NASCAR defines intermediate tracks or speedways as any circuit that is more than a mile in length, excluding the Daytona and Talladega Superspeedways. However, the consensus is that only the tracks that are between 1.5 and 2 miles in length are the “true” intermediates, and these tracks make up for most of the Cup Series schedule.
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Before the Next Gen car came into the mix, intermediates weren’t as popular a destination as they are now. The new car proved to be particularly good at this kind of track and has thrilled fans since. Of the 42 tracks that NASCAR has at its disposal across the U.S. and Canada, it classifies 13 as intermediate tracks, all of which are on the 2024 schedule.
Three of the top-ranked intermediates that will be visited this season are Homestead-Miami, Darlington Raceway, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Other venues include the Phoenix Raceway, the Kansas Speedway, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Dover Motorspeedway, the Michigan International Speedway, the Nashville Superspeedway, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Texas Motorspeedway, and the Word Wide Technology Raceway.
Though the Next Gen car has injected life into the intermediate schedule and made races much more interesting, it has done so at the cost of lifeless short-track races. Despite the discussions surrounding this, NASCAR has opted to retain its number of intermediate tracks for 2024 the same as 2023.
Drivers with the best results on intermediate tracks in recent times
In the races held since February 2021, Hendrick Motorsports’ rising star William Byron has performed the best on intermediate tracks. Of the 30 races that he has driven in during this time, he has four wins, 13 top-5s, and 21 top-10s. He has also led 777 laps and holds an average finish of 9.3.
His teammate, Kyle Larson follows closely behind with an average finish of 9.7. Larson has secured eight wins, 18 top-5s, and 22 top-10s. He leads the current grid having led 2,483 laps so far. The third-best driver on intermediates is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. Hamlin’s average falls at 10.1, with four wins, 14 top-5s, and 19 top-10s.
The first race on an intermediate track will be at the Atlanta Motorspeedway on February 25. Just the second race of the season after the Daytona 500, the 260-lap Ambetter Health 400 can be followed on Fox, PRN, or SiriusXM.
