NASCAR Returns To Chicagoland Speedway In 2026
NASCAR may be leaving Chicago in 2026, but it's not leaving Chicagoland.
NASCAR released its Cup Series schedule a day or two ago -- I was traveling, sorry for being late -- and with the Chicago Street Race taking at least a year off, replaced by San Diego, the Cup Series will return to the 1.5-mile oval at Chicagoland Motor Speedway in far-suburban Joliet. This will be the first Cup race there since 2019 -- before the Chicago Street Race, Cup races were held a bit over the Wisconsin border at the Road America road course. This marks the first time the Next-Gen Cup cars will race at Chicagoland.
The Chicagoland race will be over Fourth of July weekend.
Other news of note -- NASCAR returns points racing to North Wilkesboro, which had recently been hosting the All-Star race. That race moves to Dover.
The Bowman Gray Clash remains as the ceremonial season opener, with the actual season opener being, as always, the Daytona 500, scheduled for Feb. 15 this year. The champion will be crowned at Homestead-Miami for the first time since 2019.
Here is the complete 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, playoffs in bold:
2026 NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
| 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) |
[Image: NASCAR]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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I saw a movie once about Joliet Correctional Center.
How is NASCAR making their content available to the digital natives
in the audience who will never subscribe to Cable TV?
I wouldn’t mind watching more motorsports, but I haven’t paid to be screamed-at by clueless pundits or advertised-at by brands I dislike in 20 years. Cable TV is a poor value for me in so many ways.
Does that just mean I can’t watch?
If so, I’ll accept, move on, and let NASCAR remain in their bubble.