last year\u2019s rankings<\/a> are just a coincidence.<\/p>\nOK, let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n
1. San Diego (June 21)<\/p>\n
A NASCAR race on a Navy base in the aforementioned 250th birthday year! With a circuit that passes by aircraft carrier docks! On beautiful Coronado Island! With the San Diego skyline in the background across the bay!<\/p>\n
This is going to be a NASCAR race that will be remembered for years, just based on the creativity and uniqueness of the venue. Nothing else can top this as No. 1.<\/p>\n
Last year: Not ranked (new race)<\/p>\n
2. Homestead (Nov. 8)<\/p>\n
The NASCAR season finale in the return of the Chase for the Cup! Anticipated? Yes, absolutely. We\u2019ll be talking about Homestead all season as the track will crown the NASCAR champion for the first time since losing its traditional slot after the 2019 season.<\/p>\n
Homestead is back as the last race in the same year the Chase has returned. Perfect timing. Can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 27<\/p>\n
3. Chicagoland (July 5)<\/p>\n
Another blast from the past as Chicagoland Speedway, once left for dead, will return to the Cup Series schedule on the big 250th birthday weekend.<\/p>\n
When Chicagoland closed after the 2019 season, I\u2019m not sure I would have ever guessed there\u2019d be so much support to see it return. Except it turned out NASCAR\u2019s Next Gen car puts on phenomenal shows at intermediate tracks like Chicago and \u2014 unlike Fontana (RIP) \u2014 the track was still in good enough condition to get the place spruced up and race-ready again.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, if it races well and the fan support follows, the track will become a mainstay on the schedule again.<\/p>\n
Last year: Not ranked (not on schedule)<\/p>\n
4. Daytona 500 (Feb. 15)<\/p>\n
In announcing the demise of NASCAR\u2019s win-and-in championship system, NASCAR president Steve O\u2019Donnell said he didn\u2019t like how drivers would get out of their cars after winning the Great American Race and immediately be faced with talk about making the playoffs. The Daytona 500 should be able to stand on its own, after all.<\/p>\n
Now it will. Daytona will be our first chance in the return of the Chase to hear a driver simply talk about winning the race rather than what it means for the playoffs, and we couldn\u2019t be happier about that.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 4<\/p>\n
5. Southern 500 (Sept. 6)<\/p>\n
This is not only NASCAR\u2019s second- or third-most prestigious race (depending upon who you ask), but also the opener for the 10-race Chase.<\/p>\n
Given all the hype and buildup that will lead to the new championship format this season, it\u2019s tough to find many events that will feel more anticipated than this one.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 11<\/p>\n
6. Talladega 2 (Oct. 25)<\/p>\n
In the old Chase format, Talladega\u2019s ominous race was scheduled in the first half of the playoff six times and never later than Race No. 33. That meant if a championship contender found themselves caught in the Big One, there was still a decent amount of time to recover.<\/p>\n
But now? Talladega is this season\u2019s Race No. 34 \u2014 even later than Phoenix! \u2014 which means there will be just two races remaining when the checkered flag falls in Alabama. This could really swing the title battle.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 7<\/p>\n
7. Charlotte 2 (Oct. 11)<\/p>\n
In some terrific news broken last month by our Jordan Bianchi, Speedway Motorsports is opting to run its fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the oval instead of the \u201cRoval\u201d infield road course.<\/p>\n
Think about how compelling that will be as the second half of the Chase begins. The title field will have been narrowed, and the best of the best will be going head-to-head in a traditional oval race instead of the landmine of a Roval course. How it should be!<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 12 (Roval)<\/p>\n
8. Martinsville 2 (Nov. 1)<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the first race on our list this year to take a bit of a hit with the new Chase format, and it\u2019s understandable. Before, the Martinsville fall playoff race set the Championship 4 drivers for the one-race finale. Now it\u2019s \u201cjust\u201d the second-to-last race of the season.<\/p>\n
Still, has it really lost much? Martinsville is going to be absolutely crucial for the remaining title contenders to position themselves for Homestead. When the race ends, we\u2019ll know the championship-clinching scenarios after a nine-week battle \u2014 or there\u2019s always the possibility a driver could even wrap up the title in this race without needing the final event.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 5<\/p>\n
9. Coca-Cola 600 (May 24)<\/p>\n
Not counting the weather-shortened Coke 600 of 2024, the three full-distance 600s in the Next Gen car have all scored over 90 percent in my \u201cWas it a good race?\u201d poll. They\u2019ve been fun, wild and entertaining \u2014 which used to be pretty difficult to claim about NASCAR\u2019s longest race of the year.<\/p>\n
Plus, this crown jewel race has extra stage points, which makes it even more important in a championship format that will be set by the top 16 drivers in the standings after Race No. 26.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 6<\/p>\n
10. Brickyard 400 (July 26)<\/p>\n
This is another example of a race that will benefit from the elimination of the win-and-in format. Last year, Bubba Wallace won his first crown jewel race \u2014 and the whole conversation was about how he clinched a playoff spot.<\/p>\n
