What Goes Into Keeping a Track On the NASCAR Schedule?
What’s Happening? On the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, plenty of tracks have become staples of the calendar, but others have…
In 2024, Iowa Speedway will become the latest race track to transition from an Xfinity and/or Truck-only venue to hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race. This is not an uncommon phenomenon, and it could happen again. Portland International Raceway is another venue that could make that transition in the future, but will it happen?
Of the 26 tracks with at least one points race on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, six venues started out hosting Xfinity and/or Truck Series standalone weekends (Gateway, Homestead-Miami, Iowa, Las Vegas, Nashville, and New Hampshire). West Coast tracks Phoenix and Sonoma each had Winston West Series (a precursor to the ARCA Menards Series West) races before hosting the Cup Series. Pocono and Indianapolis began their lives hosting IndyCar before the Cup Series joined.
Some of these tracks hosted the Xfinity or Truck Series for one or more consecutive seasons before getting a Cup Series date. Homestead-Miami (4 years), New Hampshire (3 years), and Las Vegas (1 year) all fall into this category.
The other three venues saw a hiatus of some sort. Nashville laid dormant for 10 years after hosting their last Xfinity Series race in 2011 before the Cup Series came in 2021. Gateway did not host anything between 2011 and 2013 before welcoming the Truck Series back in 2014, and the Cup Series joined in 2022. NASCAR left Iowa during the 2020 pandemic, but the track stayed alive by hosting IndyCar and ARCA before the Cup Series came this year.
Kentucky Speedway, Road America, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course received Cup Series races after stints as standalone venues. However, both tracks are no longer on the Cup Series schedule. Kentucky lays dormant, while Road America and Indianapolis remain active.
However, not every standalone venue has received a Cup Series date. Many short tracks both series visited throughout the 1980s and 1990s never received Cup dates because they never had the infrastructure to host Cup Series races. This includes tracks like Hickory, South Boston, Orange County, etc.
However, tracks that may have had the infrastructure and potential to host a Cup Series race, like Indianapolis Raceway Park, Memphis, Mexico City, Milwaukee, Montreal, Nazareth, and Pikes Peak, never got Cup Series dates, at least not yet. Why do some tracks get dates, but others do not?
Looking at the six current venues that were once Xfinity/Truck standalone weekends, they each have three things going for them. One, NASCAR was previously largely untapped in the market; two, there was genuine demand for NASCAR; and third, the track had the infrastructure to host a Cup Series race.
As mentioned in the previous sections, the infrastructure issue is where most early standalone venues met their fate. Most of these tracks were in small markets anyway and probably didn’t envision hosting a Cup Series race in the future.
Tracks like Milwaukee, Indianapolis Raceway Park, and Nazareth were all in or close to markets in which NASCAR already had a presence. Milwaukee is only a couple of hours along Lake Michigan from Chicago. Indianapolis Raceway Park is in the same metro area as Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Nazareth Speedway is only about an hour from Pocono.
What’s Happening? On the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, plenty of tracks have become staples of the calendar, but others have…
Tracks like Mexico City, Montreal, and Pikes Peak were all in new, untapped markets, and they all seemingly had the infrastructure to host a Cup Series race. However, they weren’t markets that NASCAR felt the need to be in.
That may change for two of these tracks on this list. As NASCAR pushes to go international, Mexico City and/or Montreal may join the schedule in the near future.
Portland seemingly has the infrastructure for a Cup Series race. It’s right next to a major highway and in a big market in the Pacific Northwest, an area of the country that remains largely untapped by NASCAR.
However, is there truly a demand for a Cup Series race at the venue? KGW 8 reported that the first race at the venue in 2022 was a grandstand sellout, with an estimated 50,000 people attending. It’s unclear whether or not that was a weekend-long figure or just a one-day figure.
Either way, Portland seemingly could host a Cup Series race. Unfortunately, it’s stuck behind bigger, more exciting markets like Montreal and Mexico City. There’s also the grassroots push to get a points race at tracks like Rockingham and North Wilkesboro.
The Cup Series would probably work in Portland, at least for a while. However, it could be long before they ever come to the venue.
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Garrett Mitchell, better known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, says his 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule isn’t set in stone, something the YouTube star explained to Dale Earnhardt Jr on the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download.
One of the biggest surprises in recent NASCAR news is that YouTube star Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, will make his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut next month at Rockingham Speedway.
Mitchell, who has just won a NASCAR National Series start to his name, will make this start with Richard Childress Racing in their No. 33 car as part of a part-time development contract that will see him make starts in 2026 and 2027.
Per Mitchell, his contract will cover three races per season, though he hinted it could be more in a Facebook post. Nonetheless, fans are eagerly awaiting an official schedule of what other tracks Mitchell and RCR will tackle in 2026.
Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer for this schedule, as the 30-year-old Floridian explained during a recent interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr, his 2026 schedule is still up in the air a month ahead of his first race.
During an interview on the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download, Mitchell told Earnhardt that while he plans to race the superspeedways after Rockingham, with his sights set on Talladega’s April 25 or October 24 race weekend, the decision lies in the hands of NASCAR.
“NASCAR said I cannot run Talladega unless I go to Rockingham first and do well,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell then clarified that while he will have a rookie test for Rockingham, the race at Rockingham will determine his eligibility to race at Talladega.
What’s Happening? YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to…
Mitchell, who has two ARCA starts at Daytona and one at Talladega, has already taken a rookie test this season at Rockingham for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Despite a minor crash during this test, Mitchell was cleared to race in the season-opening race at Daytona, crashing himself in a single truck spin five laps into the race, after a valiant qualifying effort.
Even with the barrier of Rockingham in the way, fans are already somewhat concerned about McFarland’s skills, given the result of his short time behind the wheel of a truck.
During this episode of The DJD, Mitchell expressed his intentions to work his way up the ladder and learn, but with the caveat that if an opportunity presents itself to him, he will take it, using the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series as a metaphorical example.
“I don’t want to drive a Cup car right now. But, brother, if someone calls me and says, ‘We got a spot in a Cup car in the Daytona 500?’ I mean, what am I supposed to do?” — Cleetus McFarland
Despite his doubters, with the support of RCR and their developmental tools, Mitchell seems confident about the opportunity, already getting in some sim time with RCR.
Either way, no matter how much support he has in his corner, Mitchell is diving in headfirst once again with this opportunity.
What’s Happening? Despite his internet fame, Garrett Mitchell, by his screen name Cleetus McFarland, has recently taken to stock car racing…
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Lionel has officially opened pre-orders for Garrett Mitchell’s (better known as Cleetus McFarland) first-ever NASCAR diecast.
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YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to race with Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the next two seasons.
UPDATE 3:00 PM EST: Per RCR Mitchell will make his debut at Rockingham Speedway on April 4.
What’s Happening? Despite his internet fame, Garrett Mitchell, by his screen name Cleetus McFarland, has recently taken to stock car racing…
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
