From humble beginnings in the Carolinas and across the Southeast, NASCAR has grown into not only the most popular form of auto racing in the United States, but also one that can attract the intrigue and attention of the rest of the world. And the places that NASCAR seeks to go, but also the place where it came from, is reflected in where its premier division will be racing in 2025.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season features familiar stops from the superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega to the sport’s most iconic tracks like Darlington, Charlotte and Martinsville, but also two new additions to the schedule both near and far away. The year began with Chase Elliott winning The Clash at the legendary Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., while Shane van Gisbergen would win at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, scoring the win in the first international Cup Series race in NASCAR’s modern era and the first overall since 1958.
With only four races remaining in the regular season, a mere three spots above the playoff cut line remain for drivers who have yet to win a race this season. Bubba Wallace had occupied one of the spots on the playoff bubble, but he burst through to put himself on the playoff grid with a breakthrough victory in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
2025 Brickyard 400 results: Bubba Wallace becomes first Black driver to win at Indy, snaps winless streak
Steven Taranto
Among the other major changes to the remaining schedule this year include:
- Mexico City’s date came at the expense of Richmond Raceway, which will now have just one race weekend in August.
- Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Homestead-Miami have been moved out of the playoffs, with Gateway and New Hampshire moved into the playoffs instead. The Southern 500 at Darlington has also returned to being the playoff-opening race, and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is once again the regular-season finale after a scheduling quirk because the Olympic break pushed the season forward a week.
- Talladega Superspeedway’s playoff race has been moved into the Round of 8, with that race now set to potentially determine a place in the Championship 4.
- In the Xfinity and Truck Series, the legendary Rockingham Speedway has returned to the schedule in both series for the first time since 2004 and 2013, respectively. The Truck Series also gains an entirely new racetrack with NASCAR’s first-ever trip to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.
2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule
(* — Denotes non-points race)
Feb. 2 — Cook Out Clash — Bowman Gray Stadium* (Winner: Chase Elliott)
Feb. 16 — Daytona 500 — Daytona International Speedway (Winner: William Byron)
Feb. 23 — Ambetter Health 400 — EchoPark Speedway (Winner: Christopher Bell)
March 2 — Echopark Texas Grand Prix — Circuit of the Americas (Winner: Christopher Bell)
March 9 — Shriners Children’s 500 — Phoenix Raceway (Winner: Christopher Bell)
March 16 — Pennzoil 400 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Winner: Josh Berry)
March 23 — Straight Talk Wireless 400 — Homestead-Miami Speedway (Winner: Kyle Larson)
March 30 — Cook Out 400 — Martinsville Speedway (Winner: Denny Hamlin)
April 6 — Goodyear 400 — Darlington Raceway (Winner: Denny Hamlin)
April 13 — Food City 500 — Bristol Motor Speedway (Winner: Kyle Larson)
April 27 — Jack Link’s 500 — Talladega Superspeedway (Winner: Austin Cindric)
May 4 — Wurth 400 –Texas Motor Speedway (Winner: Joey Logano)
May 11 — AdventHealth 400 — Kansas Speedway (Winner: Kyle Larson)
May 18 — All-Star Race — North Wilkesboro Speedway* (Winner: Christopher Bell)
May 25 — Coca-Cola 600 — Charlotte Motor Speedway (Winner: Ross Chastain)
June 1 — Cracker Barrel 400 — Nashville Superspeedway (Winner: Ryan Blaney)
June 8 — FireKeepers Casino 400 — Michigan International Speedway (Winner: Denny Hamlin)
June 15 — Viva Mexico 250 — Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Winner: Shane van Gisbergen)
June 22 — The Great American Getaway 400 — Pocono Raceway (Winner: Chase Briscoe)
June 28 — Quaker State 400 — EchoPark Speedway (Winner: Chase Elliott)
July 6 — Grant Park 165 — Chicago Street Course (Winner: Shane van Gisbergen)
July 13 — Toyota/Save Mart 350 — Sonoma Raceway (Winner: Shane van Gisbergen)
July 20 — Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 — Dover Motor Speedway (Winner: Denny Hamlin)
July 27 — Brickyard 400 — Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Winner: Bubba Wallace)
Aug. 3 — Iowa Corn 350 — Iowa Speedway
Aug. 10 — Go Bowling at the Glen — Watkins Glen International
Aug. 16 — Cook Out 400 — Richmond Raceway
Aug. 23 — Coke Zero Sugar 400 — Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR playoffs
Round of 16
Aug. 31 — Cook Out Southern 500 — Darlington Raceway
Sept. 7 — Enjoy Illinois 300 — World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (St. Louis, Missouri)
Sept. 13 — Bass Pro Shops Night Race — Bristol Motor Speedway
Round of 12
Sept. 21 — USA Today 301 — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 28 — Hollywood Casino 400 — Kansas Speedway
Oct. 6 — Bank of America ROVAL 400 — Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval
Round of 8
Oct. 12 — South Point 400 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct. 19 — YellaWood 500 — Talladega Superspeedway
Oct. 26 — Xfinity 500 — Martinsville Speedway
Championship
Nov. 2 — NASCAR Cup Series Championship — Phoenix Raceway