Latest news with #HomesteadMiami
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
What I'm hearing about NASCAR's 2026 schedule: Mexico City, Chicago and more
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is starting to come together. Bowman Gray Stadium will again host the 'Clash' exhibition season opener, the Daytona 500 will be held on Feb. 15, Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the championship, and the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500, two of the sport's crown-jewel races, will be on their respective traditional holiday weekends. Advertisement But what about some of the big unknowns that will go a long way to dictating what the 2026 schedule looks like? Here's the latest on how it's taking shape, based on conversations with a dozen league and team sources in the NASCAR industry. NASCAR wants to return, and Mexico City would like NASCAR back, but racing in 2026 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit is still uncertain, even after what most considered a successful weekend for the first Cup points race outside the continental United States since the 1950s. The problem, according to those industry sources, is finding room on both parties' calendars. In NASCAR's debrief after last month's race, teams made clear to the league the logistics needed to be smoother — preferably by scheduling an off week either before or after Mexico City. NASCAR acknowledges that it's best to have an off week around Mexico City. But how would this happen, considering NASCAR's 38-week schedule affords little room for a break? The best option, multiple sources said, would be to shift Mexico City to either the week before or after Easter — the lone weekend next year between Daytona and the Homestead finale that Cup isn't expected to be racing. Finding a spring date on NASCAR's schedule, however, is challenging, as several tracks traditionally hold races at that time of year. NASCAR also needs a solution that makes sense logistically, reducing the burden on hauler drivers who had to travel from outside Detroit, Michigan, to Mexico City in just a few days. Visiting Mexico City at another time of the year is difficult due to the 2026 sports schedule in Mexico's capital. Starting in June, the month in which NASCAR held its event this year, Mexico City is hosting the FIFA Men's World Cup soccer tournament, with five matches scheduled in the city from June 11 to July 5. This is not a head-to-head competition NASCAR wants to face. Then, in the fall, Formula One makes its annual stop, effectively eliminating this window. This leaves spring to make it work. While returning to Mexico City for 2026 is uncertain, both sides want to continue this relationship, according to industry sources. It's just a matter of finding the right time — and it's becoming likelier that it might have to be 2027. Would NASCAR like to race in downtown Chicago next year? Yes, provided the league can strike the right deal. Are both the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago amenable to NASCAR coming back for a fourth consecutive year? Yes, provided they can strike the right deal for them. These caveats have left the future of the Chicago Street Course up in the air. Advertisement Staging a race around Grant Park is not easy for NASCAR or the city. It's expensive and requires shutting down several major roads. Is there a date other than the Fourth of July weekend that works better? And would NASCAR, after three successful years, be better served leaving, letting the anticipation for a return build, then coming back sometime in the future? The popularity of the race is a significant factor in the decision. NASCAR loves it, and so do league and team sponsors. Drivers have spoken glowingly about it too, including Kyle Larson. 'It's probably my favorite event in NASCAR each year,' he said. And, most importantly, local officials appear to have warmed up to it, too. This was made known to NASCAR in recent discussions regarding the race's future, according to sources involved with the talks. The support at the state and local levels has increased the likelihood of a fourth race in downtown Chicago. The Chicago Street Course is a big piece of the puzzle that will shape the 2026 schedule. Expect a resolution soon. With the uncertainty surrounding the Chicago Street Race, should NASCAR consider going back to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.? Many drivers would be in favor of that solution to stay in the market and return to the 1.5-mile track that hosted Cup and Xfinity Series races from 2001-2019. Swapping the Chicago Street Race for Chicagoland would allow NASCAR to maintain a presence in the third-largest media market in the U.S. and add another oval to the schedule that should produce high-quality racing. The capital improvements that NASCAR would need at the track — estimated around $4 million, according to industry sources — are not high, though NASCAR would pay the bill itself. A return to Chicagoland could happen in 2026, but it's no sure thing. Right now, the focus within NASCAR, those sources said, is to finalize the San Diego race and sort out the respective futures of Mexico City and the Chicago Street Race. Chicagoland, though, is an option if a spot opens up. Nothing has changed since The Athletic's report last month on NASCAR nearing a deal for a race in the San Diego area. Discussions are ongoing, industry sources said, and the expectation is that an agreement will be reached. An announcement is tentatively slated for later this month. A street course race in San Diego would accomplish NASCAR's goal of adding one new big event to its schedule each year, following in the footsteps of the Clash being held at both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Bowman Gray Stadium, returning to North Wilkesboro Speedway after a nearly 30-year absence, the Chicago Street Course, Mexico City and several others. Advertisement After the All-Star Race bounced around for several years, the venerable short track in North Carolina's foothills has helped restore some of the importance. The All-Star Race feels special again. NASCAR recognizes this, and the 2026 All-Star Race is expected to return to North Wilkesboro Speedway for a fourth consecutive year, industry sources said, even as there's rising support to see the track host a Cup Series points race, which it last did in 1996. Circuit of the Americas and Speedway Motorsports — which effectively rents out the Austin, Texas, road course — have operated on a year-to-year basis for the past few years. This partnership is expected to continue in 2026, industry sources said, with NASCAR tentatively slated to race there in early March — a renewal coming after what was widely viewed as the best NASCAR race there.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR makes right move with championship rotation, but which tracks will host?
