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Sprint Cup
CUP: Chase Date For Chicagoland?
Atlanta Motor Speedway will have just one NASCAR Sprint Cup race next season...
Chicagoland Speedway is one of several 1.5-mile venues in the Chase. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Multiple sources have told SPEED.com that Chicagoland Speedway will host the opening race to the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, with New Hampshire Motor Speedway moving back to the second Chase race.
Contacted for comment, Chicagoland officials neither confirmed nor denied its 2011 slot in the Chase.
“As of now, we're still working through the 2011 scheduling process with NASCAR,” a track spokesman said in an e-mail to SPEED.com. “Once we receive confirmation from NASCAR about our 2011 schedule, we’ll go ahead and make an announcement.”
But four sources familiar with the schedule confirmed to SPEED.com that Chicagoland would, in fact, host the first Chase race next season.
Elsewhere, the other dominoes have begun to fall for the 2011 Sprint Cup schedule, which sources tell SPEED.com will be released Aug. 18.
Atlanta Motor Speedway officials confirmed Thursday what had long been rumored — that it will host just one NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend next year.
Kentucky Speedway officials, meanwhile, have a press conference scheduled next week to announce that they will host a Cup race for the first time next season, likely getting a July date at the expense of Atlanta.
Of course, Atlanta’s traditional first race date is in March, indicating that there will be quite a bit of schedule juggling to come. But if Chicagoland’s race moves to September and the Chase, that would free up a mid-July date for Kentucky to host its Cup race.
Two weeks ago at the Brickyard 400, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France hinted that a major schedule realignment was in the works for 2011.
“We’ll have some pretty impactful changes to the schedule that I think will be good for NASCAR fans,” France said. “It looks like there are going to be some really interesting changes to the schedule. It’s not easy, because everybody has a slice of the pie that they want to make sure fits them perfectly. We have to adjust that around to where it fits everybody in the industry.”
Atlanta losing a date is a done deal. Kentucky Speedway picking up one is also a done deal.
Kansas Speedway is nearly certain to get a second date, likely at the expense of Auto Club Speedway in Southern California, or perhaps Martinsville Speedway.
Among the other possibilities for 2011:
• At least one of Texas Motor Speedway’s two races would be run at night. Texas will make its announcement Aug. 17 at the House of Blues in Dallas. A media release issued Thursday said the track would “reveal dramatic changes,” and that France would be in attendance for the event.
• Phoenix International Raceway would have an earlier slot on the schedule, perhaps moving up to as early as the second race of the year. Contacted by SPEED.com, a PIR spokesman declined comment on the possible date change.
• A spokesperson for Dover International Speedway confirmed that that track will have two Cup races next year, although no dates were announced.
• Although Las Vegas Motor Speedway has lobbied hard for a second date, specifically to host the season-ending race, the 2011 Sprint Cup season is expected to once again conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
Contacted for comment, Chicagoland officials neither confirmed nor denied its 2011 slot in the Chase.
“As of now, we're still working through the 2011 scheduling process with NASCAR,” a track spokesman said in an e-mail to SPEED.com. “Once we receive confirmation from NASCAR about our 2011 schedule, we’ll go ahead and make an announcement.”
But four sources familiar with the schedule confirmed to SPEED.com that Chicagoland would, in fact, host the first Chase race next season.
Elsewhere, the other dominoes have begun to fall for the 2011 Sprint Cup schedule, which sources tell SPEED.com will be released Aug. 18.
Atlanta Motor Speedway officials confirmed Thursday what had long been rumored — that it will host just one NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend next year.
Kentucky Speedway officials, meanwhile, have a press conference scheduled next week to announce that they will host a Cup race for the first time next season, likely getting a July date at the expense of Atlanta.
Of course, Atlanta’s traditional first race date is in March, indicating that there will be quite a bit of schedule juggling to come. But if Chicagoland’s race moves to September and the Chase, that would free up a mid-July date for Kentucky to host its Cup race.
Two weeks ago at the Brickyard 400, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France hinted that a major schedule realignment was in the works for 2011.
“We’ll have some pretty impactful changes to the schedule that I think will be good for NASCAR fans,” France said. “It looks like there are going to be some really interesting changes to the schedule. It’s not easy, because everybody has a slice of the pie that they want to make sure fits them perfectly. We have to adjust that around to where it fits everybody in the industry.”
Atlanta losing a date is a done deal. Kentucky Speedway picking up one is also a done deal.
Kansas Speedway is nearly certain to get a second date, likely at the expense of Auto Club Speedway in Southern California, or perhaps Martinsville Speedway.
Among the other possibilities for 2011:
• At least one of Texas Motor Speedway’s two races would be run at night. Texas will make its announcement Aug. 17 at the House of Blues in Dallas. A media release issued Thursday said the track would “reveal dramatic changes,” and that France would be in attendance for the event.
• Phoenix International Raceway would have an earlier slot on the schedule, perhaps moving up to as early as the second race of the year. Contacted by SPEED.com, a PIR spokesman declined comment on the possible date change.
• A spokesperson for Dover International Speedway confirmed that that track will have two Cup races next year, although no dates were announced.
• Although Las Vegas Motor Speedway has lobbied hard for a second date, specifically to host the season-ending race, the 2011 Sprint Cup season is expected to once again conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
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