NASCAR has raced on several tracks throughout history but not all tracks stand the test of time in stock car racing. There are several tracks where NASCAR doesn’t race anymore and the reasons behind them are quite interesting. Attendance, track surface, and even lawsuits are some of the factors that have ruled the way NASCAR plans its schedule every year. However, there are a few iconic ones that fans might like to see make a comeback.
Advertisement
The Rockingham Speedway is a historic track and NASCAR has had some great races over there. In 2004, it was taken off schedule and is yet to make a comeback. The reason behind moving away from Rockingham was mainly attendance, Due to its proximity to other tracks, it was always a struggle to fill the grandstands. A crowded local market right outside did not make things. The Ferko lawsuit also forced the organizers to include the Texas Motor Speedway twice at the expense of this track
The Chicagoland Speedway made an impressive start to life as a NASCAR track. The tri-oval has hosted several great races and it’s still considered to be an iconic track. However, over the years, attendance dwindled and it became unsustainable to host races every year. Another track where attendance proved to be a deciding factor in its chopping was the Kentucky Speedway.
Just took a flight over Chicagoland Speedway to see how the track looked. It still has a beautiful scoring pylon and a perfectly straight painted start/finish line. It seriously looks like it could host a NASCAR race next week. #bringbackChicagoland
📸 @rebilasphoto pic.twitter.com/SLZlT3IkCr
— Mark J. Rebilas (@rebilasphoto) May 18, 2024
It made its Cup Series debut in 2011 but was marred with traffic issues as several fans missed the race. The racing itself was not that impressive. A repave in 2016 made it a single groove track which made passing all the more difficult. In the end, fans were just not willing to attend a race where there was not a lot of action.
Road America’s scrapping is quite interesting and a bit sad considering that it was just collateral damage. The road course race drew thousands of race fans every year until 2022. However, NASCAR’s foray into street racing with the Chicago Street Race meant that this road course had no place on the Cup Series schedule.
The most recent race that was scrapped was the Bristol Dirt Race. It would be unfair to say that the track was scrapped since NASCAR hosts two races a year at the venue on the asphalt track. When the dirt race made its debut, it received mixed reactions as only fans of first racing enjoyed the action. For the rest, it wasn’t all that great.
The Bristol Motor Speedway is not even a real dirt track. Fans agreed that if NASCAR wanted to do a dirt race, doing it on a proper dirt track would be a lot better. However, there aren’t many dirt tracks in the country with the resources to pull off a NASCAR weekend. Therefore in 2024, the organizers decided to run two asphalt races at Bristol and scrap the dirt.
