A long wait has finally ended as NASCAR has released the 2024 Cup Series schedule.
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There have been rumors swirling around about the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule for months. It looked like there was an opportunity for a mid-week race at Richmond or Martinsville and a chance to go back to the oval for the fall Charlotte Motor Speedway race. Those were just two of the rumors that ended up not being true.
The biggest rumor was the fate of the Cup Series going to Montreal at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. This was not able to happen for 2024 and it was a major reason why NASCAR didn't release the 2024 schedule until October.
Another obstacle NASCAR had to deal with was the timeline of the 2024 Olympics. NASCAR will have a two week break as NBC sends all its crew out to Paris to cover the Olympics. Those two weeks off will include the July 28th and August 4th Sunday dates.
NASCAR added Iowa Speedway to fill the void left by Auto Club Speedway. The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Iowa for the first time on June 16th. The track has hosted the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the IndyCar Series, but this will be its first crack at hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Other changes on the circuit include:
- Bristol spring race is back on concrete (March 17th)
- Richmond on Easter night (March 24th)
- Texas moves to the spring (April 14th)
- Indianapolis back on the oval (July 21st)
- Darlington will host the regular season finale (September 1st)
- Atlanta opens up the playoffs (September 8th)
- Watkins Glen moves into the playoffs (September 15th)
- Kansas moves to the Round 0f 12
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will have two road course races (Watkins Glen and Charlotte Roval) and two drafting tracks (Atlanta and Talladega). This will make for an interesting playoff as there are two rounds that consist of both a drafting track and a road course, which could allow a lower tier team like Front Row Motorsports to make a run to the Round of 8.
A heart-pounding, high-octane thrill ride is coming your way.
This is the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule! pic.twitter.com/W7qKFF0HYc
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 4, 2023
There have been a multitude of changes to the schedule but only time will tell if these changes will work out for the better for NASCAR. For now, the season opens up with the Clash at the LA Coliseum on February 4th and the Daytona 500 on February 18th. That's when this schedule will begin being put to the test.
Regardless of whether the changes to the 2024 schedule result in a more compelling season, race fans can now make their plans to go to the races next year and that isn't anything but good.
