Following the Chicago Street Race, the NASCAR Cup Series will travel to yet another road course this Sunday. The 12-turn Sonoma Raceway is the next destination for stock car racing’s best. But this back-to-back visit to road courses has left the fandom divided. It has also led to questions about the number of road course races in a season.
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Currently, there are six road course races in a year. Watkins Glen, Chicago (street circuit), Sonoma, Circuit of the Americas, the Charlotte Roval, and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Mexico) each have a date in the 2025 calendar. A thread on X began with a fan opining that four road course races are the sweet spot and that six is a bit too much.
Road courses are increasingly becoming an integral part of stock car racing. This is not a trend that pleases the traditional fan who believes that even the slightest departure from oval racing is the crime of the highest order. But the sport has got to adapt to changing times, and NASCAR is rooted in the idea that the younger generation favors road course racing.
One fan wrote, “I feel like 6 is a lot, but they tend to jam pack them together and it feels like more.” Another added along the same lines, “6 is fine. It’s only 16.7% of the races and gives some variety. They should never be back to back, though. Not in order: Charlotte Roval, COTA, Road America, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and the Daytona Road Course.”
Proving NASCAR’s argument that more fans are beginning to approve road course racing, a comment followed, “Six is perfect. Shows more skill level instead of being on mostly ovals.” With the advent of Shane van Gisbergen, the other Cup Series full-timers who are extraordinary oval racers have begun learning what it’s like to lose.
Six is perfect. Shows more skill level instead of being on mostly ovals.
— Brandon Farris Photography (@BDFphotography) July 9, 2025
This forces them to raise their game. One from NASCAR’s core fandom wrote, “Two is plenty. Problem is the current car is more suited to road racing than oval racing.” The Next Gen car has its fair share of troubles, particularly on short tracks. But it has managed to hold its own on road courses.
This could be a reason for the racing promotion wanting to add more road courses to the schedule. Even legends such as Richard Petty have trouble acknowledging the fact that road courses are as important as ovals today. But it is up to them to make the transition easier for themselves. In any case, NASCAR does not appear to want to go back to fully old-school oval racing.
