The 2024 NASCAR schedule has one major wrinkle that the 2023 schedule does not have, and that is the Olympic games. NBC is currently scheduled to broadcast the 2024 Summer Olympics right in the middle of their NASCAR schedule in late July and early August. The last time this happened in 2021, NASCAR took two off-weekends in the late summer instead of just one off-weekend.
One way that NASCAR is rumored to be looking at taking those off-weekends while not expanding the footprint of the schedule is adding a doubleheader weekend to the schedule. In the most recent episode of Door Bumper Clear the week of the Southern 500 with Chris Rice, that rumor was talked about -including name-dropping Richmond as a potential race track.
Let’s expand that a bit more. While Richmond is an option, what are also some other race tracks that NASCAR could look at hosting a doubleheader weekend in 2024?
Michigan is another race that could find itself being relocated on the schedule for this two-week break. If that is the case, then why not give it a doubleheader weekend? It had one in 2020, but that was during the pandemic with no fans in attendance.
Both of the Next-Gen car races at Michigan have been well-received by fans, so giving it a second race could be popular. However, that means a date would have to be taken away from another track, which could be a tough choice. Does it take the place of Auto Club Speedway’s date with some shuffling around? It would take some scheduling headaches to make this happen.
If NASCAR wants smaller disruption to the schedule, they could move Atlanta’s summer date to the spring for a doubleheader weekend. This means that all they need to do is move up the rest of the schedule beyond one week until the Olympics before shuffling some dates surrounding the current off-week.
However, Atlanta is a popular race date with good attendance at both events this season. Would a doubleheader weekend be positive or negative for attendance at the race track? On top of that, running two superspeedway-style races in one weekend is a big ask for drivers, teams, and cars.
NASCAR first tried the Doubleheader weekend at Pocono in 2020 but for the first time with fans in 2021. Pocono is also a race that was well-received in 2023, a surprise for a track that has been near the bottom for fans in terms of on-track product in recent years.
Is a good race and a great crowd in 2023 enough for NASCAR to look at racing there for a doubleheader once again? It could be an option, but NASCAR left the Pocono doubleheader for a reason, so, why go back to it?
A large reason why this place specifically was name-dropped was because it makes sense. Richmond is a track that already has two dates, and the Richmond date on the 2023 schedule is right in the middle of when the Summer Olympics will be in 2024. NASCAR could easily move that date to the Saturday before the traditional spring date and be done with it.
It could mean the return of the traditional Saturday night Richmond race which has not happened since 2021. While it may not be the most exciting track amongst fans to receive this date, it seems to make sense from a business perspective.
This is an interesting idea for NASCAR to consider in 2024, and they have a few race tracks they can try it with. Which other race tracks could NASCAR race a Cup Series doubleheader at in 2024?
