All eyes on Phoenix as NASCAR releases testing schedule for 2023

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series calendar kicks off with the return of the exhibition event Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, Speedweek at Daytona, and the 65th edition of the Daytona 500 next month.

Team Penske's Joey Logano won the inaugural Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum in 2021 and capped it off with a second Cup Series championship at the end of the 2022 season.

Ahead of the 2023 season, NASCAR announced 12 testing schedules for the 2023 season and nine of them are for the NASCAR Cup Series.

Last year, the governing body unveiled the Next Gen car. The car was designed with a spec chassis that is identical from team to team. The racing product improved significantly on the intermediate track while the short track product struggled.

The test at Phoenix Raceway on January 24-25 is NASCAR’s attempt to make changes to its Next Gen car short track package. The series has stated many times that they would like to improve their package.

The governing body realized that the shift could be removed for short tracks like Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Richmond Raceway. They also plan to test a few different aero packages to keep reducing the aero wake.

The Xfinity Series will be tested at Charlotte Motor Speedway on January 30 to change the rear skew of the car for the upcoming season.

Goodyear plans to host a total of 10 test sessions for the 2023 season, two of which are for the Camping World Truck Series.

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NASCAR Cup Series 2023 testing schedule

Here are the testing days for the upcoming season:

Date – track – test types – participants

• January 16-17 – Circuit of the Americas – Goodyear – #2, #8, #23
• January 24-25 – Phoenix Raceway – NASCAR - #1, #6, #20, #22, #43, #47
• January 30 – Charlotte Motor Speedway – Organizational (NXS) - 1 car for 1-2 car team, 2 cars for 3-4 car team
• January 31 - Lancaster Speedway - Goodyear (NCTS)
• March 20 - North Wilkesboro - Goodyear (NCTS)
• March 21-22 - North Wilkesboro - Goodyear (NCS)
• March 28-29 - Charlotte Motor Speedway - Goodyear
• April 11-12 – Gateway - Goodyear
• May 30-31 - Michigan International Speedway - Goodyear
• June 13-14 – Bristol - Goodyear
• July 11-12 - Texas Motor Speedway - Goodyear
• August 15-16 – Indianapolis - Goodyear

Catch all the teams and drivers in action when the 2023 Cup Series kicks off at the iconic Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023.