2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule features 2-week Olympic break

Nick Bromberg

NASCAR’s 2024 Cup Series schedule includes one new track and two different tracks in the playoffs.

Iowa Speedway is the only track new to the Cup Series on the schedule, while Atlanta and Watkins Glen will host playoff races. Atlanta’s second date moves from July to September, while the annual Watkins Glen races moves to Sept. 15 because of the 2024 Olympics.

Since NBC has the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series television schedule and also televises the Olympics, NASCAR will take a two-week break over the summer while the Olympics are ongoing. The same thing happened in 2021 during the Tokyo Olympics.

The two-week Olympic break also means the 2024 season will end a week later than it does this year. The season finale at Phoenix will be on Nov. 10.

Darlington keeps its annual Labor Day weekend date and the Olympic break means that race is the final race of the regular season next year instead of the first race of the playoffs. Daytona has served as the race site for the regular season finale in recent years and it will host the 25th race of the season.

Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Bristol will host the three races of the first round, while Kansas, Talladega and the Charlotte Roval will make up the second round. The final four races of the season are unchanged from 2023. The third round will include Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville before Phoenix. Texas hosted a race in the second round of the playoffs in 2023 and will host a race in the spring in 2024.

The season unofficially begins again with the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 4. The exhibition race is two weeks before the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18.

As expected, there’s no race at Auto Club Speedway at Fontana after NASCAR sold off much of the land surrounding the speedway. It hosted the second race of the season in 2023. Atlanta takes that spot on the schedule before races in Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The spring Bristol race is March 17 as the track previously announced that its spring race would be on the concrete track surface and not dirt. The race moves from Easter night as Richmond takes over the Easter date on March 31.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule

  • Feb. 4: Clash (exhibition)

  • Feb. 18: Daytona 500

  • Feb. 25: Atlanta

  • March 3: Las Vegas

  • March 10: Phoenix

  • March 17: Bristol

  • March 24: Circuit of the Americas

  • March 31: Richmond

  • April 7: Martinsville

  • April 14: Texas

  • April 21: Talladega

  • April 28: Dover

  • May 5: Kansas

  • May 12: Darlington

  • May 19: All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro (exhibition)

  • May 26: Charlotte

  • June 2: Gateway

  • June 9: Sonoma

  • June 16: Iowa

  • June 23: New Hampshire

  • June 30: Nashville

  • July 7: Chicago

  • July 14: Pocono

  • July 21: Indianapolis

  • Aug. 11: Richmond

  • Aug. 18: Michigan

  • Aug. 24: Daytona

  • Sept. 1: Darlington

  • Sept. 8: Atlanta

  • Sept. 15: Watkins Glen

  • Sept. 21: Bristol

  • Sept. 29: Kansas

  • Oct. 6: Talladega

  • Oct. 13: Charlotte Roval

  • Oct. 20: Las Vegas

  • Oct. 27: Homestead

  • Nov. 3: Martinsville

  • Nov. 10: Phoenix

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