situation.”
Last week, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a lawsuit against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, claiming that the former Daytona 500 Champion had schemed to steal vital information from the team in the lead-up to his departure from JGR for Spire Motorsports.
Not even ten days since JGR filed this lawsuit, the two have continued to trade barbs and accusations back and forth through the court system.
In a filing earlier this week, Gabehart accused the team of misleading him in his duties as competition director in 2025, and specifically calling out JGR’s No. 54 team, driven by Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty, alleging that the team received “differential treatment.”
Friday, an email sent to JGR CFO Tim Carmichael by Gabehart in November 2025 (released as part of this lawsuit) showed just how uncomfortable he had grown working at JGR during his tenure as Competition Director, with the industry veteran stating that Ty Gibbs and his mother, Heather, held “resentment” towards Gabehart.
The now former Competition Director went on to say in this email that, as the two were the future bosses of JGR, “I’m afraid that leaves me in a no-win situation.”
These exchanges, including the claims made by Gibbs in his filing earlier this week, have swept fans into a whirlwind of sorts, with the two sides even meeting in court today for the lawsuit’s first official hearing.
Of course, Gabehart’s claims about the state of operations at JGR pale in comparison to the accusations made by the Gibbs team in their initial lawsuit.
On Tuesday, the team even added Spire Motorsports, Gabehart’s current employer, as a co-defendant, and requested the court force Gabehart to sit out at least the 18 months since his termination before doing any work in NASCAR similar to his role at JGR.
The team is also asking that any information procured by Spire from Gabehart be returned, though the CEO of TWG Motorsports, which owns Spire, Dan Towriss, told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports Friday that “Spire doesn’t want data from Joe Gibbs Racing. It doesn’t have data from Joe Gibbs Racing. No point in time has it had data from Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Alongside Spire, Gabehart adamantly denied any wrongdoing in a post to social media last week, saying, “I feel compelled to speak out today and forcefully and emphatically deny these frivolous and retaliatory claims.”
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
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A few years ago, I looked at the racetracks preserved on iRacing that no longer exist in real life. After digging deeper, I expected to find one common reason they all shut down. Instead, each one tells a completely different story — from booming cities and land value spikes to ownership changes, broken promises, and even mysteries that still don’t have clear answers.
Some tracks were pushed out by urban development. Some lost the one person fighting to keep them alive. Others faded due to declining support — or were never meant to last forever in the first place. No two closures are the same, and that’s what makes this deep dive so fascinating.
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