North Wilkesboro will have a points race for the first time in 30 years next season, just one of the changes to the 2026 Cup schedule released Wednesday.
NASCAR also released the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series schedules Wednesday.
North Wilkesboro, which last hosted a points race in 1996, has been the site of the All-Star Race the past three seasons. Competitors said in May they wanted to see the historic track host a points race again.
It’s consecutive nights of racing at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
North Wilkesboro will get that chance when the series races there July 19. The All-Star Race moves to Dover Motor Speedway and will be held May 17. It will mark the first time Dover has hosted the exhibition race.
NBC and USA Network again will broadcast the final 14 Cup races of the season, beginning Aug. 9 at Iowa Speedway.
Other highlights of the 2026 Cup schedule:
— The season opens with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 1
— The Daytona 500 will be held Feb. 15.
— Darlington moves to March 22, the first time since 2004 that the track’s spring date has been in March.
— Watkins Glen moves to May 10, the earliest the track has hosted a Cup race.
— Cup will race on Naval Base Coronado June 21 in San Diego.
— Chicagoland Speedway returns to the schedule for the first time since 2019 and will host a Cup race July 5.
— New Hampshire moves out of the playoffs to Aug. 23.
— Homestead will host the championship race on Nov. 8. Phoenix will move to the opening race in the third round of the playoffs on Oct. 18.
Saturday night’s race will air on NBC and Peacock.
Other notes on the 2026 NASCAR schedule:
— The only Saturday night Cup races will be Aug. 15 at Richmond, Aug. 29 at Daytona (the regular season finale) and Sept. 19 at Bristol, the cutoff race in the first round of the playoffs.
— The Knoxville Nationals are scheduled for Aug. 15 — the same night as the Richmond Cup race. That will prevent Kyle Larson from competing in the prestigious sprint car race. Larson has won the event three times (2021, ’23 and ’24). He has competed in the Knoxville Nationals A main the last five years and has made 10 appearances in that race since 2012.
— The Cup off weekends in 2026 will be Feb. 8 (between the Clash and Daytona 500), April 5 for Easter (between Martinsville and Bristol) and Aug. 2 (between Indianapolis and Iowa).
— The Cup playoffs begins with the Southern 500 on Sept. 6 at Darlington.
— There will be five Cup road course races: March 1 at Circuit of the Americas, May 10 at Watkins Glen, June 21 at San Diego, June 28 at Sonoma and Oct. 11 at the Charlotte Roval.
Series will be known as the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series beginning next season.
— The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series return to Rockingham Speedway for the second consecutive season. Those series will race April 3-4 at Rockingham.
— The Truck Series will compete in its first street race on Feb. 28 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after NNT IndyCar Series qualifying. The Trucks also will be a part, along Cup and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Naval Base Coronado in June.
— Fox and FS1 will broadcast the Cup races from the Clash through the All-Star Race in May.
— Prime will broadcast five Cup races, going from the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 through the race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego on June 21.
— TNT will broadcast the in-season challenge again. The Challenge and TNT’s broadcast begins June 28 at Sonoma and goes through Indianapolis on July 26.
— NBC and USA Network will broadcast the final four races of the Cup regular season, beginning with Iowa on Aug. 9 and also have all 10 playoff races.
2026 NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
(Playoff races in bold)
Date
Event / Racetrack
Sunday, February 1
Clash (Bowman Gray Stadium)
Sunday, February 15
DAYTONA 500
Sunday, February 22
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Sunday, March 1
Circuit of the Americas (Austin)
Sunday, March 8
Phoenix Raceway
Sunday, March 15
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, March 22
Darlington Raceway
Sunday, March 29
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, April 12
Bristol Motor Speedway
Sunday, April 19
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, April 26
Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, May 3
Texas Motor Speedway
Sunday, May 10
Watkins Glen International
Sunday, May 17
All Star (Dover Motor Speedway)
Sunday, May 24
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Sunday, May 31
Nashville Superspeedway
Sunday, June 07
Michigan International Speedway
Sunday, June 14
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, June 21
San Diego (Naval Base Coronado)
Sunday, June 28
Sonoma Raceway
Sunday, July 5
Chicagoland Speedway
Sunday, July 12
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Sunday, July 19
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Sunday, July 26
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, August 9
Iowa Speedway
Saturday, August 15
Richmond Raceway
Sunday, August 23
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Saturday, August 29
Daytona International Speedway
Sunday, September 6
Darlington Raceway
Sunday, September 13
World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis)
Saturday, September 19
Bristol Motor Speedway
Sunday, September 27
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, October 4
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, October 11
Charlotte ROVAL
Sunday, October 18
Phoenix Raceway
Sunday, October 25
Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, November 1
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, November 8
NASCAR Championship (Homestead-Miami Speedway)
2026 NASCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES SCHEDULE
(Playoff races in bold)
Date
Event / Racetrack
Saturday, February 14
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, February 21
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Saturday, February 28
Circuit of the Americas (Austin)
Saturday, March 7
Phoenix Raceway
Saturday, March 14
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 21
Darlington Raceway
Saturday, March 28
Martinsville Speedway
Saturday, April 4
Rockingham Speedway
Saturday, April 11
Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, April 18
Kansas Speedway
Saturday, April 25
Talladega Superspeedway
Saturday, May 2
Texas Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 9
Watkins Glen International
Saturday, May 16
Dover Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 23
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 30
Nashville Superspeedway
Saturday, June 13
Pocono Raceway
Saturday, June 20
San Diego (Naval Base Coronado)
Saturday, June 27
Sonoma Raceway
Saturday, July 4
Chicagoland Speedway
Saturday, July 11
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Saturday, July 25
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Saturday, August 8
Iowa Speedway
Friday, August 28
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, September 5
Darlington Raceway
Saturday, September 12
World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis)
Friday, September 18
Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 3
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 10
Charlotte ROVAL
Saturday, October 17
Phoenix Raceway
Saturday, October 24
Talladega Superspeedway
Saturday, October 31
Martinsville Speedway
Saturday, November 7
(NASCAR Championship) Homestead-Miami Speedway
2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE
(Playoff races in bold)
Date
Event / Racetrack
Friday, February 13
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, February 21
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Saturday, February 28
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Friday, March 20
Darlington Raceway
Friday, April 3
Rockingham Speedway
Friday, April 10
Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, May 1
Texas Motor Speedway
Friday, May 8
Watkins Glen International
Friday, May 15
Dover Motor Speedway
Friday, May 22
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Friday, May 29
Nashville Superspeedway
Saturday, June 6
Michigan International Speedway
Friday, June 19
San Diego (Naval Base Coronado)
Saturday, July 11
Lime Rock Park
Saturday, July 18
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Friday, July 24
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Friday, August 14
Richmond Raceway
Saturday, August 22
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Thursday, September 17
Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, September 26
Kansas Speedway
Friday, October 9
Charlotte ROVAL
Friday, October 16
Phoenix Raceway
Friday, October 23
Talladega Superspeedway
Friday, October 30
Martinsville Speedway
Friday, November 6
(NASCAR Championship) Homestead-Miami Speedway