2018 NASCAR Cup Series calendar includes Charlotte road course
The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will feature a road course event for the first time in 2018

NASCAR revealed its calendar for next season on Tuesday and confirmed Charlotte Motor Speedway's playoff race will be run on its infield layout instead of the 1.5-mile oval, as predicted by Autosport and sister publication Motorsport.com.
The transformation of Charlotte's September 30 playoff elimination event into a road course round means NASCAR's premier category has three such races for the first time.
Sonoma and Watkins Glen retain their places on the calendar for the 2018 championship, which will kick off with the Daytona 500 on February 18.
As expected, the Indianapolis race moves from its long-time late-July date to become the final race of the 'regular season' on September 9 before the playoffs begin at Las Vegas.
Las Vegas's new position as the first playoff race is helped by fresh $2.5million annual investment from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to promote both its Cup rounds.

The previous playoff-opening venue, Chicagoland, moves to a July 1 date.
"I think a lot of it had to do with what we've heard from the fans over a period of time," said NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations Jim Cassidy.
"As the playoffs have continued to evolve and we've incorporated elimination into the playoffs, we've heard from our fans that they like to see some different variety in the places that we go during the playoffs.
"Most notably, the road course at Charlotte and the addition of the short track at Richmond are a couple of opportunities that presented themselves during the course of a lot of conversations with a lot of folks in the industry, and we were able to land in a good place."
2018 NASCAR CUP SERIES CALENDAR
February 11 Daytona (Clash)
February 15 Daytona (Duel)
February 18 Daytona 500
February 25 Atlanta
March 4 Las Vegas
March 11 Phoenix
March 18 Fontana
March 25 Martinsville
April 8 Texas
April 15 Bristol
April 21 Richmond
April 29 Talladega
May 6 Dover
May 12 Kansas
May 19 Charlotte (All-Star Race)
May 27 Charlotte
June 3 Pocono
June 10 Michigan
June 24 Sonoma
July 1 Chicagoland
July 7 Daytona
July 14 Kentucky
July 22 New Hampshire
July 29 Pocono
August 5 Watkins Glen
August 12 Michigan
August 18 Bristol
September 2 Darlington
September 9 Indianapolis
-----------------------
September 16 Las Vegas
September 22 Richmond
September 30 Charlotte (road course)
-----------------------
October 7 Dover
October 14 Talladega
October 21 Kansas
-----------------------
October 28 Martinsville
November 4 Texas
November 11 Phoenix
-----------------------
November 18 Homestead

Calls for NASCAR All-Star to move after poor 2017 race
Dale Earnhardt Jr starting to worry about poor NASCAR Cup form

Latest news
Double F1 race winner Jean Pierre Jabouille has died
Former French Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille has died on Thursday at age 80, French media have reported.
IMSA champion Jarvis to contest full ELMS season with United Autosports
Reigning IMSA Sportscar Championship title-winner Oliver Jarvis will contest the European Le Mans Series with United Autosports alongside Formula 2 convert Marino Sato, in addition to the World Endurance Championship.
20 years on: Porsche’s 911 GT Daytona 24 Hours giant-killing relived
IMSA’s new GTP class for LMDh cars had a more auspicious debut last weekend than the Daytona Prototypes that arrived in 2003. Back then, they were humbled by a GT Porsche 911, which won the Floridian sportscar classic by nine laps.
Entries open for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award story
Entries have opened for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award, with budding motorsport engineers invited to apply for the revamped prize.
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his team-mate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson’s journey to the 2021 NASCAR Cup title comes straight from the Hollywood blockbuster scripts. While Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines for both the right and the wrong reasons
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup Series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.