For the primary time since 2017, NASCAR‘s fall weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway will return to the oval in 2026.
Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith confirmed Tuesday on the “Dale Jr. Obtain” podcast that the traditional 1.5-mile oval will host the NASCAR Cup Sequence, O‘Reilly Auto Components Sequence and Craftsman Truck Sequence Oct. Sep 11, shifting away from the Charlotte Roval after eight seasons on the highway course-oval mixture. The information was first reported by .
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Charlotte has hosted NASCAR not less than twice yearly because the facility opened in 1960, that includes the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend in Could along with a fall weekend in October. For 57 years, all of these occasions have been held on the 1.5-mile oval till the Roval debuted on the game‘s calendar in 2018.
In a 12 months earmarked for a return towards NASCAR‘s roots as the game returns to The Chase, Smith and his group decided the time was proper to retire the Roval and return to the oval.
“Charlotte Motor Speedway has all the time been about improvements and alternative,” Marcus Smith, president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, stated in a launch. “The Roval delivered dramatic racing when many followers have been calling for a highway course within the playoffs. Now there‘s an vitality across the return of The Chase and followers are seeing the thrill that oval racing continues to generate on mile-and-a-half tracks. This feels just like the time to deliver the autumn race again to the legendary oval at a spot the place NASCAR historical past is made yearly.”
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The Financial institution of America 400 on Sunday, Oct. 11 would be the website of the Cup Sequence‘ sixth race in The Chase, a return to the championship format that can decide the collection‘ title winner by factors gathered over the ultimate 10 races of the season. The O‘Reilly Auto Components Sequence‘ Blue Cross NC 250 on Oct. 10 and the Truck Sequence‘ EcoSave 250 on Oct. 9 will even function occasions within the respective collection‘ championship Chase.
The Roval occasion debuted in 2018, utilizing a lot of the oval-track configuration with parts of the infield road-course format that had been utilized in sports-car competitors. The two.32-mile circuit arrived throughout a road-racing increase for NASCAR’s high collection, and the Roval turned a fixture as an elimination race every year underneath the earlier postseason format.
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A basic view of racing in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Financial institution of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 5, 2025 in Harmony, North Carolina.
The 2022 debut of the Subsequent Gen automotive that’s at the moment used within the Cup Sequence, nonetheless, introduced newfound vibrance to the racing on intermediate-sized ovals resembling Charlotte. That sentiment led to NASCAR competitors officers working with Speedway Motorsports to regulate the 2026 schedule.
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“The voice of the passionate NASCAR fan is the place to begin of each resolution we make, and Marcus, Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR heard them loud and clear — with the return of The Chase, let‘s return to the oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” Steve O‘Donnell, NASCAR president, stated in a launch. “As The Chase returns, we’re placing a highlight on efficiency whereas honoring the tracks and traditions which have outlined championship moments. Charlotte Motor Speedway‘s historic oval has performed a central function in a few of the sport‘s most memorable races, so bringing The Chase again to the 1.5-mile configuration for our followers merely felt proper.”
These emotions are reciprocated by the opponents themselves. Brad Keselowski (2013) and Joey Logano (2015) are the one two lively drivers who’ve gained a fall race on the Charlotte oval. Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Sequence title winner, championed the transfer again to the 1.5-mile oval.
“Shifting the autumn Charlotte race again to the oval actually brings the game again to its roots,” stated Keselowski, the 2020 Coca-Cola 600 winner. “That race has a lot historical past, and profitable there’s a huge deal that I‘ve been lucky to do. The racing with the Subsequent Gen automotive at Charlotte has been a few of the finest we‘ve seen anyplace, and I feel placing it again on the oval goes to create an unbelievable present. It‘s the form of race our followers count on and deserve.”
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson every gained two Cup Sequence races in the course of the eight-year run for the Roval format. Shane van Gisbergen was the newest Cup winner, the place he roared to victory by a whopping 15.160 seconds over Larson.
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AJ Allmendinger savored probably the most national-series success in the course of the Roval period, profitable 4 occasions within the O’Reilly Auto Components Sequence and notching the newest of his three Cup Sequence wins in 2023.
Tickets for the autumn NASCAR weekend . In response to a monitor press launch, followers searching for one of the best worth should purchase NASCAR season ticket packages which embody each the Coca-Cola 600 and Financial institution of America 400 tripleheader race weekends with discounted tickets, free most well-liked parking, present store reductions and free O‘Reilly Auto Components Sequence tickets to the Blue Cross NC 250.
Followers who’ve already bought fall race weekend tickets and have additional questions ought to contact the ticket workplace by calling 800-455-FANS (3267). For ticket data, schedule updates and extra, go to www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.
Contributing: Workers studies
