The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule just dropped. Here are some of the highlights

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule dropped on Wednesday, and in its 75th year of existence, it looks like NASCAR will simultaneously push into the future and honor its past.

Here are some of the big highlights you should know.

▪ Chicago Street Race. This historic race, announced earlier this summer, will take place along the streets of downtown Chicago on July 2, 2023 (July 4th weekend). The best stock drivers in the world will transform real city streets and spotlight some of the city’s most-iconic landmarks — including Soldier Field, Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain. The 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course will be held for three consecutive years beginning in 2023.

▪ North Wilkesboro Speedway. If you are a NASCAR fan in any capacity, you probably heard about the triumphant return of North Wilkesboro Speedway. It was a process spearheaded by Marcus Smith of Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR’s preeminent history-preserver Dale Earnhardt Jr. — and it ultimately brings life to a rural part of North Carolina and a racetrack that once stood at the cultural center of NASCAR. North Wilkesboro will hold the 2023 All-Star race on May 21, 2023. (It’ll also hold a Truck Series race on May 20.)

▪ Busch Light Clash at LA Coliseum. The 2022 exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew huge ratings and featured a large, west-coast crowd. The race will return on Feb. 5, 2023, again two weeks before the season-opening Daytona 500.

▪ The 2023 schedule will feature a handful of road courses again. That includes Watkins Glen, Circuit of Americas (Austin, Texas), Sonoma, Indianapolis and the Roval (Charlotte).

▪ Which racetracks lost races in 2023? The 2023 season will look largely similar to the 2022 schedule. The playoff schedule, for instance, will be identical. Some racetracks are still “fighting for their lives,” so to speak. Among them are Road America in Wisconsin, which will lose its Cup Series race to make room for the new Chicago event, and Texas Motor Speedway, which will host just one Cup race weekend for the first time since 2004 after the All-Star race moved to North Wilkesboro.

Full Cup Series schedule

Bold - Playoffs

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 3:02 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription