By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer
On Thursday, NASCAR unveiled the schedules for the 2017 season for all three national series months earlier than normal thanks to the five-year sanctioning agreements that NASCAR and the tracks entered into starting in 2016.
For the most part, the schedules do not vary much from the current 2016 slate to the schedule for the 2017 season, but there are a few notable changes on the docket for next season.
Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway will swap their fall race dates next season, making Kansas the cut-off race for the Round of 12 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (October 22), while Talladega will be the second race in that round (October 15).
Texas Motor Speedway will move its spring Cup race to a Sunday afternoon affair from its Saturday night slot it has held the past several seasons. Dover International Speedway’s spring date will shift back to the week after the Coca-Cola 600 after being shifted forward for the 2016 season. Michigan International Speedway will also see its August race date move back to its normal slot on August 13 after getting moved in 2016 to accommodate the Bristol night race being moved for the “Battle at Bristol” college football game taking place at the track this fall. The Cup Series schedule will also only feature two off-weekends instead of the three that it had in 2016.
“Between meetings with our fan council, feedback from season-ticket holders and Texas Motor Speedway fans in general, the overall sentiment is that they preferred a Sunday race because it provided a more expansive weekend of activities. With NASCAR’s help, we are returning to a more traditional race weekend schedule: XFINITY Series practice on Thursday, Sprint Cup Series practice and qualifying on Friday, the XFINITY series race and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ‘Happy Hour’ on Saturday, and the big race itself for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday. We also will return some other activities from the past that will cause our fans to spend more time at the track and in the campgrounds making for a full week of racing-related events. This is great for the tourism-related businesses in Dallas-Fort Worth and a great schedule for our fans. I would think our campgrounds will sell very quickly now. This weekend will be the biggest party in Texas!” said Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage.
As far as the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedules, their schedules remain the same from 2016 to 2017, with four standalone races for the Xfinity Series and five standalone races for the Truck Series next season.
The four Xfinity Series standalone races will be Iowa (July 29), Mid-Ohio (August 12), Road America (August 26), and the opening race in the Xfinity Series Chase at Kentucky (September 23). The five standalone races for the Truck Series will be Texas (June 9), Gateway (June 17), Eldora (July 19), Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (August 27), and Las Vegas (September 30). The Xfinity Series and Truck Series will host a companion weekend at Iowa on June 23rd and 24th.
2017 NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
- 2/18 – Daytona International Speedway (Unlimited)
- 2/19 – Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500 Qualifying)
- 2/23 – Daytona International Speedway (Duel)
- 2/26 – Daytona 500
- 3/5 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
- 3/12 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- 3/19 – Phoenix International Raceway
- 3/26 – Auto Club Speedway
- 4/2 – Martinsville Speedway
- 4/9 – Texas Motor Speedway
- 4/23 – Bristol Motor Speedway
- 4/30 – Richmond International Raceway
- 5/7 – Talladega Superspeedway
- 5/13 – Kansas Speedway
- 5/20 – Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR All-Star Race)
- 5/28 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
- 6/4 – Dover International Speedway
- 6/11 – Pocono Raceway
- 6/18 – Michigan International Speedway
- 6/25 – Sonoma Raceway
- 7/1 – Daytona International Speedway
- 7/8 – Kentucky Speedway
- 7/16 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- 7/23 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- 7/30 – Pocono Raceway
- 8/6 – Watkins Glen International
- 8/13 – Michigan International Speedway
- 8/19 – Bristol Motor Speedway
- 9/3 – Darlington Raceway
- 9/9 – Richmond International Raceway
- 9/17 – Chicagoland Speedway
- 9/24 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- 10/1 – Dover International Speedway
- 10/7 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
- 10/15 – Talladega Superspeedway
- 10/22 – Kansas Speedway
- 10/29 – Martinsville Speedway
- 11/5 – Texas Motor Speedway
- 11/12 – Phoenix International Raceway
- 11/19 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
2017 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES SCHEDULE
- 2/25 – Daytona International Speedway
- 3/4 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
- 3/11 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- 3/18 – Phoenix International Raceway
- 3/25 – Auto Club Speedway
- 4/8 – Texas Motor Speedway
- 4/22 – Bristol Motor Speedway
- 4/29 – Richmond International Raceway
- 5/6 – Talladega Superspeedway
- 5/27 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
- 6/3 – Dover International Speedway
- 6/10 – Pocono Raceway
- 6/17 – Michigan International Speedway
- 6/24 – Iowa Speedway
- 6/30 – Daytona International Speedway
- 7/7 – Kentucky Speedway
- 7/15 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- 7/22 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- 7/29 – Iowa Speedway
- 8/5 – Watkins Glen International
- 8/12 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
- 8/18 – Bristol Motor Speedway
- 8/26 – Road America
- 9/2 – Darlington Raceway
- 9/8 – Richmond International Raceway
- 9/16 – Chicagoland Speedway
- 9/23 – Kentucky Speedway
- 9/30 – Dover International Speedway
- 10/6 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
- 10/21 – Kansas Speedway
- 11/4 – Texas Motor Speedway
- 11/11 – Phoenix International Raceway
- 11/18 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
2017 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE
- 2/24 – Daytona International Speedway
- 3/4 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
- 4/1 – Martinsville Speedway
- 5/12 – Kansas Speedway
- 5/19 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
- 6/2 – Dover International Speedway
- 6/9 – Texas Motor Speedway
- 6/17 – Gateway Motorsports Park
- 6/23 – Iowa Speedway
- 7/6 – Kentucky Speedway
- 7/19 – Eldora Speedway
- 7/29 – Pocono Raceway
- 8/12 – Michigan International Speedway
- 8/16 – Bristol Motor Speedway
- 8/27 – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
- 9/15 – Chicagoland Speedway
- 9/23 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- 9/30 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- 10/14 – Talladega Superspeedway
- 10/28 – Martinsville Speedway
- 11/3 – Texas Motor Speedway
- 11/10 – Phoenix International Raceway
- 11/17 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
