NASCAR released the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series calendar on Wednesday afternoon, confirming a variety of changes and additions, with Iowa Speedway set to be added to the schedule in June and the regular season finale taking place at Darlington Raceway’s Southern 500.

The season will open with the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, February 4 at 8 p.m. ET. This will be the third year in a row that the Clash is taking place at the LA Coliseum.

The series will then turn its attention to the Daytona 500 which will kick off the points-paying season as it traditionally does. The Daytona 500 will conclude Florida Speedweeks on Sunday, February 18.

One big change is that the series will then head a few hours north to the Atlanta Motor Speedway the week after the Daytona 500. With Atlanta now employing the superspeedway aero package, that will mean that the season will begin with two superspeedway races in a row.

After that the teams will head west for the traditional West Coast Swing, but this year it will only be two races as Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California takes a hiatus from the schedule to allegedly be turned into a short track. Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host the Cup Series on Sunday, March 3, with Phoenix Raceway being the next stop on Sunday, March 10.

NASCAR Cup Series Not Racing On Dirt In 2024

Another already announced change to the schedule is that the Cup Series will not be racing on dirt in 2024. Both races at Bristol Motor Speedway will take place on the famed concrete surface. The Food City 500 will return to the springtime and will be held on Sunday, March 17. The Night Race will be the elimination race in the first round of the Playoffs on Saturday, September 21.

NASCAR will still host a race on Easter Sunday, but this year it will be a night race at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, March 31.

Texas Motor Speedway has hosted a playoff race every year since the original Chase for the Championship’s inception in 2004, but that streak will come to an end in 2024. The lone date at the Fort Worth 1.5-miler will be on Sunday, April 14.

The All-Star Race will return to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, May 19 for the second year in a row. This year will feature new pavement as the track will be resurfaced for the first time since 1981.

Iowa Speedway Added To 2024 NASCAR Calendar

The only new track to be added to the calendar in 2024 is the 0.895-mile Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Iowa Speedway will host a triple-header weekend with the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Cup Series the weekend of June 16.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway moves up a few weeks on the calendar with its lone race weekend being held on June 23. The race weekend at the Magic Mile typically takes place in the middle of July.

The well-received NASCAR Street Race is returning to the streets of Chicago on Sunday, July 7. It is the second year of a two-year deal with the city of Chicago. Australian V8 Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen stunned the racing world when he won on the streets of Chicago in his first Cup Series start this year.

The Cup Series will head to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 21 for the return of the Brickyard 400 to the famed 2.5-mile oval. The Cup Series had been running the infield road course for the last three years. 2024’s Brickyard 400 will be the first time the Next Gen platform will race on the historic oval configuration.

The Cup Series will take a two-week break in between the Brickyard 400 and the second race of the season at Richmond Raceway on August 11 for the Summer Olympics. The two-week break was a request from NBC that was fulfilled by NASCAR. That break has caused some changes to the playoffs and the location of the regular season finale.

The regular season will conclude with the running of the Southern 500 on its traditional Labor Day Sunday date of September 1. The regular season had concluded at Daytona the last four years, but in 2024 Daytona will be the penultimate race of the regular season. 

And while the Southern 500 had been the first race of the Playoffs the last few years, in 2024 the opener will take place at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 8. With the addition of Atlanta to the Playoffs, 2024 will mark the first time that two superspeedway-style races will be held in the Playoffs as Talladega Superspeedway will host the fifth race of the Playoffs on Sunday, October 6.

There will also be two road course races in the Playoffs for the first time in its history as Watkins Glen International will move from August to Sunday, September 15. The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway will return to be the second elimination race of the Playoffs on Sunday, October 13. 

NASCAR Cup Series 2024 Playoff Schedule

The first round of the Playoffs will consist of Atlanta (September 8), Watkins Glen (September 15), and Bristol (September 21).

The second round of the Playoffs will consist of Kansas Speedway (September 29), Talladega (October 6), and Charlotte Roval (October 13).

The third round of the playoffs will be held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (October 20), Homestead-Miami Speedway (October 27), and Martinsville Speedway (November 3).

The championship will be decided once again at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 10.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule