We’re a quarter of the way into the 21st century and the 2025 racing season is about a month away. The first points-paying weekend for the NASCAR national series and the ARCA Menards Series is at Daytona International Speedway from Feb. 12-16.
The ’25 schedule only saw two racetracks depart the NASCAR national series schedules: the Milwaukee Mile and the Los Angeles Coliseum. Additionally, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course joined Milwaukee as the two tracks no longer on the series 2025 schedule.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, Bowman Gray Stadium will host the Busch Light Clash. The series will also head to Mexico to compete at road course Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the first time.
Read all of Frontstretch‘s content looking back on 2024 here
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will join Cup at Autodromo, though the series previously competed there. Otherwise, the only two new racetracks both not on any 2024 series schedule are Lime Rock Park and Rockingham Speedway via the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
First, let’s bid adieu to the departed racetracks from 2024.
The Milwaukee Mile
Series hosted: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East
The 1-mile Wisconsin racetrack hosted a pair of Truck races in 2023-2024 and four straight years of combo races featuring ARCA and its East division from 2021-2024.
Milwaukee previously hosted the Xfinity Series 19 times, including from 1993-2009. The Truck Series visited the West Allis, Wis., venue 17 times, and ARCA did likewise nine times.
Despite the Truck Series expanding its schedule from 23 races to 25, NASCAR national series drivers will not compete in Wisconsin in 2025.
In short, the decision to depart Milwaukee came down to scheduling. The NTT IndyCar Series will return to Milwaukee for the first time since 2015. That weekend was the one NASCAR wanted for the Truck Series.
The Truck schedule for this year has a few wrinkles. Chief among them are Lime Rock and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL joining the schedule.
ARCA will return to the 0.5-mile short track Madison International Speedway for the first time since 2019. Wisconsin is known for its many short tracks and prestigious races such as the Slinger Nationals. While the ASA Stars Super Late Model Late Model National Tour will go to two Wisconsin short tracks, the difference between an ARCA racecar or a late model at a short track compared to a NASCAR national car, and all that comes with a national tour race date, is large.
On the other hand, I never thought I’d see NASCAR return to North Wilkesboro Speedway or Rockingham or go street course racing in Chicago, so never say never.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Series hosted: NASCAR Cup Series
Likewise, I never thought I’d see NASCAR racing on a football field. For a cherry on top, the football field also holds the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. About a month later, the LA Coliseum held the Busch Light Clash for three straight years. The football field was transformed into a 0.25-mile short track, and because it was an exhibition, not all 36 chartered entries made the feature event, the Clash itself.
In year one, the hype was legitimately noticeable. Joey Logano won the event. Year two featured 16 cautions and an average green-flag run of 9.6 laps. Even though it was an exhibition, a crash-filled Clash was not Days of Thunder short track racing. It was a caution-fest.
Last year topped it all with headlines. Historic rainfall was set to fall upon California on the Clash race date. For the benefit of all involved, including local first responders and law enforcement, NASCAR moved the race up one day. It was a stunner but a necessary step. ARCA continued that trend by then moving its season opener at Daytona International Speedway one day a few weeks later due to inclement weather.
Denny Hamlin triumphed in the ’24 edition, and after three years at the Coliseum, the Clash will be held on the opposite side of the country.
This year the Clash will take place at the famed Bowman Gray. The Cup Series ran there 23 times in points-paying events, but it was last there in 1971.
Yet the Next Gen has been to Bowman Gray. In advance of the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum, NASCAR tested the Next Gen at Bowman Gray. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart were the drivers. Even though it was a test session in Oct. 2021, Earnhardt praised the Next Gen’s performance at Bowman Gray.
“I think this car is a great match for this track or any track … I’m sold now,” he said. “This car does everything better. I was skeptical, but I think it’s going to work really well.
“The car gets around the corner. I thought the track would be too small for our cars and they just wouldn’t handle and drive well, but this is a totally different beast. This car does all the things that I was worried about. It does them all and it does them well.”
Cup teams have three years of experience with the Next Gen. If Earnhardt praised it at Bowman Gray then, imagine the spectacle it will be with the Cup drivers racing there on Feb. 2.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Series hosted: ARCA Menards Series
The 2.258-mile road course made this column last year after the Truck Series left, but ARCA returned in 2024.
Without the Truck Series there though, the ARCA event lost much of its luster. Despite the most drivers competing there in the four years, Brad Perez and Connor Mosack were the only two NASCAR drivers to join the ARCA field.
Mosack was involved in a controversial finish, too. When the field restarted the race for the final time, series officials deemed Mosack jumped the restart ahead of leader Brent Crews. Mosack refused to serve his pass-through penalty, and although he crossed the finish line first, ARCA awarded the victory to William Sawalich.
IndyCar will visit Mid-Ohio in 2025, but NASCAR and ARCA are gone. After running together at Mid-Ohio in 2022 and ’23, the Trucks and ARCA will both visit Lime Rock in 2025. The 1.53-mile road course in Connecticut hosted the ARCA East division 18 times, but that was last in 2010. Now, Lime Rock will get its chance to shine on national TV on June 28.
About the author
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.
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Fact check, The Rose Bowl has never been played in the LA Coliseum. It is played in Rose Bowl Stadium in nearby Pasadena, CA.