Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, NASCAR [Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images]
The full 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is slated to be revealed later this week, with a release date leaked on Tuesday by an insider.
There are just eight races remaining on the 36-race 2022 NASCAR Cup Series calendar, and the 2023 schedule has not yet been revealed. However, that is set to change later today.
Several puzzle pieces are already in place regarding next year’s calendar, with the most recent announcement confirming NASCAR’s return to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star Race. This exhibition race was contested at Texas Motor Speedway in each of the last two seasons.
Other events, such as the preseason Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the official season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the inaugural race at the Chicago Street Course, and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway have had their dates confirmed for a while.
Several other venues have been confirmed to host races next year, but they still lack confirmed dates.
But according to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, the full 2023 schedule is set to be released at some point on Wednesday afternoon.
It is believed that there will be some additional changes to next year’s schedule, especially as it pertains to race dates. Even this year’s playoff schedule looks a little bit different than it has in past years, and there were a number of changes made to the regular season schedule as well.
Today’s announcement should finally answer the questions surrounding how much different the schedule will look to this year’s.
Will there be any more new venues? Which tracks will join tracks such as Dover Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Pocono Raceway and end up losing race dates if there are? Will any tracks join venues such as Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway and end up off the calendar entirely?
All three NASCAR national series schedules for the 2023 season will be released this afternoon, but RACER has obtained and reviewed copies of each. There are no additional surprises to the Cup Series calendar after the previously announced Chicago street course and North Wilkesboro All-Star Race.
The Cup Series schedule is quite similar to how it’s laid out this season, beginning with the exhibition race at the L.A. Coliseum on February 5. Teams will then visit Daytona for Speedweeks, followed by the three-race west coast swing.
There are a few date swaps between tracks as well as a few highlights on the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series schedules.
Bristol will again hold its dirt race on Easter weekend, which will be April 9, 2023. In doing so, it moves Martinsville Speedway a week later than it was this spring to April 16.
Kansas Speedway and Darlington Raceway also swapped dates to keep Darlington’s throwback weekend on Mother’s Day. Kansas will be on May 7 while Darlington runs on May 14.
The highly anticipated All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro moves to its traditional slot the weekend before the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. However, the track will not only feature Cup Series cars, but the Craftsman Truck Series will also run at North Wilkesboro the same weekend.
Chicago will host its street course race on July 2, replacing Road America. The Xfinity Series will also run on the course the same weekend.
Richmond Raceway moves to late July while the Indianapolis road course slides later in the calendar to August 13. Daytona will again set the playoff field as the regular season finale, and the 10-race NASCAR Cup Series playoffs remain unchanged.
Texas Motor Speedway will host just one Cup Series race next season. With the loss of the All-Star Race, teams will visit Texas for its playoff race on Sept. 24. Texas kicks off the Round of 12.
Also of note, the Craftsman Truck Series will not return to Sonoma Raceway or Knoxville next year. However, it will return to the Milwaukee Mile for the first time since 2009 with a trip on August 27.
2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule:
February 5 – Clash at the L.A. Coliseum
February 16 – Duel at Daytona
February 19 – Daytona 500
February 26 – Auto Club Speedway
March 5 – Las Vegas
March 12 – Phoenix Raceway
March 19 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 26 – Circuit of The Americas
April 2 – Richmond Raceway
April 9 – Bristol [dirt]
April 16 – Martinsville Speedway
April 23 – Talladega Superspeedway
April 30 – Dover Motor Speedway
May 7 – Kansas Speedway
May 14 – Darlington Raceway
May 21 – North Wilkesboro [All-Star Race]
May 28 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 4 – World Wide Technology Raceway
June 11 – Sonoma Raceway
June 25 – Nashville Superspeedway
July 2 – Chicago street course
July 9 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
July 16 – New Hampshire
July 23 – Pocono Raceway
July 30 – Richmond Raceway
August 6 – Michigan International Speedway
August 13 – Indianapolis road course
August 20 – Watkins Glen
August 26 – Daytona International Speedway
September 3 – Darlington Raceway
September 10 – Kansas Speedway
September 16 – Bristol Motor Speedway
September 24 – Texas Motor Speedway
October 1 – Talladega Superspeedway
October 8 – Charlotte Roval
October 15 – Las Vegas
October 22 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
October 29 – Martinsville Speedway
November 5 – Phoenix Raceway
2023 Xfinity Series schedule
February 18 – Daytona
February 25 – Auto Club Speedway
March 4 – Las Vegas
March 11 – Phoenix Raceway
March 18 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 25 – Circuit of The Americas
April 1 – Richmond Raceway
April 15 – Martinsville Speedway
April 22 – Talladega Superspeedway
April 29 – Dover Motor Speedway
May 13 – Darlington Raceway
May 27 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 3 – Portland
June 10 – Sonoma Raceway
June 24 – Nashville Superspeedway
July 1 – Chicago street course
July 8 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
July 15 – New Hampshire
July 22 – Pocono Raceway
July 29 – Road America
August 5 – Michigan
August 12 – Indianapolis road course
August 19 – Watkins Glen
August 25 – Daytona
September 2 – Darlington Raceway
September 9 – Kansas Speedway
September 15 – Bristol Motor Speedway
September 23 – Texas Motor Speedway
October 7 – Charlotte Roval
October 14 – Las Vegas
October 21 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
October 28 – Martinsville Speedway
November 4 – Phoenix Raceway
The Trucks return to Milwaukee for the first time since 2009. Motorsport Images
2023 Craftsman Truck Series schedule
February 17 – Daytona
March 3 – Las Vegas
March 18 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 25 – Circuit of the Americas
April 1 – Texas Motor Speedway
April 8 – Bristol [dirt]
April 14 – Martinsville Speedway
May 6 – Kansas Speedway
May 12 – Darlington Raceway
May 20 – North Wilkesboro
May 26 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 3 – World Wide Technology Raceway
June 23 – Nashville Superspeedway
July 8 – Mid-Ohio
July 22 – Pocono Raceway
July 29 – Richmond Raceway
August 11 – Lucas Oil IRP
August 27 – Milwaukee
September 8 – Kansas Speedway
September 14 – Bristol Motor Speedway
September 30 – Talladega Superspeedway
October 21 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
November 3 – Phoenix Raceway
*Playoff races in italics