The 2025 NASCAR Cup schedule will feature something that has not happened in the last 50 years.
The series will race 28 consecutive weekends — more than half a calendar year.
The previous record in the modern era (since 1972) was 23 consecutive weekends, set this season when the series raced from the Feb. 18 Daytona 500 to the July 21 race at Indianapolis without a break.
Next year, the Cup Series will not race on Easter weekend — the series had raced on that weekend since 2022.
After next season’s Easter break, the series will race every weekend through the Nov. 2 season finale at Phoenix.
What is the limit for the Cup garage and teams?
“Another thing that we discussed quite a bit internally,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue & racing innovation officer, in response to a question from NBC Sports.
“If you look at the schedule and the way it is laid out this year, two off weeks for the Olympic break. It was a good opportunity for everybody to hit reset before they came back to Richmond and the last 14 races of the season.
“I think as we’ve gone through some of the past few years, some of the feedback we’ve received — and received in particular on the Cup side — is trying to find a way to get that Easter weekend back off for them.
“So, we’re able to achieve that. I think as you look at the domino effect of the entire schedule, you can add more of those off weeks. That also has a trickle down effect of where Daytona lives and where Darlington lives, opening up the playoffs on Labor Day weekend, which has always been a traditional weekend for them and then all the way down to Phoenix for our championship venue.
“That’s something we’ve always been mindful of. Obviously, we’ve always been mindful of the natural competition from other sports leagues in that part of the year. If you rewind the clock a few years, we used to end sometime around the week or two before Thanksgiving. We’ve now moved up a few weeks earlier, just to keep that momentum for our sport through the fall.”
Holding the season finale next year on Nov. 2 will mark the earliest the Cup season has ended since 1973. That year, the season concluded Oct. 21.
One of the potential challenges for NASCAR in the future will be if the NFL adds an 18th game and its interest in holding future Super Bowls on Presidents Day weekend in February — when the Daytona 500 is traditionally held.
A Super Bowl on Presidents Day weekend likely would force NASCAR to move the date of the Daytona 500 and that could impact off weekends and when the season ends.
Dates for the Super Bowl have been set through 2027 and are not on Presidents Day Weekend, so the next three Daytona 500s should not face any potential conflict.
