NASCAR’s top official confirms the All-Star race and The Clash to be “rotational slots” for a “fresh” fan experience in future schedules

The schedule for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season is finally out, and it includes some interesting changes. One of the biggest changes is the All-Star Weekend moving to Dover Motor Speedway in mid-May.

Subsequently, North Wilkesboro Speedway, which has been hosting the All-Star Race since 2023, will return with a points-paying race for the 2026 season. That being said, the season-opening Clash (scheduled for February 1) will stay at the iconic Bowman Gray Stadium.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Ben Kennedy, Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovations Officer for NASCAR, noted that the venue will continue rotating for the All-Star Race and the Clash each year.

“Even though it's (Dover) going to be the All-Star location for next year, it doesn't mean that it's gonna be there every single year,” Kennedy said. “We talk about the Clash, we talk about the All-Star race... we feel like both of those venues could potentially be kind of rotational slots. So even if the All-Star Race next year... we want the All-Star Race to feel like a major event in our season.“

“We're going to continue to look at a number of options for both Clash and the All-Star Race and continue to move it around and keep it fresh for our fans,” he added.

For now, all eyes are on Daytona International Speedway. The 2.5-mile (4.0 km) long tri-oval will host this weekend’s race. Scheduled for Saturday, August 23, the 400-lap event will be televised on Peacock (7:30 p.m. ET onwards) with live radio updates on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN.

NASCAR to resume racing at Joliet’s Chicagoland Speedway in 2026

NASCAR is all set to return to Chicagoland Speedway after six years. The July 5 event at the Joliet, Illinois-based racetrack will replace the street race in downtown Chicago.

Meanwhile, the street race will move to a new venue, the Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, meaning it won’t return to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, in 2026.

“Our fans have been asking for the past several years in bringing a points race back to Chicagoland, or bringing a points race to North Wilkesboro for the first time in 30 years,” said Ben Kennedy in a statement. “So a lot of milestone moments that will be created next year, certainly a lot of anticipated moments, I think, that our fans are going to have.”

"Certainly proud of the work that everyone's done to help put this together," he added.

Chicagoland will also be part of in NASCAR’s five-race In-Season Challenge, which debuted this year. According to reports, the bracket-style tournament will kick off at Sonoma on June 28 and continue through Chicagoland, EchoPark Speedway, North Wilkesboro, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.