NASCAR Announces Another Major Shift For 2027 Schedule
What’s Happening? NASCAR is officially moving Watkins Glen International’s race weekend back to the fall and back into the Chase in…
With well over a year until the second edition of NASCAR’s newly refreshed Chase format, the sport has already added a race to next season’s. This change means that, among other things, NASCAR must now decide which track will not return for the ten-race 2027 postseason slate.
Thursday night, NASCAR made a somewhat expected change for the 2027 season, confirming speculation that Watkins Glen International will return to the fall slate in 2026.
Historically, the track has hosted only late-season race weekends, with its earliest races prior to 2026 taking place in July 1964 and 1965.
But there was a twist to this announced change: the track will return to NASCAR’s 10-race postseason next year, an honor it has held only once before.
While this is exciting for the track, it creates a headache for NASCAR officials, who have to decide which track will not host a Chase race in 2026.
So, what options do they have, and what tracks seem to be safe from losing their spot in the final ten races of the season?
What’s Happening? NASCAR is officially moving Watkins Glen International’s race weekend back to the fall and back into the Chase in…
While nothing is insured, the following tracks are already either guaranteed a spot in the Chase or have a history of being a Chase/playoff race.
First off, the only other track leaning towards a guaranteed spot in the 2027 Chase, as of now, is Homestead-Miami Speedway, the 2026 finale host and the historical host of NASCAR’s season finale in the postseason era.
During an episode of NASCAR’s Hauler Talk podcast in February, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications, Mike Forde, said that, despite discussions of starting a rotating host in 2027, “in all likelihood,” Homestead will host next year as well.
After that, the following five tracks have historically hosted a Chase/playoff race every year or almost every year since NASCAR introduced a postseason in 2004.
Finally, Bristol Motor Speedway, which has hosted a Chase/playoff race since 2020, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which has done so since 2018, seem like strong fits and popular markets to retain their spot.
Now, if NASCAR were to move on from a track, some fans might suggest Kansas, as online theorists theorize that one race weekend a season at the track could serve it well in attendance, though last season the track put on a great show for fans.
What’s Happening? NASCAR’s Mike Forde says that Homestead-Miami Speedway will likely host 2027 NASCAR Championship weekend, despite NASCAR looking towards a…
Gateway, WWT, or World Wide Technology Raceway (whichever title you prefer) should not go anywhere from the overall NASCAR schedule, after all, it’s a trek to finally getting its well-deserved slot on the Cup Series schedule was a long one.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the best track for the playoff race.
Gateway has shown some excitement here and there, but last year’s race was far from its best showing since joining the Cup Series schedule in 2024.
Even then, it would be hard for NASCAR to part ways with the St. Louis market as a postseason event venue. The track has drawn strong interest from fans in the area and, of course, holds a special place in the hearts of many fans from outside that region.
In NASCAR’s postseason era, Darlington has been hit-or-miss as a Chase/playoff track, and in the Next Gen era, its on-track product has had a similar look.
Still, from 2015 to 2019, the track hosted the regular season finale, before Daytona controversially took over that role. With the reintroduction of the Chase system and the removal of the “win and in” stipulation, fans have called for Daytona to return to the summer.
If NASCAR wanted to do this, they would need a new cutoff race, and the Southern 500 still seems like a perfect fit for the drama. In fact, during the 2024 Olympic-affected season, officials reshuffled, moving Daytona from the cutoff to Watkins Glen, which moved from the cutoff to the Playoffs, and Darlington to the cutoff spot.
Still, there are other issues created by such a move, such as morphing the schedule to ensure that the Southern 500 maintains its traditional Labor Day weekend date.
What’s Happening? Throughout 2026, NASCAR will announce dates for its 2027 schedule. Though the sport drops the full schedule in bulk,…
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