2020 Schedule is Worth the Wait

Is it 2020 yet? On Tuesday, NASCAR revealed the 2020 Cup Series schedule, loaded with changes from what fans are used to. The announcement left fans champing at the bit to bypass 2019 and dive into the new schedule.

Let’s break it down the big changes in chronological order, shall we?

The West Coast Swing kicks off immediately after Daytona, pushing Atlanta to March 15.

For a few years now, Atlanta Motor Speedway has followed the Daytona 500 on the Cup Series slate. The teams would then pack up and head to the west coast before coming back east to Martinsville. In 2020, NASCAR has decided to start the “West Coast Swing” on Feb 23, the week immediately after the 500, with a trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The series then goes to Auto Club and ISM Raceway to finish out the swing, before coming back to Atlanta on March 15.

Jonny K’s thoughts: This is a great move. Fans in the Atlanta area have always complained of two things: “Daytona Fatigue” and that the weather is not right in Atlanta in mid-February. “Daytona Fatigue” can be explained by the fans in the south east market (the tracks are less than 450 miles apart) not wanting to commit to Atlanta after the hype, build-up, and two week celebration that is the season opener at Daytona. Having the race March 15, eliminates that and also gives Atlanta a better chance to have good weather for a change.

Homestead-Miami Speedway loses the finale and moves to March 22.

After hosting the NASCAR Championship Weekend since 2003 Homestead-Miami Speedway has its date moved all the way up to March 22 (more on this later), sandwiched between Atlanta and Texas.

Jonny K’s thoughts: I’m not going to spend too much time here, as I will discuss the finale move in another section. All I will say is that HMS is some of the best racing we watch all year, with multiple grooves of racing. I am glad they didn’t lose their race entirely.

Martinsville finally gets its night race on Mother’s Day weekend!

Martinsville gets to put to use the LED lights they installed for the 2017 season this year, as the Cup Series heads to southern Virginia on May 9.

Jonny K’s thoughts: Fans, drivers, teams, promoters, have all been clamoring for this change for longer than Martinsville even had lights. This is a great change. The fall race at Martinsville is usually a great race with great finishes (see Hamlin v. Elliott and Logano v. Truex Jr.). The spring race leaves a little to be desired (see Keselowski, Brad). I think this will light a fire under the drivers’ butts to be the first one to win the Martinsville night race.

Pocono gets a Saturday/Sunday doubleheader instead of two dates

Pocono Raceway will host a Cup Series doubleheader on Saturday June 27 and Sunday June 28. This will be the first time in NASCAR’S modern era that points-paying Cup races will be run on consecutive days. Pocono also announced they plan to run ARCA, Xfinity, and Truck races all on that same weekend. That’s a lot of racing.

Jonny K’s thoughts: It seems Pocono took a giant risk here maybe being told they would lose their second date if they didn’t. I think this is an intriguing idea, and I plan to go. I will not attend all five races, as that is probably just too much on the wallet, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out once the specifics are announced. Will it be two 400 milers? How many cars can the teams use? Will the teams be conservative in race 1? I’m cautiously optimistic for this.

The Brickyard 400 moves to Fourth of July weekend

Indianapolis flips dates with the Daytona night race (still to come!) in 2020 and takes the July 4 weekend slot. NASCAR had previously moved the race to September after being held in July or August most years.

Jonny K’s thoughts: Something had to be done here. The racing at IMS has simply not been good enough. I think this move however, was a result of another move we will talk about later. NASCAR moved Indy away from the summer partially to help with the heat. I’m guessing they’re banking on the holiday weekend to get people to come regardless of the heat. Larry McReynold’s floated a good idea for this race, saying that they should move it to Saturday, July 4 itself, and start the race at 10am, to both serve tradition (NASCAR used to do this), and to beat the heat of the day.

Two-week break in late July, early August.

NASCAR will give the Cup series a two-week break starting July 26.

Jonny K’s thoughts: Not much to say here. This move was NBC driven. They need all the coverage they can get at the Olympics. The other option was to run Cup races on NBC channels many fans don’t get. Plus it gives the drivers and crew much needed time off in the summer.

The Daytona night race ends the regular season

Daytona’s night race moves to Saturday August 29 to end the regular season after taking place July 4 weekend for as long as anyone can remember. This will provide probably the most unique regular season finale we’ve had thus far.

Jonny K’s thoughts: I’m ok with bucking tradition and moving this race away from July 4 to end the regular season. The media however is hyping this as, “this will give the smaller teams a chance to qualify for the playoffs by winning at Daytona in the finale.” Smaller teams have always had the chance to qualify for the playoffs at Daytona. In fact, they have three chances; the 500, Talladega, and the July Daytona race. Moving the race closer to the playoffs didn’t change any of that. All this did is provide an extra bit of anxiety for those teams sitting on the bubble in 14th, 15th, 16th place going into the regular season finale.

The Playoffs have a new look

NASCAR shook up the Cup playoffs for 2020 with some significant changes. Darlington will open the playoffs. Bristol, the Roval, and Martinsville will now be the three cutoff races for the rounds of 16, 12, and 8 respectively.

Jonny K’s thoughts: I like these playoff changes. NASCAR added some challenges by including Darlington in the mix. They also ramped up the short tracks presence by adding Bristol. There is now a great mix of short tracks, 1.5 milers, and uniqueness like Darlington and the Roval. The Martinsville race being the cutoff to make the Championship 4 will make it all the more exciting as drivers will do whatever it takes to win if they are in the Round of 8. And that all leads to the final big change…

ISM Raceway in Phoenix will be the new host of NASCAR Championship Weekend.

As previously mentioned, Miami will no longer be the host city for NASCAR Championship Weekend. That honor now belongs to Phoenix.

Jonny K’s thoughts: The folks at ISM raceway just dumped a bunch of money into renovations and reconfiguration. They have the venue for it. Phoenix is as good a city as any to host a championship. They do it all the time. I liked having the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but I am all for this change only if it leads to one thing: A Championship race track rotation. NASCAR is leading us to believe that if Phoenix is successful, it will be the new home of the finale. However, there are a growing number of drivers and media who would like to see the race moved around to four or five different tracks. I think that is the best option. NASCAR has followed in the footsteps of stick and ball sports before. It’s time to do it again.