Sprint Cup calendar announced

The calendar has little change relative to the current season, with the races being run in the same order and at the same 21 venues, repeating most of them in the second half of the year as usual.

There will be only three off-weekends from the first race of the year and until the last on November 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the first of them during the Easter holiday. The second one will be in April and the last one in July.

"By running five consecutive points events before the first scheduled break in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the 2008 schedule is designed to be even more fan friendly," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

The only race of the year at Chicagoland, which is set for 12 July, will be run at night for the first time next year. The rest of the events are scheduled to run around the same time as this season.

"Night racing provides an additional element of intrigue and excitement," France added. "Running under the lights at Chicagoland Speedway on a Saturday night will be even more exciting for the fans in the stands as well as those watching from home."

The Chase for the Sprint Cup will start on September 14 at New Hampshire International Speedway, a week after the 26th event of the season at Richmond International Raceway, the last race eligible to get points to qualify for the Chase.

The first non-points event, the Budweiser Shootout, will be run on Saturday February 9 at Daytona International Speedway, while the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge is currently scheduled for May 17 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Both dates are tentative and could change however.

Feb. 9     Budweiser Shootout at Daytona
Feb. 17    Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 24    California Speedway
March 2    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 9    Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 16   Bristol Motor Speedway
March 30   Martinsville Speedway
April 6    Texas Motor Speedway
April 12   Phoenix International Raceway
April 27   Talladega Superspeedway
May 3      Richmond International Raceway
May 10     Darlington Raceway
May 17     NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge
May 25     Lowe's Motor Speedway
June 1     Dover International Speedway
June 8     Pocono Raceway
June 15    Michigan International Speedway
June 22    Infineon Raceway
June 29    New Hampshire International Speedway
July 5     Daytona International Speedway
July 12    Chicagoland Speedway
July 27    Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug. 3     Pocono Raceway
Aug. 10    Watkins Glen International
Aug. 17    Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 23    Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 31    California Speedway
Sept. 6    Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 14   New Hampshire International Speedway
Sept. 21   Dover International Speedway
Sept. 28   Kansas Speedway
Oct. 5     Talladega Superspeedway
Oct. 11    Lowe's Motor Speedway
Oct. 19    Martinsville Speedway
Oct. 26    Atlanta Motor Speedway
Nov. 2     Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 9     Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 16    Homestead-Miami Speedway