NASCAR implemented nine key changes to the 2024 Cup Series
With the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum less than a month away, racing fans will want to know about these changes in the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series season.
With Kevin Harvick officially retiring and moving to the Fox Sports broadcast booth for the 2024 season, Stewart-Haas Racing signed Josh Berry as the future Hall of Fame driver’s replacement in the No. 4 card.
That’s not really one of the key changes to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, which tracks are being resurrected are what fans will want to know about.
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Here are nine key changes involving race venues and dates:
1. After a three-year hiatus, the Brickyard 400 returns to the NASCAR Cup Series on July 21. From 2021-23, the Brickyard ran a road course layout instead of the 2.5-mile oval track.
2. Bristol Motor Speedway returns to two concrete races following three years of the track hosting a dirt race in the spring. The Food City 500 returns on March 17.
3. Watkins Glen moves to the postseason. After years of being one of the final races before the NASCAR playoffs begin, the famed road race moves to the second race of the opening round of the Cup Series postseason on Sept. 15.
4. The Iowa Speedway returns to the NASCAR Cup Series circuit for the first time since 2019. The oval track will host the June 16 race.
5. Darlington Raceway will not close the NASCAR Cup Series regular season on Labor Day weekend instead of hosting the postseason opener.
6. Texas Motor Speedway will not host a late September postseason race. Instead, the race in Texas will move to mid-April when it hosts the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.
7. Atlanta Moter Speedway will host a spring race on Feb. 25 following the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18 with the summer race moving to Sept. 8 to kick off the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
8. The Magic Mile race will take place in June instead of July this year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Cup Series race will take place on June 23 instead of mid-July.
9. For the first time since its debut in 1997, the Inland Empire of Southern California race in Fontana will not be on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit in 2024.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series gets underway for its 76th season on Feb. 4 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and concludes with the championship race at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.