Daytona Road Course Highlights August NASCAR Slate

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR officials released the sanctioning body’s schedule for the month of August on Wednesday afternoon, highlighted by a four-division weekend on the Daytona Int’l Speedway road course.

In all, 19 races between Aug. 7 and Aug. 30 were confirmed in the latest calendar update, spanning the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East.

The weekend of Aug. 14-16 was the eye-popper of the bunch, however, with action taking to the track on the 3.56-mile Daytona Int’l Speedway road course — the first time any of NASCAR’s three national divisions will tackle the Daytona road course in its long history.

The quadruple-header features an ARCA Menards Series event on Friday, Aug. 14, a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Aug. 15 and a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader on Sunday, Aug. 16.

In March, it was announced that the 2021 Busch Clash at Daytona would move to the speedway’s 3.56-mile road course and be held under the lights on Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Now, fans will get an early look at what that action may look like, only with championship points on the line.

“Daytona Int’l Speedway has a storied history like no other in motorsports,” said Speedway President Chip Wile. “The sport of NASCAR gets to add a surprise chapter of road course racing to the venue’s legacy. Throughout the years, we have had many memorable moments with sports cars and motorcycles, but now NASCAR will take center stage on the road course at the World Center of Racing.”

Next month’s Daytona road course weekend replaces NASCAR’s annual visit to Watkins Glen Int’l in New York, with current New York health regulations necessitating the change.

“This is an unprecedented time in the history of our nation and Watkins Glen International,” said WGI President Michael Printup. “The dynamic situation we are all confronting is impacting our daily lives and activities in unimaginable ways.

“While we are disappointed we will not experience NASCAR in New York this year, as we look broadly at the current pandemic in our country and around the world, we must focus first on everyone’s safety and well-being as NASCAR seeks the best way to continue delivering a remarkable on-track product week after week.”

Michigan Int’l Speedway kicks off the next slate of the revised schedule, with a Friday evening Truck Series event on Aug. 6, followed by a Cup Series doubleheader Aug. 7-8 at the two-mile oval.

The ARCA Menards Series will race at Michigan on Aug. 8, prior to the Cup Series event.

Following the Daytona road course weekend, Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway will host six races over three days, including the second NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader in a three-week span.

Action begins with the ARCA Menards Series East and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series on Friday, Aug. 21, followed by a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22-23.

Each of the Dover Xfinity races will be 200 miles in length, while the Dover Cup races will be 311 miles — or 500 kilometers — in length.

The last weekend in August will feature a pair of twinbills at two very different race tracks.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series will return to Daytona Int’l Speedway on Aug. 28-29 for the regularly-scheduled weekend on the 2.5-mile oval, highlighted by the regular season finale for the Cup Series — the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Meanwhile, the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series head for World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Aug. 29-30, as part of a joint weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series.

The Truck Series race at Gateway, originally scheduled as the first race in the playoffs, is now round No. 14 of the regular season for that division.

“Pulling this all together has taken three months of work with our sponsors, sanctioning bodies, local officials and staff,” said Curtis Francois, President and CEO of World Wide Technology Raceway. “We know that we will still be working lots of pieces of this logistical puzzle as we prepare for the event, but we are blessed with a huge outdoor grandstand capacity and open-air midways that will enable us to social distance and provide a safe, responsible and comfortable event experience for the fans who are able to attend.

“Every possible effort will be made to ensure that our fans will enjoy another great racing experience at WWTR.”

Additional realignment notes include the following:

— The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Daytona on Aug. 16 has been realigned from Iowa Speedway.

— The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Trucks Series will not run at Eldora Speedway, originally scheduled for July 30, or Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, originally scheduled for Sept. 6. Those realignment dates and locations are to be determined.

— The NASCAR Xfinity Series race from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, originally scheduled for May 30, has been realigned to a date and location to be determined.

— The NASCAR Xfinity Series race from Michigan, originally scheduled for June 6, has been realigned to a date and location to be determined.

2020 August NASCAR National Series Calendar