As the industry waits to get the full NASCAR national series schedule for 2024, something that, in past years, has normally already been released a few of the pieces of the schedule have been made public.
The hold up for the entire schedule release is reportedly due to NASCAR wanting to take the Cup series outside the country for at least one race. According to some sources London’s Wembley Stadium was being discussed as a possible locale for the early season Clash. But those plans, which on the surface seemed quite ambitious and fell by the wayside when NASCAR announced last week that the Clash will return to the L.A. Coliseum in early February.
Earlier it was revealed that the first points race will be the traditional season opening Daytona 500 on February 18, and the season will once again conclude in Phoenix on November 3.
Thursday two more dates were filled. NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports announced Thursday that the All-Star Race will be on May 19 and once again be held at North Wilkesboro.
Speedway Motorsports revived the dormant 0.625-mile North Wilkesboro oval and facility, aided by funds from the North Carolina state budget and the diligent grassroots efforts of the community in Wilkes County and its surroundings. The effort was rewarded, and the iconic track came back to the NASCAR calendar in May with the All-Star Race, its first NASCAR national-series competition since 1996.
Later Thursday Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that NASCAR Cup Series will return to the 2.5-mile oval layout in 2024 just in time for what will be the 30-year anniversary since NASCAR’s inaugural running at the track. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will also race on the oval next year. After several races featuring lackluster on-track action and dwindling crowds, NASCAR began competing on the track’s road course in 2021.
The NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 will run Sunday, July 21, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250 will take place on Saturday, July 20, the track announced. The move was widely expected as NASCAR conducted a Goodyear tire test at the track in August, where three Cup Series teams participated to help Goodyear and NASCAR officials evaluate the oval.
As for the rest of the schedule the holdout seems to be a race in Canada, specifically the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal with the details still being finalized.
The other outlier seems to be a return for the Chicago Street Race which held its inaugural race this past July. The city and NASCAR have an agreement to host an event through 2025 but some residents and city officials, including newly elected mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office this past May long after the agreement had been made with former mayor Lori Lighfoot, might be pushing back on a return also delaying the release of the 2024 schedules.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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