NASCAR announced Wednesday the final slate of regular-season races in its 2020 schedule, which was upended earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The updated schedule carries the sport through August and its remaining 10 points races before the playoffs in September.
The latest schedule includes doubleheader race weekends for the Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway and Dover International Speedway, as well as two races at Daytona International Speedway _ one on the oval and one on the 3.56-mile Daytona road course for the first time.
"The sport of NASCAR gets to add a surprise chapter of road course racing to the venue's legacy," Daytona International Speedway president Chip Wile said in a statement. "Throughout the years, we have had many memorable moments with sports cars and motorcycles, but now NASCAR will take center stage on the road course at the World Center of Racing."
NASCAR said that more details on playoffs will be announced at a later date, although NASCAR president Steve Phelps said that the sport wanted to maintain its original playoff schedule when the pandemic temporarily shuttered the season in March.
NASCAR previously announced a revised schedule with races lined up through early August, ending with a race at New Hampshire. The July 15 All-Star Race was then moved from Charlotte to Bristol, which will allow up to 30,000 fans to attend _ the largest allowed gathering of NASCAR fans at a race during the pandemic.
The latest update to the Cup Series schedule includes a doubleheader weekend at Michigan on Saturday, Aug. 8 and Sunday, Aug. 9, followed by a race at the Daytona road course the following Sunday, where all three series, including Trucks and Xfinity, will compete for the first time. That Cup race will replace Watkins Glen on the previous schedule.
Complete details on the road-course weekend at Daytona, including fan attendance, is being finalized and will be announced in the near future, according to the speedway.
After the Daytona road course, there will be another doubleheader Cup race weekend at Dover, with races on Saturday, Aug. 22 and Sunday, Aug. 23. All three series will also hold races at Dover.
The final race before playoffs will be held at the Daytona oval Saturday, Aug. 29.
The 10-race playoffs then start in September with a round of 16 that is whittled down to four in a championship race, which is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8 at Phoenix Raceway.
