NASCAR recently released the schedule for 2016 and even though the 2015 NASCAR season isn’t quite over with, many are looking forward to next year and hopefully a better performance.
The 2016 NASCAR Schedule Magnet only has a few changes from the 2015 NASCAR Schedule Magnet, most notably in the middle of the season: Richmond’s April race is switching to a day-time race instead of the traditional night-time race, & Dover’s typical early-June race is pushed back into mid-May because of how the schedule goes with the new off-weekend in June that the drivers get.
This is, of course, good for the drivers, but that means the avid fans will have to find something else to do during that June weekend. The other change is to the August Michigan race, which is pushed back to the end of August because of changes to the schedule NASCAR had to make because of NBC’s coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games. The August off-weekend will now be in the middle of August instead of at the end; it essentially appears that the off-weekend and the Michigan race traded places.
The Chase portion of the schedule stays the same, no additions or substitutions this year, so fans that have been clamoring for a road course in The Chase will have to wait a while longer. NASCAR fans can take consolation that NASCAR has at least been discussing the possibility of adding a road course.
So who can we possibly see shine next season? While it can be difficult to tell from one race to another, looking at the current season can give us an indication of who should do well. We didn’t really have any flukes as to who made it into The Chase, so all the current Chase drivers should do well again next season.
We won’t see Jeff Gordon again next season, since he is retiring, but his replacement driver, Chase Elliott, is expected to do very well. Will he be the next Jeff Gordon? Chase Elliott may or may not move up and do great right off the bat, but with the talent this young driver has and the equipment, he’s sure to be a force to be reckoned with in his time in the Cup series.
Here’s the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule (available for your custom logo on your own 2016 NASCAR Schedule Magnets, beginning in late-December 2015/early January 2016)
Feb. 13 – Sprint Unlimited (Daytona International Speedway)
Feb. 21 – Daytona 500
Feb. 28 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 6 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 13 – Phoenix International Raceway
March 20 – Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, Calif.)
April 3 – Martinsville Speedway
April 9 – Texas Motor Speedway
April 17 – Bristol Motor Speedway
April 24 – Richmond International Raceway
May 1 – Talladega Superspeedway
May 7 – Kansas Speedway
May 15 – Dover International Speedway
May 21 – NASCAR All-Star Race (Charlotte Motor Speedway)
May 29 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 5 – Pocono Raceway
June 12 – Michigan International Speedway
June 26 – Sonoma Raceway
July 2 – Daytona International Speedway
July 9 – Kentucky Speedway
July 17 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 24 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
July 31 – Pocono Raceway
Aug. 7 – Watkins Glen International
Aug. 20 – Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 28 – Michigan International Speedway
Sept. 4 – Darlington Raceway
Sept. 10 – Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 18 – Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 25 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 2 – Dover International Speedway
Oct. 8 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct. 16 – Kansas Speedway
Oct. 23 – Talladega Superspeedway
Oct. 30 – Martinsville Speedway
Nov. 6 – Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 13 – Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 20 – Homestead-Miami Speedway