North Wilkesboro to host first Cup Series points race since the ’90s
North Wilkesboro Speedway is back on the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season schedule.
The historic race track in Wilkes County is set to host a points-paying race on July 19, 2026, NASCAR announced Wednesday in its schedule release.
It will be the 0.625-mile track’s first points-paying race since 1996. NASCAR is moving its annual All-Star Race to Dover, opening the door for North Wilkesboro to reclaim a permanent spot on the Cup calendar.
Rockingham Speedway returns to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Truck Series, hosting its second consecutive Easter weekend on April 3 and 4.
Charlotte fans keep two big weekends: The Coca-Cola 600 returns to Memorial Day weekend as usual, and the playoff Roval hits the track in October.
Homestead-Miami Speedway will decide the Cup champion, taking over the finale on Nov. 8. A new street course race will run at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego on June 21, and Chicagoland Speedway is returning July 5 after six years off the Cup slate.
Downtown Chicago’s street race and the series’ first Mexico City event, which debuted in 2025, are both off the schedule for 2026 — but NASCAR says both could return as soon as 2027.
Other notable changes: Watkins Glen slides to Mother’s Day weekend in May, Iowa Speedway remains for an Aug. 9 race after two straight years of sellouts, and teams get two off weekends in the summer.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule
Feb. 1 Clash (Bowman Gray Stadium)
Feb. 15 Daytona 500
Feb. 22 Echopark Speedway (Atlanta)
March 1 COTA
March 8 Phoenix
March 15 Las Vegas
March 22 Darlington
March 29 Martinsville
April 12 Bristol
April 19 Kansas
April 26 Talladega
May 3 Texas
May 10 Watkins Glen
May 17 All-Star Race (Dover)
May 24 Charlotte
May 31 Nashville
June 7 Michigan
June 14 Pocono
June 21 San Diego
June 28 Sonoma
July 5 Chicagoland
July 12 Echopark Speedway (Atlanta)
July 19 North Wilkesboro
July 26 Indianapolis
Aug. 9 Iowa
Aug. 15 (Saturday) Richmond
Aug. 23 New Hampshire
Aug. 29 (Saturday) Daytona
NASCAR playoff races
Sept. 6 Darlington
Sept. 13 World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis)
Sept. 19 (Saturday) Bristol
Sept. 27 Kansas
Oct. 4 Las Vegas
Oct. 11 Roval
Oct. 18 Phoenix
Oct. 25 Talladega
Nov. 1 Martinsville
Nov. 8 NASCAR Championship at Homestead-Miami
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM with the headline "North Wilkesboro to host first Cup Series points race since the ’90s."
