As NASCAR expands, some tracks are unfortunately left by the wayside, for better or worse. This has been especially prevalent in the new millennium as NASCAR works to create the ideal Cup Series schedule. These are the tracks NASCAR abandoned in the process, and why are these tracks no longer on the NASCAR schedule?
In 2004, NASCAR held one last race at Rockingham Speedway before the track was officially off the schedule the following year. The track struggled to sell out the grandstands in its’ closing years, largely blamed on its’ small local market and proximity to other Cup Series tracks. In 2004, the Ferko lawsuit caused NASCAR to award Texas Motor Speedway a second date, which was taken from Rockingham after the track was sold to Speedway Motorsports Inc.
In short, poor attendance and a small yet crowded market caused NASCAR to drop Rockingham from the schedule. However, the track has made efforts to be revived to host NASCAR again in recent years. Could we see Rockingham back on the NASCAR schedule in some capacity in the future?
Chicagoland Speedway was a product of its time. It was a cookie-cutter 1.5-mile tri-oval in a big market, similar to tracks like Las Vegas, Kansas, and Kentucky, all built around the same time. While the track entered its prime regarding the racing product in its later years, attendance sagged, and NASCAR looked elsewhere in the Midwest.
First, NASCAR went to Road America before the Chicago Street Race became a reality. Rather than being well outside the city center like Chicagoland, NASCAR could host a race downtown in a major city. Chicagoland will not be included as long as the Chicago Street Race is on the schedule.
Kentucky, like Chicagoland, was a product of its time. However, Kentucky remained an Xfinity and Trucks-only venue in its early years before the Cup Series came in 2011. The first race was a disaster, with traffic issues outside of the track causing many fans to miss it and a lackluster race on the track.
The track never recovered from that failure, and a controversial repave in 2016 made the track a single groove. As track attendance declined and NASCAR looked to diversify the schedule, Kentucky was on the chopping block.
During the 2020 pandemic, NASCAR replaced the canceled Sonoma race with an event at the modified Daytona Road Course. In 2021, with pandemic restrictions still lingering, NASCAR returned to the venue to spice up the season-opening Clash before going back again for the second race of the season. As a pandemic-related solution, it served its’ purpose.
However, as the restrictions were lifted, NASCAR had no reason to host a points race in Daytona three times yearly, especially as road courses became more prominent on the calendar. NASCAR also decided to reimagine The Clash, moving it to the LA Coliseum in 2022.
In 2021 and 2022, Road America functioned as NASCAR’s replacement for Chicagoland. The fans showed up, and more than 100,000 people attended the first race at the venue. However, the Chicago Street Race came, and Road America was rendered obsolete.
While Road America is an iconic road course, it isn’t located in a major market, even if it does have some proximity to Chicago and Milwaukee. The Chicago Street Race would probably pull some spectators to attend Road America, so NASCAR made the track an Xfinity-only venue in 2023 before leaving the track entirely in 2024. Road America still thrives just fine, with plenty of other racing series at the venue throughout the year, but it just doesn’t fit on the NASCAR calendar for now.
In 2021, the NASCAR Cup Series returned to the dirt, racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, and reception was mixed. Some fans loved dirt racing and felt this was a great way to diversify the Cup Series schedule. Others did not like it and were upset that NASCAR took a date away from one of its most popular tracks, with Kyle Larson perhaps the most prominent critic.
Most agreed that if NASCAR wanted to race on dirt, it would be best served on a purpose-built dirt track. However, it’s hard to find a dirt track with the necessary infrastructure to host the Cup Series, and dirt was ultimately phased out of NASCAR. Bristol’s spring race returned to concrete in 2024.
Following lackluster races and declining attendance at the Brickyard 400, NASCAR moved the Indianapolis race weekend to the infield road course. The track produced wild and wacky moments and surprise winners in 2021 and 2023. However, many fans and drivers felt the weekend wasn’t the same on the road course and the race belonged on the oval.
In 2024, NASCAR returned to the Oval with track president Doug Boles, estimating a crowd of 70,000 fans. He also told Sirius XM NASCAR Radio the week of the race that the 2025 weekend will again be on the oval, but he did not rule out rotating between the road course and oval in the near future.
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