To keep the sport engaging for its fan base, NASCAR and its teams have consistently sought fresh avenues to enhance the spectacle. While Trackhouse Racing has spearheaded the integration of international talent into the Cup Series, NASCAR’s leadership has taken the initiative to revamp the schedule.
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By rotating venues and revisiting historic circuits alongside introducing new ones, officials have not only expanded the sport’s reach but also offered welcome variety to drivers like Alex Bowman, who had maybe grown weary of racing on the same set of tracks each year.
In a recent appearance on Chasing Checkers with Chase McCabe, Bowman welcomed the schedule shake-up and the introduction of new tracks. As he put it, “I think that’s a really good thing. I think our schedule was the same for so long that I guess you could say it got a little bit stale. So, I think just continuing to change it up, go to new places, kind of rearrange it a little bit, I think it’s a really good thing.”
He added, “Hopefully, we continue to add more new places going forward. I think that’s important for our sport to go to new places and not go to the same 15 tracks twice a year forever, right? Like we want to go to different places and kind of change it up. There’s so many great racetracks in the country and around the world. So, there’s definitely a lot of cool places that we can go race.”
In 2023, NASCAR ventured into uncharted territory with its inaugural Chicago Street Race, which drew substantial viewership and introduced a new road course talent in Shane van Gisbergen. Building on that momentum, the sport went international this year for the first time in over six decades, staging a race in Mexico City. The event resonated with fans and delivered strong audience numbers, further validating NASCAR’s evolving direction.
What’s next for NASCAR’s schedule?
With strong attendance figures at Pocono Raceway, NASCAR appears to be eyeing a potential expansion into nearby Philadelphia, roughly two hours from the Tricky Triangle. Addressing upcoming developments within the sport, NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell pointed to exploratory discussions, stating, “Pocono has delivered for us in terms of fans, but when you look at opportunities, one of the places we looked was Franklin Field.”
He noted that Franklin Field was among the few urban venues where constructing a temporary track could be logistically feasible. That level of adaptability, particularly in a metropolitan setting, remains a key criterion in NASCAR’s evaluation process. Built in 1895 and renovated in 1922, Franklin Field is the oldest operational college football stadium in the United States and serves as the home of the Penn Quakers.
Its Olympic-style layout provides the kind of footprint that aligns with NASCAR’s vision for urban racing, although O’Donnell emphasized that discussions remain in the early stages.
Alongside Philadelphia, NASCAR is actively pursuing a street course in the San Diego area for next season. The addition would help fulfill the sport’s commitment to re-establishing a presence in Southern California, a move expected to resonate strongly throughout the garage and among stakeholders across the industry.
Should the plan come to fruition, it would mark the first points-paying event in the region since the indefinite closure of California Speedway in Fontana in 2023. NASCAR last competed in Southern California in 2024, capping a three-year run of exhibition events at the custom-built oval inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
