NASCAR Unveils 2027 National Touring Series Schedule with Surprising Changes

NASCAR officials have released the 2027 national touring series schedules, revealing several surprises and changes for fans to look forward to this season. While most of the schedule was already known, some key announcements were made on Wednesday, filling in a few holes and providing insight into NASCAR's plans.

The final major piece fell into place Tuesday when NASCAR confirmed it would return to San Diego to race on the street course around Coronado Island. This announcement came as part of a deliberate strategy For related coverage, explore our detailed analysis on Technology and Digital Systems.

Final Major Piece Falls into Place

NASCAR's decision to scatter individual track announcements in the weeks leading up to Wednesday's big reveal was intentional, according to Moran. The goal was to help out the media, tracks, and fans

Saturday's announcement revealed that Dover Motor Speedway will return to a Cup Series points-race date on May 16th, following its 2026 turn as host of the NASCAR All-Star Race. World Wide Technology Raceway, Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, and Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will be the final three regular-season races in the Cup Series and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series leading into The Chase.

The biggest changes come in the final 10 races that will determine NASCAR's season champions. Instead of opening The Chase, Darlington will be the final regular-season race for the Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Richmond Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway will replace World Wide Technology Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway in the final 10.

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Scattered Track Announcements

The biggest eyebrow-raiser, though, comes with the addition of Watkins Glen International to The Chase. This marks the first time a true purpose-built road course will be part of NASCAR's final 10 races. According to Moran, that is a direct result of how dramatically drivers have improved when it comes to racing on road and street courses.

NASCAR finally confirmed its 2027 national touring series schedules Wednesday, and perhaps the biggest surprise was that there were no real surprises.

That’s because most of where NASCAR will race next season was already well known. Wednesday’s reveal simply served to fill in a few holes.

Normally, NASCAR’s schedule for the following year begins with a press release, quickly followed Instead, those track announcements trickled out over the past few weeks, allowing fans and media outlets to piece together a rough version of the schedule long before NASCAR officially unveiled it.