Multiple sources have confirmed to Frontstretch that the Daytona International Speedway road course will replace Auto Club Speedway on the 2021 NASCAR schedule in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series.
The race at Auto Club was slated to be the third race of the season. With the move to Daytona, it will bump up to the second weekend of 2021 — running the week following the Daytona 500.
This will push the scheduled weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway back to the third race of the season. Additionally, the Camping World Truck Series’ race scheduled to be held at Homestead has been moved to the Daytona road course.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, sporting events in Southern California have recently been canceled or moved to a different location. This is the next move, as the race weekend was scheduled to feature the Cup Series and Xfinity Series on Feb. 27 and 28.
In August, NASCAR took to the Daytona road course for the first time, spanning across all three national touring series. Sheldon Creed, Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott were the winners of each respective race.
NASCAR declined to comment, but an announcement is expected to come later this afternoon.
The sanctioning body is set on returning to the 2-mile layout at Auto Club in 2022 before turning the venue into a half-mile, high-banked short track, as The Athletic first reported in September.
About the author
Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.
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NASCAR seems to be turning into the SCCA. What’s next brake lights?
When should we expect the Sonoma and Glen replacements to be announced?
Might not be needed, if we all get the vaccine (even if they have to bride us to get it) by then.
Wow,,, already rescheduling 2021 races because of Covid. I suppose it makes more sense than waiting another month or two before making the announcement. It’s almost a forgone conclusion that the pandemic will still be going strong in March. I wish they would have picked something else beside the road course at Daytona. I wonder how many other dominoes will fall in the next few weeks.
The second win of the season for Chase.
Great news for Chase Elliott, fresh off his win there last summer and the Rolex 24-hour race a few weeks earlier. Couldn’t be a better time to be the Road Course Ace!
Really surprising choice for a track, isn’t it?
The reasons for the choice had nothing to do with Chase. Florida has virtually no COVID restrictions, while California has some of the most stringent rules. Plus the teams would already be at Daytona. Chase seems to benefit, but the choice was made for practical reasons, not favoritism.
With the fan restrictions why not go to New Smyrna?. It’s down the road from DIS and the “racing” would be better there than at the gimmick road course.
If Sonoma is indeed the next to go, SMI then could give that date to….Kentucky (?!)?