He just won the Brickyard 400! THE BRICKYARD 400! And all the talk was about the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Now the Indy winner will get to kiss the bricks and focus on what a tremendous achievement that is by itself \u2014 Chase conversation aside. Well, except for one thing: This race will once again be the championship for NASCAR\u2019s In-Season Challenge, so there could be some spotlight on that as well.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 17<\/p>\n
11. North Wilkesboro (July 19)<\/p>\n
Cover your eyes, Dale Earnhardt Jr.!<\/p>\n
This ranking will likely be the one that gets the most disagreement, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s that big of a hot take to put North Wilkesboro this low. Yes, the July event will be the first points race there since 1996. Yes, the track was crumbling and abandoned before Earnhardt organized a group to clean it up for digital scanning \u2014 which then led to an improbable chain of events that saw it re-open for NASCAR racing in 2023.<\/p>\n
But while it\u2019s cool to have Wilkesboro back \u2014 does it vault up the list even more than this spot just because it\u2019s a points race and not another edition of the All-Star Race? I\u2019m not sure I see that big of a difference between this and the other three events we\u2019ve already watched there.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 28<\/p>\n
12. Daytona 2 (Aug. 29)<\/p>\n
With the elimination of the win-and-in system, the Daytona cutoff race takes one of the biggest hits on the schedule. This was the classic showcase for the win-and-in, as any driver could suddenly have a Cinderella moment and launch themselves into the playoffs no matter how poorly their season had previously gone.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s done now, but there\u2019s still a compelling argument to be made for this race. Those who recall the original Chase will remember many dramatic nights at Richmond Raceway, which was the cutoff race for all 10 editions of the first Chase. Even when only the top 10 drivers in the standings made the field, there was still doubt over who would race their way in and who would miss the transfer.<\/p>\n
Surely, that will happen again this season. Will 14th place in the standings be locked in before Daytona? Maybe. But the 15th and 16th spots will probably still be up for grabs, and even drivers in 19th or 20th place might still be mathematically eligible (especially with wins now being worth 15 more points).<\/p>\n
So don\u2019t give up on this race being highly compelling again, just without the longest of longshots being eligible to tear away a playoff berth from someone more deserving.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 9<\/p>\n
13. Phoenix 2 (Oct. 18)<\/p>\n
After six years as the NASCAR Championship Race, Phoenix\u2019s fall date moves to just the fourth-to-last date of the season \u2014 the earliest in the fall the race has ever been. Could be quite a scorcher, actually.<\/p>\n
Anyway, even though the track has been bumped to a less prestigious spot, this race still matters quite a bit. It\u2019s a chance for the remaining title contenders to get themselves some breathing room before Talladega, which looms large again this year.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 3<\/p>\n
14. Las Vegas 2 (Oct. 4)<\/p>\n
The Las Vegas fall race has had an outsized focus in the last few years since it provided the first opportunity for a playoff driver to win their way into the championship round.<\/p>\n
That is no longer the case, but it\u2019s still another key playoff race and marks the halfway point of the Chase.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 8<\/p>\n
15. Kansas 2 (Sept. 27)<\/p>\n
Like Las Vegas, this is a compelling racetrack to include in the Chase \u2014 elimination rounds or not. You remember the finish of last fall\u2019s race \u2026 right?<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 18.<\/p>\n
16. Bristol Night Race (Sept. 19)<\/p>\n
This is an event that could probably move back to August now that there\u2019s no need to have it as the Round 1 elimination race in the playoffs. Still, a Chase race under the lights at Bristol is always going to be a fun time, so we\u2019ll look forward to this one as always.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 13<\/p>\n
17. St. Louis (Sept. 13)<\/p>\n
Imagine being a time traveler and going back to the first year of the elimination playoffs in 2014 to tell everyone the old Chase would someday return to NASCAR \u2014 and World Wide Technology Raceway (better known as Gateway) would not only be on the Cup schedule, but part of the postseason round.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure which would be more unbelievable, but here we are.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 21<\/p>\n
18. Las Vegas 1 (March 15)<\/p>\n
This is the first intermediate track of the season, and boy do those suddenly matter again. The Chase has five intermediates out of its 10 races, including the season finale.<\/p>\n
Vegas will be our first chance to see who has what on the bigger downforce tracks after two superspeedways, a road course and a 1-mile track precede it to open the 2026 schedule.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 24<\/p>\n
19. Darlington 1 (March 22)<\/p>\n
The increase to 750 horsepower (from 670) at some tracks might not make a huge difference, but drivers think it will definitely be noticeable at Darlington.
