COTA, Road America, Bristol dirt among 2021 Cup Series additions

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | September 30, 2020 10:10 AM

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will feature an increase in road course races, new venues and a return to dirt.

Officials will officially announce the full schedule later this afternoon while a few tracks have already begun confirming their dates. RACER has also obtained a copy of the schedule already circulating through the industry.

There are many notable changes, starting with Homestead-Miami Speedway moving to the second race of the year after the Daytona 500. Nashville, Circuit of The Americas, Road America and the Indianapolis road course, are new to the schedule.

Bristol will be covered in dirt for its spring race. It will be the first Cup Series dirt race since 1970.

As previously revealed, Chicagoland and Kentucky have lost a race date, as did Dover and Michigan. On the other side, Atlanta and Darlington have added a second event. Pocono Raceway keeps its June doubleheader.

The All-Star Race moves from Bristol to Texas Motor Speedway. All 10 playoff races remain unchanged beginning at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 5. NASCAR Cup Series teams will run six road course races in 2021 with three new additions to the schedule.

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COTA joins Indianapolis — announced this morning — and Road America as new road course events. Cup Series teams already compete at Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and the Charlotte Roval. The May 23, 2021 race will be the first time NASCAR has visited COTA.

“Our company is proud to have a 60-year history of fabulous firsts in motorsports entertainment, and we are honored to bring America’s premier racing series to one of the world’s most renowned entertainment venues and cities for the very first time,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith.

“I’d like to thank COTA CEO Bobby Epstein as well as NASCAR’s executive leadership for supporting us in an endeavor to do something that we believe will be spectacular for race fans, not only in Texas but around the world. We work and challenge ourselves every day at Speedway Motorsports to create amazing experiences that will last a lifetime, and we know NASCAR at COTA will deliver in 2021.”

Set outside Austin, Texas, the track has hosted Formula 1, IndyCar and MotoGP races. Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart drove a stock car around the course in a demonstration run last year (pictured above).

“I’m grateful for Marcus Smith’s vision and determination to make this event possible,” said track CEO and Chairman Bobby Epstein. “His teams in Charlotte and at Texas Motor Speedway have created a spirit of partnership that will make for a spectacular weekend of fun and competition. Speedway Motorsports, along with the leadership at NASCAR, have a ‘Fans First’ attitude and have responded to everyone who has long desired to see a Cup Series race at COTA.

“Fans who’ve been here before will witness stock car racing at its finest for the first time, and first-time visitors will be amazed at the views and friendly experience. It will be our pleasure to write another chapter of motorsports history alongside Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR in 2021.”

Elkhart Lake’s Road America will host the Cup Series on the NASCAR Cup Series on the Fourth of July in 2021.

“Since we welcomed the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2010, our fans have been asking for the NASCAR Cup Series, and we are very proud to make it happen on the Fourth of July,” said Road America’s President and General Manager Mike Kertscher. “The weekend is going to be memorable and exciting for everyone as we celebrate Independence Day at ‘America’s National Park of Speed.’ We encourage new and returning fans to get their tickets and campsites early because we intend to host four full days of on-track action. Our entire staff is excited to welcome the teams, drivers, and new visitors to show them that Road America is the ideal facility to come for the experience and stay for the race.”

The new event actually marks a return, rather than a debut, for NASCAR’s top series to Road America. At the urging of Carl Kiekhaefer of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the Grand National Division (now NASCAR Cup) ran on the Elkhart Lake circuit on August 12, 1956. Many of the 26 drivers who took the green flag that day read like a who’s who of the early days in NASCAR racing – Lee Petty, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, and Fireball Roberts were a few notables, but Tim Flock took the checkered flag, in the rain, driving a Mercury, at a speed of a top speed of 71.4 mph.

2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule:

Feb. 9 – Clash (Daytona road course)

Feb. 11 – Duel at Daytona

Feb. 14 – Daytona 500

Feb. 21 – Homestead-Miami Speedway

Feb. 28 – Auto Club Speedway

March 7 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway

March 14 – Phoenix Raceway

March 21 – Atlanta Motor Speedway

March 28 – Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt)

April 10 – Martinsville Speedway

April 18 – Richmond Raceway

April 25 – Talladega Superspeedway

May 2 – Kansas Speedway

May 9 – Darlington Raceway

May 16 – Dover International Speedway

May 23 – Circuit of the Americas (COTA)

May 30 – Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 6 – Sonoma Raceway

June 13 – All-Star Race (Texas)

June 20 – Nashville Superspeedway

June 26-27 – Pocono Raceway

July 4 – Road America

July 11 – Atlanta Motor Speedway

July 18 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Aug. 8 – Watkins Glen

Aug. 15 – Indianapolis road course

Aug. 22 – Michigan International Speedway

Aug. 28 – Daytona International Speedway

Sept. 5 – Darlington Raceway

Sept. 11 – Richmond Raceway

Sept. 18 – Bristol Motor Speedway

Sept. 26 – Las Vegas

Oct. 3 – Talladega Superspeedway

Oct. 10 – Charlotte Roval

Oct. 17 – Texas Motor Speedway

Oct. 24 – Kansas Speedway

Oct. 31 – Martinsville Speedway

Nov. 7 – Phoenix Raceway

Bristol, COTA, Road America, Cup Series, NASCAR

 

Fan demand led Bristol back to dirt

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | September 30, 2020 12:17 PM

Bristol Motor Speedway says fan demand was what drove the decision to transform its half-mile facility into a dirt track for the spring 2021 NASCAR Cup Series race. The Food City 500 is set for March 28, 2021.

“As everyone knows, Bristol Motor Speedway is the home to big events, and we feel like this will be one of the most anticipated races in the NASCAR Cup Series in quite some time,” said BMS executive vice president and general manager Jerry Caldwell. “We have proven in the past that we know how to transform Bristol Motor Speedway into one of the most pristine dirt facilities anywhere around, so we can’t wait to see how the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will perform on the high banks at the World’s Fastest dirt Half-Mile.”

Richard Petty won the last Cup Series race on dirt in 1970 at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina. But it will be the third time that Bristol has converted to a dirt track, as it hosted the World of Outlaws in 2000 and 2001.

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“We are blessed here at Bristol Motor Speedway to have held some really captivating events in the last 60 years,” Caldwell said. “Hosting the tradition-rich Food City race on dirt is certainly an event that will immediately jump on the list of some of the most compelling events that have taken center stage at Bristol Motor Speedway.”

Details on the track layout and what the format for the race would be were not announced. It is also yet to be determined if there will be any additional races running with the Cup Series that weekend.

“When I heard we were going on dirt, I was pumped,” said Austin Dillon, who participated in the Bristol announcement. “Being the guy to win the truck race at Eldora (in 2013) and now having the opportunity to race on dirt at Bristol … I remember when the World of Outlaws were at Bristol and just thinking how cool it would be to run that track on dirt. Now I’m going to get the opportunity, and it’s going to be awesome.”

Bristol, Dirt, NASCAR 2021, Cup Series, NASCAR