Notable highlights from 2025 NASCAR schedule

The 2025 NASCAR schedule brings a host of changes to all three national series. With new venues being added to the calendar, plus the return of some familiar ones -- not to mention a shuffling of the playoff schedule and an in-race tournament beforehand -- there is plenty to look forward to. Get a glance at some of the highlights for this upcoming season's action.

RELATED: 2025 Cup Series schedule announced | 2025 Xfinity, Truck Series schedules unveiled

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'Madhouse' move

Venue: Bowman Gray Stadium

Date: Sunday, Feb. 2

Series: Cup 

Comment: The preseason Clash exhibition has a new home for 2025, and it's a NASCAR original. The flat quarter-mile oval in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has hosted NASCAR-sanctioned events since the sport's pioneering early days, and the Cup Series will hold its first race there since 1971 with the season kickoff.

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Back to 'The Rock'

Venue: Rockingham Speedway

Date: April 18-19

Series: Xfinity, Truck

Comment: NASCAR last raced at Rockingham in 2013, when Kyle Larson posted his first national-series win in a Truck Series event. Now both Xfinity and Trucks return for a Friday-Saturday show ahead of Easter at the renovated, high-banked North Carolina mile, which was a Cup Series staple from 1965-2004.

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Going global

Venue: Mexico City/Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

Date: June 14-15

Series: Cup, Xfinity

Comment: It's official: The Cup Series is going international for a points-paying race for the first time in the circuit's modern history, while Xfinity returns to the fold for the first time since 2008. The host for both series will be the historic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, planted in the heart of Mexico City. Prepare yourselves as summer excitement takes a global turn.

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Northeast road racing 

Venue: Lime Rock Park

Date: June 28

Series: Truck

Comment: NASCAR prepares to make its first visit to the 1.53-mile Connecticut circuit since 2011, expanding the number of Craftsman Truck Series road-course events. The track has hosted races for the ARCA Menards Series East back when it was a northeast-based series, and for the Whelen Modified Tour. The event will be the first there in Truck Series history.

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Tournament tip-off 

Venues: Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover, Indianapolis

Date: June 28-July 27

Series: Cup

Comment: We knew that Atlanta was going to be a Saturday night starting point for the bracket-style competition within the season, but now the full five-race slate is clear. The Chicago street circuit and Sonoma Raceway will come after Atlanta, then the ovals at Dover Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway will close out the contest for a $1 million prize during the TNT Sports portion of the broadcast schedule. The three preceding races -- Michigan International Speedway (June 8), Mexico City (June 15) and Pocono Raceway (June 22) -- will determine the seeding for the 32-driver field.

LEARN MORE: Tickets, additional info for 2025 events at Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover and Indianapolis

Florida finale 

Venue: Daytona International Speedway

Date: Saturday, Aug. 23

Series: Cup 

Comment: A year removed from being the circuit's penultimate regular-season contest, the "World Center of Racing" returns as the regular-season finale before the Cup Series Playoffs begin. Daytona's second race on the docket has created plenty of memorable moments in the past, and the opportunity for more will only be that much more likely ... especially with a possible postseason berth on the line. 

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Round 1 shake-up 

Venue: Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway

Date: Sunday, Aug. 31 (Darlington), Sunday, Sept. 7 (WWT Raceway)

Series: Cup

Comment: The Round of 16 in the Cup Series Playoffs sees another makeover. After a 2024 lineup of Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Bristol, the opening two races will shift for 2025. Darlington returns as the postseason opener. Afterward will be World Wide Technology Raceway, the first time the track will host playoff racing since its introduction to the Cup circuit in 2022. And so, the battle for the Bill France Cup will begin with another different flavor that will be sure to shape driver strategies. 

LEARN MORE: Tickets, additional info for 2025 events at Darlington and WWT Raceway

Playoff 'magic' returns

Venue: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Date: Sunday, Sept. 21 

Series: Cup, Truck

Comment: Welcome back, New England. For the first time since 2017, New Hampshire will host a playoff race, with the track serving as the Round of 12 opener. The last time the 1.058-mile facility saw postseason action, Kyle Busch dominated on the way to a victory that advanced him to the next round. Then, there's the Truck Series, which returns to the track for the first time since, you guessed it, 2017. What will the "Magic Mile" have in store nearly eight years later? Stay tuned.

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Roval for the tailgate tour

Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway road course

Date: Friday, Oct. 3

Series: Truck

Comment: Lime Rock Park won't be the only road-course venue new to the Truck Series in 2025. Although it has become a staple in Cup and Xfinity, the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course will act as the Round of 8 opener in Trucks. It will be the first time the series has ever raced on the hybrid layout, and with Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway to follow, the track-to-track diversity is sure to make this postseason round as electric as ever.  

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Later superspeedway suspense 

Venue: Talladega Superspeedway

Date: Oct. 18-19

Series: Cup, Xfinity 

Comment: Both the Cup and Xfinity Series will have new-look Rounds of 8 next season, with Talladega moving to a later date on the schedule. The 2.66-mile track has been a Round of 12 event since the Cup Series' elimination era began in 2014, but the shift one round later means that the trifecta of Las Vegas, Talladega and Martinsville will determine next year's Championship 4 field. The stakes will be high, and the opportunity for postseason spoilers will be, too.

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