That should be a fun opportunity to see what the extra engine boost can do for the racing, and Darlington is often a good show anyway.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 25<\/p>\n
20. Phoenix 1 (March 8)<\/p>\n
Some people hate this term, but this is the first \u201creal\u201d (or maybe \u201ctraditional\u201d) oval race of the season. No one is really going to start figuring out which teams are strong after Daytona, Atlanta and Austin.\u00a0 It\u2019s Phoenix that will provide the first real hint.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 14<\/p>\n
21 and 22. Atlanta 2\/Atlanta 1 (July 12 and Feb. 22)<\/p>\n
Cop-out? Yeah, probably. But how do you separate these in terms of anticipation? They\u2019re sort of the same race \u2014 just one cold and one hot.<\/p>\n
These are two regular-season superspeedway races with no win-and-in playoff spot at stake, but still a chance for a wreck to shake things up in the standings at any time. That said, the summer race is part of the In-Season Challenge (although not the first round this time, thankfully), so I\u2019ll give it the slight nod.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 19 (Atlanta 1) and No. 23 (Atlanta 2)<\/p>\n
23. Talladega 1 (April 26)<\/p>\n
Again, another race probably hurt by no more win-and-in \u2014 but it\u2019s still a superspeedway, and it\u2019s still very possible for there to be some sort of crazy storyline that comes from it. It\u2019s not like you can avert your eyes from a superspeedway race either way.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 26<\/p>\n
24. New Hampshire (Aug. 23)<\/p>\n
Why is New Hampshire so high despite dropping out of the playoffs, you ask? Great question!<\/p>\n
The answer is this is now the second-to-last regular season race with only Daytona afterward, so what happens here could go a long way toward determining both the Chase field and the regular-season championship.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 20<\/p>\n
25. Bristol 1 (April 12)<\/p>\n
The tires storyline has been such an interesting one over the last couple of years at Bristol, and we still don\u2019t know exactly what we\u2019ll get to see there. But we do know Bristol now has the 750 hp package, which could mix things up a bit.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 10<\/p>\n
26: Kansas 1 (April 19)<\/p>\n
Intermediate track races are important measuring sticks of strength whenever we get to see them this year, and this one will be no different. And remember: This spring Kansas race was an all-time classic just two seasons ago.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 15<\/p>\n
27. Michigan (June 7)<\/p>\n
Michigan had the highest \u201cYes\u201d percentage of any race on the Good Race Poll last season (92.2 percent), and all four Next Gen races at the track have been over 80 percent. Honestly, this should be even higher \u2014 we\u2019d like to file a complaint with whoever made this list.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 31<\/p>\n
28. Nashville (May 31)<\/p>\n
Another non-short track getting the gift of the 750 hp boost this season. That said, it\u2019s in a weird spot on the schedule (following the Coke 600 and entering the buildup before San Diego) and doesn\u2019t have a huge significance to the year overall.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 33<\/p>\n
29. Richmond (Aug. 15)<\/p>\n
Can Austin Dillon, King of Richmond, make it three in a row? Though win-and-in is gone, there\u2019s still intrigue at this time of the season as the Chase field is nearly set.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 30<\/p>\n
30. Iowa (Aug. 9)<\/p>\n
William Byron won this race last year after stretching his fuel tank for the final 140 laps. I\u2019m typing that because I honestly forgot about this race and had to Google it \u2014 which probably gives a hint as to the anticipation level.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 29<\/p>\n
31. Martinsville 1 (March 29)<\/p>\n
First real short track with the 750 hp this season. Maybe it\u2019ll make for a better show. Or maybe not. But it can\u2019t make for a worse show than some of the early Next Gen races there, so it\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 37<\/p>\n
32. Circuit of the Americas (March 1)<\/p>\n
Oh geez, here we go. Is it time to get into it? I guess it is, but I\u2019ve been putting this off.<\/p>\n
Yes, you\u2019re reading this right: The most anticipated road course this season (not counting the San Diego street course) is only at No. 32. Road courses are in a weird spot right now. Shane van Gisbergen enters the season having won five road races IN A ROW (!).<\/p>\n
