Menu
Menu
As time has gone on, standalone Xfinity or Truck Series weekends have become rarer and rarer. However, this is one of those rare weekends with the Xfinity Series racing on its’ own in Portland. It got us at the Daily Downforce thinking, what are some other potential venues where a standalone Xfinity or Truck Series race could be run?
With Mexican Daniel Suarez in the Cup Series, it is simply a must that NASCAR get some presence in Mexico. There is a world-class racing venue currently holding Formula 1 races yearly in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
It has hosted Xfinity Series races before, and it even holds NASCAR Mexico Series races. Simply put, NASCAR needs to put a larger presence in Mexico, and this race track provides this opportunity.
If NASCAR’s concern about over saturation is what is keeping them from returning to Rockingham Speedway, maybe only put the Xfinity Series or Truck Series on a standalone weekend there. It allows NASCAR to keep a presence at Rockingham, without giving NASCAR’s top series another race in the state of North Carolina. The track has seen a lot of renovations recently, and continues to modernize and update the facilities.
An even better solution could be NASCAR swapping races every year to keep both Rockingham and North Wilkesboro on the schedule. In odd-numbered years, North Wilkesboro gets the All-Star Race, and Rockingham gets a standalone Xfinity/Truck weekend during a Cup Series off-week, with the opposite happening on even-numbered years. Hey, it’s an idea.
NASCAR does not have much of a presence in the Rocky Mountains, but racing still does appeal to a niche audience out there. This is evidenced by Colorado National Speedway hosting Weekly Series and ARCA Menards Series West races, and it is also evidenced the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Pikes Peak International Raceway hosted Xfinity Series and Truck Series races between 1998 and 2005.
Why not move the Truck and/or Xfinity Series back there for a standalone weekend? The track is still in good shape and holds events regularly, but it does not hold major racing events. This would be the track’s big event of the year, and racing fans in the area would be thrilled to see big-league racing back in town.
The Xfinity Series and Truck Series leaving Iowa after the pandemic was always a bit of a head scratcher. The track at one point lost even their IndyCar date in 2021, but it has rebounded to host IndyCar and the ARCA Menards Series. Not only that, but the track is hosting an incredible music lineup for the weekend hosting artists Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band, and Ed Sheeran.
If you can bring major country music superstars to a race track, NASCAR fans will flock to it. Iowa seems to have an incredible promotions team out there, and that alone should earn them another shot at the Xfinity and Truck Series.
Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, hosted seven Truck Series races from 2013 until 2019. Again, the global pandemic played a role in its’ removal from the schedule. However, NASCAR always has drawn big crowds whenever it comes to Canada whether it was the Xfinity Series in Montreal or the Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
If NASCAR returned to Montreal, it would likely bring the Cup Series with it. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park held multiple barnburners in the Truck Series featuring tempers flaring and last lap passes for the win. If NASCAR cannot bring the Cup Series to Montreal, running an Xfinity and/or Truck Series weekend is the best consolation.
Alabama is one of NASCAR’s top markets, and Barber Motorsports Park is a frankly underrated road course that perennially puts on a great show for IndyCar. It is only 40 minutes away from Talladega Superspeedway, which may complicate things, but a standalone Xfinity or Truck Series race even closer to the market of Birmingham outside of the Talladega weekend could make for an interesting show.
It seems with the recent move to North Wilkesboro that NASCAR is willing to cater more to their core audience. Putting a Cup race at Barber may be a bit risky, but putting more NASCAR in Alabama should please the fans there.
Honestly, putting more standalone Xfinity or Truck Series races around the country is a great way to not only introduce NASCAR to new markets, but also give the core markets more racing to watch. Plus it adds some more intrigue to the Xfinity Series or Truck Series schedule. While running more standalone dates is probably out of the question, I would love to see more rotation in which tracks get these standalone events.
