NASCAR releases complete 2016 Sprint Cup, XFINITY Series schedules
After months of waiting and speculation, NASCAR released its 2016 schedule for the Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series on Monday afternoon.
Along with next year's much-anticipated race calendar for the sport's top two series, NASCAR announced agreements with 23 tracks to field Sprint Cup Series races for the next five years. Additionally, 24 tracks will host NASCAR XFINITY Series races through 2020.
The schedule and actual placement of the dates within each given season's schedule beyond 2016 will be part of the ongoing discussions between NASCAR and the tracks. NASCAR said details are still being finalized for the 2016 Camping World Truck Series schedule, which will be announced at a later time.
"NASCAR and the tracks take seriously our collective responsibility to the fans and each stakeholder to ensure the sport is healthy, strong and growing, so we can deliver great racing to the fans for many decades to come," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. "The live event experience always will be important to creating a lifetime fan in NASCAR.
"Among the goals that we set out to accomplish with our track partners was to provide consistency for race fans and the industry stakeholders. We feel like we have a nice balance of that for 2016. The stability of five-year agreements positions us well to deliver fans with schedules as early as possible over the next several years. This is a new approach for our industry, and one that benefits everyone: fans, tracks, teams, drivers, OEMs, media and partners."
NASCAR will kick off the 2016 season against the new backdrop of a completely reimagined Daytona International Speedway. DAYTONA Rising, the speedway's $400 million redevelopment project, will be complete when both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series launch at Daytona Speedweeks. The 2016 Daytona 500 will be held on Feb. 21 and will air live on FOX.
"We learned that NASCAR Goes West worked very well in keeping momentum and interest for NASCAR in these markets," O'Donnell said. "The tracks put a lot of effort behind making it successful and we think it can continue to have a positive impact as it gains traction from being an annual effort. The efficiency of conducting three consecutive events also is helpful to the teams and industry."
Among the changes to the 2016 schedule:
- Pocono Raceway will host its first NASCAR XFINITY Series event in June, with that series joining the Sprint Cup Series for a companion event at the famed three-turn track.
- Richmond International Raceway will host its spring XFINITY and Sprint Cup race on Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- a change from the previous Friday/Saturday schedule.
- The first Sprint Cup stop at Dover International Speedway will move earlier in the schedule, to be held prior to the May events at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
-- The August Sprint Cup event at Michigan will move to later in the month.
2016 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
Date
2/13
Daytona International Speedway (Sprint Unlimited)
2/14
Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500 Qualifying)
2/18
Daytona International Speedway (Duel)
2/21
Daytona 500
2/28
Atlanta Motor Speedway
3/6
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/13
Phoenix International Raceway
3/20
Auto Club Speedway
4/3
Martinsville Speedway
4/9
Texas Motor Speedway
4/17
Bristol Motor Speedway
4/24
Richmond International Raceway
5/1
Talladega Superspeedway
5/7
Kansas Speedway
5/15
Dover International Speedway
5/21
Charlotte Motor Speedway (All-Star Race)
5/29
Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/5
Pocono Raceway
6/12
Michigan International Speedway
6/26
Sonoma Raceway
7/2
Daytona International Speedway
7/9
Kentucky Speedway
7/17
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/24
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
7/31
Pocono Raceway
8/7
Watkins Glen International
8/20
Bristol Motor Speedway
8/28
Michigan International Speedway
9/4
Darlington Raceway
9/10
Richmond International Raceway
9/18
Chicagoland Speedway
9/25
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
10/2
Dover International Speedway
10/8
Charlotte Motor Speedway
10/16
Kansas Speedway
10/23
Talladega Superspeedway
10/30
Martinsville Speedway
11/6
Texas Motor Speedway
11/13
Phoenix International Raceway
11/20
Homestead-Miami Speedway
2016 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES SCHEDULE
Date
Site
2/20
Daytona International Speedway
2/27
Atlanta Motor Speedway
3/5
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/12
Phoenix International Raceway
3/19
Auto Club Speedway
4/8
Texas Motor Speedway
4/16
Bristol Motor Speedway
4/23
Richmond International Raceway
4/30
Talladega Superspeedway
5/14
Dover International Speedway
5/28
Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/4
Pocono Raceway
6/11
Michigan International Speedway
6/19
Iowa Speedway
7/1
Daytona International Speedway
7/8
Kentucky Speedway
7/16
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/23
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
7/30
Iowa Speedway
8/6
Watkins Glen International
8/13
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
8/19
Bristol Motor Speedway
8/27
Road America
9/3
Darlington Raceway
9/9
Richmond International Raceway
9/17
Chicagoland Speedway
9/24
Kentucky Speedway
10/1
Dover International Speedway
10/7
Charlotte Motor Speedway
10/15
Kansas Speedway
11/5
Texas Motor Speedway
11/12
Phoenix International Raceway
11/19
Homestead-Miami Speedway