Now, could we see some good races? Sure! Heck, rookie Connor Zilisch might give SVG a run for his money right away. But until someone shows SVG is beatable, it\u2019s tough to sit here in the dead of winter and go \u201cWow, I can\u2019t wait to see the road courses this season,\u201d after one guy wins every week (and sometimes by more than 10 seconds, which he did three times last year!).<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 22<\/p>\n
33. Texas (May 3)<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve sung the praises of intermediate tracks throughout this column and highlighted why they\u2019re important. But it\u2019s often tough for Texas and its current layout to put on a great show, which also makes it hard to rank this one\u2019s anticipation level any higher.<\/p>\n
On the plus side: Great food options in the area, plenty of flights into a hub airport and cheap hotels in the region make this one of the more affordable NASCAR trips.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 36<\/p>\n
34. Watkins Glen (May 10)<\/p>\n
Brr! We\u2019re still wondering why poor Watkins Glen landed its spot on the schedule in early May. But this is a track where Zilisch could challenge SVG in a great battle, so that could be an interesting one to watch.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 35<\/p>\n
35. Sonoma (June 28)<\/p>\n
It hurts to put Sonoma this low again, because this is one of my favorite trips of the season, and I love this track. But again \u2026 road courses have the SVG problem right now, and this one will be back-to-back with a much-hyped San Diego race (in which SVG probably will be coming off of another win).<\/p>\n
At least this is the opening round of the In-Season Challenge, so maybe that will help the storylines here.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 34<\/p>\n
36. Pocono (June 14)<\/p>\n
Dear Pocono: I really don\u2019t hate you. It\u2019s not you, it\u2019s me. I actually like visiting your area. It\u2019s glorious to sit in the mild summer temperatures on a nice evening at the lovely Nick\u2019s Lake House and have a burger. But also \u2026 yeah, it\u2019s still Pocono, and it\u2019s still a weird track that doesn\u2019t put on the best show. So I can\u2019t really put you any higher than this. I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 38<\/p>\n
37. All-Star Race at Dover (May 17)<\/p>\n
Poor Dover. Two years ago, the Monster Mile had a robust crowd for its April race \u2014 and promptly saw its date shifted to the unbearable Mid-Atlantic heat of July last season. Oh, those metal bleachers with that midday sun and humidity.<\/p>\n
Anyway, it somehow got worse! Now Dover doesn\u2019t even have a points race. It\u2019s the All-Star Race. At a track with no lights.<\/p>\n
Speaking of points, what exactly is the point here? Just make it a points race. It\u2019s difficult to get hyped for this exhibition event. Although if NASCAR convinces the teams to let them open the rulebook in a \u201crun what you brung\u201d type of show, it would quickly become more intriguing (but not that much).<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 32 (points race at Dover)<\/p>\n
38. Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (Feb. 2)<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to confess something to you: I wrote this list during the Clash snowstorm postponement, stuck inside my hotel room in Winston-Salem, and I was grouchy.<\/p>\n
But even before the snow, there was this feeling of \u201cWhy are we even still doing this?\u201d heading into the weekend.<\/p>\n
I grew to really dislike the Clash when it was at Daytona. Hardly anyone showed up to watch the cars race in a single-file line before wrecking at the end, and there was zero hype.<\/p>\n
Except when the Clash moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, it was an incredible, attention-grabbing feat that really showed the power of a preseason promotion to generate publicity for the Daytona 500.<\/p>\n
And while the Clash at Bowman Gray was very cool last year, I\u2019m not sure a second one was necessary. The Clash should either be used as a high-powered PR tool or not at all. It doesn\u2019t need to exist just to exist, which feels like the case this year as I grumpily sit through postponements waiting for the roads to be plowed.<\/p>\n
Last year: No. 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yes, America has its 250th birthday this year \u2014 but the second-most important milestone surely has to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,12716,634,82],"class_list":["post-449195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-motorsports","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}