NASCAR’s 2027 Schedule Is Mostly Familiar. The 2027 Chase Isn’t

WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - AUGUST 10: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, title during the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling astatine The Glen astatine Watkins Glen International connected August 10, 2025 successful Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

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NASCAR finally announced its 2027 national touring bid schedules Wednesday, and possibly the biggest astonishment was that location were nary existent surprises.

That’s because astir of wherever NASCAR will title adjacent play was already good known. Wednesday’s uncover simply served to capable successful a fewer holes.

Normally, NASCAR’s schedule for the pursuing twelvemonth originates pinch a property release, quickly followed by a parade of releases from individual tracks celebrating the dates they were awarded.

Instead, those way announcements trickled retired complete the past fewer weeks, allowing fans and media outlets to portion together a unsmooth type of the schedule agelong earlier NASCAR officially unveiled it.

The last awesome portion fell into spot Tuesday, erstwhile NASCAR announced it would return to San Diego to title connected the thoroughfare people astir Coronado Island.

Beyond that, we already knew the preseason Clash would return to Daytona; North Wilkesboro would big the All-Star Race alternatively than a Cup Series points race; and Homestead-Miami Speedway would erstwhile again big the play finale.

Instead of Chicagoland Speedway hosting the July 4 weekend, NASCAR will title astatine Iowa Speedway for the holiday. Chicagoland, meanwhile, will erstwhile again service the marketplace alternatively than the Chicago Street Race.

The determination to scatter individual way announcements successful the weeks starring up to Wednesday’s large uncover alternatively than rotation everything retired astatine erstwhile was very intentional, according to NASCAR Cup Series head Brad Moran.

“We did a small different this year,” Moran said Wednesday. “We wanted to prime immoderate of our events and springiness immoderate of our tracks immoderate time. They had the opportunity to beforehand their arena and their week, springiness the media and fundamentally everyone other a small clip to chat astir it.

“So it was released that measurement intentionally. We felt we were successful a beautiful bully place, evidently getting the schedule retired present earlier the extremity of August. It was really conscionable to thief retired the media, the tracks, get a small hype alternatively than conscionable get benignant of buried successful 1 large announcement.”

Among the revelations Wednesday:

• Dover Motor Speedway returns to a Cup Series points-race day Sunday, May 16, pursuing its 2026 move arsenic big of the NASCAR All-Star Race.

• World Wide Technology Raceway connected Aug. 22, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 astatine Daytona International Speedway connected Aug. 28 and the Southern 500 astatine Darlington Raceway connected Sept. 5 will beryllium the last 3 regular-season races successful the Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starring into The Chase. Darlington swaps pinch Daytona arsenic the last cutoff title to find the Chase fields.

• Pocono Raceway will again characteristic each 3 nationalist bid during its June 11-13 title weekend.

• The Chase for the Craftsman Truck Series will statesman astatine New Hampshire Motor Speedway connected Saturday, Sept. 25.

• All 3 nationalist bid will beryllium disconnected during Easter weekend, March 27-28, and again for a summertime break Aug. 7-8.

There’s besides a spot of a motion to history.

The June title astatine Michigan International Speedway returns to Father’s Day play for the first clip since 2017. It’s a spot the way occupied opening pinch its first title successful 1969.

The Cup Series In-Season Challenge returns pinch a five-race, 32-driver bracket that will sojourn a short track, roadworthy course, superspeedway, historical oval and military-base thoroughfare course.

It starts astatine Iowa Speedway connected July 4 and ends astatine Naval Base Coronado, pinch $1 cardinal waiting for the winner.

But the biggest changes travel successful the last 10 races that will find NASCAR’s play champions.

Instead of opening The Chase, Darlington will beryllium the last regular-season title for the Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. That is astir apt a one-off switch fixed that the Darlington title traditionally falls connected Labor Day weekend.

Richmond Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway will switch World Wide Technology Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway successful the last 10, pinch those second races moving to the summer.

The biggest eyebrow-raiser, though, comes pinch the summation of Watkins Glen International to The Chase.

It marks the first clip a existent purpose-built roadworthy people will beryllium portion of NASCAR’s last 10 races. According to Moran, that is simply a nonstop consequence of really dramatically drivers person improved erstwhile it comes to racing connected roadworthy and thoroughfare courses.

“You know, complete time, we’ve surely been moving much and much roadworthy courses,” Moran said. “Fifteen years agone aliases so, you’d bring the ringers successful and they’d tally up front. That really doesn’t hap overmuch nowadays … different than we’ve sewage SVG, who’s conscionable a worldwide star. One of the champion drivers successful the world.”

Moran said the summation of Watkins Glen is simply a earthy hold of that evolution.

“We person roadworthy courses successful our regular season, truthful it only seems fitting that we person a bully humanities roadworthy course, a existent roadworthy course, successful The Chase,” he said. “It will fresh our bid good and our drivers. It’s that 1 roadworthy people that benignant of evens things up because we person immoderate awesome road-course stars. And if they’re successful The Chase, that’s 1 they tin circle.”

So no, NASCAR didn’t precisely driblet a bombshell Wednesday.

Most of the bombs had already been dropped 1 way announcement astatine a time.

The 2027 schedule, then, is little astir wherever NASCAR is going than what happens erstwhile it gets there.

The regular play contains plentifulness of acquainted stops, but the title format has been shuffled capable to create a very different last 10.

With Watkins Glen joining The Chase and Richmond and New Hampshire moving into the title fight, NASCAR has softly made the roadworthy to the title considerably little comfortable and whitethorn person fixed its drivers 1 hellhole of a title headache.

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