It's rare for NASCAR to make a major announcement that receives near-universal approval from the officially licensed masses. But this one — rotating the season-ending championship race among a handful of tracks — was basically met with just one mild critique: Why weren't we doing this all along during the playoff era? Advertisement Can't fix that, but can find ways to take full advantage of a rotation that will begin next year with Homestead-Miami. And before moving on to the obvious looming question of how that rotation might look, let's tamp down any negative vibes regarding which tracks won't be part of the plan. The speedway in Homestead brings everything NASCAR wants in a season finale, including the big Miami market and scenes like this. THRU THE GEARS Joey Logano wins at Texas; Denny Hamlin tries to elect new pope First: Daytona. It's quieted down in recent years, but there have always been fans who wish NASCAR would bookend the season with two Daytona visits. Once NASCAR moved Daytona's summertime race from July to late August to end the 26-race regular season, such talk mostly died because the new setup seems like a great fit. Advertisement Maybe most importantly, as you likely noticed, quite a bit of hype surrounds the Daytona 500. It's a year-long cycle of promotion, ticket sales, sponsor sales, etc., that begins a serious ramping-up from season's end into February. A championship race would be much of the same. You don't put two major events at a venue within a few months of each other. And finally, Daytona is what we once called a 'plate-racing' track, and still is though with different technology than restrictor plates. Now we can call such things 'pack-racing,' or 'drafting tracks,' as the industry labels them. That type of racing is great for underdogs who relish the rare opportunity to contend, but not exactly great for determining a deserving champion. Advertisement Next on the no-fly list: Talladega and Atlanta, for the above reason. Geographically, both would offer good chances of decent November weather (and maybe decent chances of good weather!) but they're off the grid. Charlotte? It's a big and growing market and the weather should work, but they'd have to ditch the Roval because NASCAR indicates it's not ready to consider a road course for championship possibilities. Bristol and Darlington? Fun to consider both venues with a championship at stake, but the markets don't scream Big Event. Indianapolis? Enticing, but the weather is too dicey. Same with St. Louis and Richmond, at least for my thinning blood. The NASCAR championship rotation might look like this So how will that rotation look? Unless a new track sprouts in Southern California, where nothing sprouts without running an entrenched gauntlet of roadblocks, it will likely include all, or at least four, of the following. Advertisement Homestead-Miami. Phoenix. Las Vegas. Nashville. Fort Worth. Big markets all around and solid speedways, all between a mile and mile-and-a-half. Those five also offer a mix of tracks owned by the two biggest players: Daytona Beach-based NASCAR (Homestead and Phoenix) and Charlotte-based Speedway Motorsports (the other three). If the rotation will be four and not five, the best guess is one of the three Speedway Motorsports tracks will be excluded. And since they damn sure won't exclude Vegas, that would mean either Nashville or Fort Worth is bumped. But what about ... Riding shotgun with this discussion is how future Cup Series champs will be crowned at whatever rotation of locales is chosen. Advertisement Off and on this season, a new playoff committee is kicking around ideas for revamping a playoff system that's been revamped and practically overhauled since it came to life in 2004. Particularly, many are wanting something other than a winner-take-all in the final among four surviving contenders. No offense, but that's how Joey Logano became champ last year — kinda-sorta snuck into the final foursome and soared at Phoenix. A system that requires more than one great run at the very end is a better way to determine a worthy champ. But they won't go back to anything that brings the potential of a hot racer practically clinching the championship before the season's final green flag waves. That would basically defeat the purpose of all that discussion up above. Advertisement — Email Ken Willis at (This story was updated to add a video.) This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR news: Which tracks will host championship race after Homestead?
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
NASCAR to start rotating championship weekend in '26
NASCAR will switch gears and begin rotating the site of its championship weekend starting in 2026. Only two tracks in the past 23 years have hosted the season-ending tripleheader of title races: Homestead-Miami (2002-19) and Phoenix Raceway (2020-current). The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. As with the Super Bowl or Final Four, bringing the finales of the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series to different locations will boost exposure in more markets. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Unlike those events, played on uniform fields and courts, NASCAR's rotation model potentially could transform the competition due to the varying lengths, surfaces and conditions of the circuit's tracks. "Having the playoffs be more unpredictable every year, the championship venue to be at a different location, I think gives you the ability to see different teams and drivers kind of rise to the occasion to be able to be crowned a champion," said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovation officer. Kennedy said 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami will host in November 2026, and that 1-mile Phoenix will also remain in the rotation, but other tracks will be announced later based on several factors. Advertisement · Scroll to continue "I would say it's four or five things," Kennedy said. "It's marketing and promotion, for sure, and it's location. We want to be in a warm-weather market. Ideally, being in November, that first week of November, it kind of limits you to the amount of races that you can run. ... I would say the quality of the facility. In Phoenix, we put over $100 million into the redevelopment of that track, and it was a big catalyst for bringing this championship to the West Coast. We're going to be putting a good amount of capital into Homestead as well ahead of the race. "The racing product, I think, is another big part of this. And then overall, it's just the entire industry's feedback on this. So we collaborate with our broadcast partners, our teams. We hear from our drivers what they think, a lot of our corporate partners, and then ultimately the fans, and the fans have a large voice in this, and we get their perspective on it every single year." Homestead-Miami track president Guillermo Santa Cruz called it an honor to be the first locale in the new rotation. "There's nothing like having that ability to be the first one up and to have that blank sheet of paper in front of you and say, 'OK, what are we going to do?' Then you start," he said. "As a creative person, I love that. I love that ability to do that. That's my favorite thing in the world." NASCAR's championship weekend this year will be in Phoenix from Oct. 31-Nov. 2. --Field Level Media Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Share X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights
