NASCAR Cup Series 2025 schedule from The Clash and Daytona 500 to championship race
NASCAR is back. The offseason is over. Batteries have been recharged, and it's time for drivers to start their engines again.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this weekend with the Clash exhibition race, which this year moves from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to an historic racing site: Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Then, it's on to NASCAR's most well-known venue, Daytona International Speedway, as the series gears up for its most famous race, the Daytona 500, on Sunday, Feb. 16. Daytona marks the first of 26 regular-season races that will take drivers all over the country and to all different types of ovals, not to mention road and street courses.
Much like the regular season starts at Daytona, it ends there, too, with the speedway hosting the final race before the 10-race playoff commences. The playoffs will begin Aug. 31 at Darlington Raceway, and the 2025 Cup Series champion will be crowned Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.
Here's what to know about the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, including TV channels and streaming options:
DAYTONA 500:Legendary IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves to make NASCAR debut
When does the 2025 NASCAR season begin?
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series kicks off the weekend of Feb. 1-2 with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The race will be held Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. ET (Fox).
The action begins Saturday, Feb. 1 with practice and qualifying at 6 p.m. ET (FS1), followed by heat races at 8 p.m. ET (FS1). On Sunday, a last-chance qualifying race at 6 p.m. ET and a pre-race show at 7:30 p.m. (both on Fox) will precede The Clash.
When is the 2025 Daytona 500?
The 2025 Daytona 500 will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET (Fox) at Daytona International Speedway.
Leading up to the legendary race, the track will hold Daytona Speedweeks with pole qualifying on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 8:15 p.m. ET (FS1), followed by the twin Daytona Duel races on Thursday, Feb. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. ET (FS1). Daytona then hosts the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Friday, Feb. 14, for its opening race of 2025, followed by the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the year on Saturday, Feb. 15.
When does the 2025 NASCAR season end?
The 2025 season ends on Sunday, Nov. 2 with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC).
Who is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion?
Team Penske driver Joey Logano won the 2024 NASCAR Championship Race and will be back in the No. 22 Ford.
What TV channels are broadcasting NASCAR in 2025?
Fox or FS1 will televise all NASCAR Cup Series races between Feb. 1 and the All-Star Race on May 18. Amazon Prime Video will broadcast five races, beginning with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. TNT will then pick up the action June 28 in Atlanta for five races before ceding the remainder of the season to USA and NBC beginning Aug. 3.
MORE OPTIONS:Stream NASCAR on TNT races on Sling
2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule
All times p.m. and Eastern unless noted
Sun., Feb. 2: Clash at Bowman Gray, 8 | Fox
Clash at Bowman Gray, 8 | Fox Sun., Feb. 16: Daytona 500, 2:30 | Fox
Daytona 500, 2:30 | Fox Sun., Feb. 23: Atlanta, 3 | Fox
Atlanta, 3 | Fox Sun., March 2: COTA (Austin, Texas), 3:30 | Fox
COTA (Austin, Texas), 3:30 | Fox Sun., March 9: Phoenix, 3:30 | FS1
Phoenix, 3:30 | FS1 Sun., March 16: Las Vegas, 3:30 | FS1
Las Vegas, 3:30 | FS1 Sun., March 23: Homestead-Miami, 3 | FS1
Homestead-Miami, 3 | FS1 Sun., March 30: Martinsville, 3 | FS1
Martinsville, 3 | FS1 Sun., April 6: Darlington, 3 | FS1
Darlington, 3 | FS1 Sun., April 13: Bristol, 3 | FS1
Bristol, 3 | FS1 Sun., April 27: Talladega, 3 | Fox
Talladega, 3 | Fox Sun., May 4: Texas, 3:30 | FS1
Texas, 3:30 | FS1 Sun., May 11: Kansas, 3 | FS1
Kansas, 3 | FS1 Sun., May 18: All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, 8 | FS1
All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, 8 | FS1 Sun., May 25: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, 6 | Prime Video
Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, 6 | Prime Video Sun., June 1: Nashville, 7 | Prime Video
Nashville, 7 | Prime Video Sun., June 8: Michigan, 2 | Prime Video
Michigan, 2 | Prime Video Sun., June 15: Mexico City, 3 | Prime Video
Mexico City, 3 | Prime Video Sun., June 22: Pocono, 2 | Prime Video
Pocono, 2 | Prime Video Sat., June 28: Atlanta, 7 | TNT
Atlanta, 7 | TNT Sun., July 6: Chicago Street Race, 2 | TNT
Chicago Street Race, 2 | TNT Sun., July 13: Sonoma, 3:30 | TNT
Sonoma, 3:30 | TNT Sun., July 20: Dover, 2 | TNT
Dover, 2 | TNT Sun., July 27: Indianapolis, 2 | TNT
Indianapolis, 2 | TNT Sun., Aug. 3: Iowa, 3:30 | USA
Iowa, 3:30 | USA Sun., Aug. 10: Watkins Glen, 2 | USA
Watkins Glen, 2 | USA Sat., Aug. 16: Richmond, 7:30 | USA
Richmond, 7:30 | USA Sat., Aug. 23: Daytona, 7:30 | NBC
Daytona, 7:30 | NBC *****PLAYOFF RACES*****
Sun., Aug. 31: Darlington, 6 | USA
Darlington, 6 | USA Sun., Sept. 7: WWTR (Madison, Illinois), 3 | USA
WWTR (Madison, Illinois), 3 | USA Sat., Sept. 13 : Bristol, 7:30 | USA
: Bristol, 7:30 | USA Sun., Sept. 21: New Hampshire, 2 | USA
New Hampshire, 2 | USA Sun., Sept. 28: Kansas, 3 | USA
Kansas, 3 | USA Sun., Oct. 5: Charlotte Roval, 3 | USA
Charlotte Roval, 3 | USA Sun., Oct. 12: Las Vegas, 5:30 | USA
Las Vegas, 5:30 | USA Sun., Oct. 19: Talladega, 2 | NBC
Talladega, 2 | NBC Sun., Oct. 26: Martinsville, 2 | NBC
Martinsville, 2 | NBC Sun., Nov. 2: Championship Race at Phoenix, 3 | NBC
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I'm trying to be as smart as possible and to put all this stuff on the side and just do my thing on the track.' Return to Mexico Suarez, the only Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national series race, has two Cup victories, three Xfinity Series wins and one Truck Series win. His 2016 championship in the second-tier Xfinity Series made him the only foreign-born driver to win a national series title. Suarez has faced adversity before, but never like the pressure he's feeling hoping to deliver in front of the local crowd. This weekend in Mexico is special to Suarez, who expects well over 100 of the spectators in attendance Sunday to be friends and family. They've watched from afar as he's worked his way into the NASCAR spotlight, a journey full of ups and downs that have seen Suarez drive for four different Cup teams. He joined Trackhouse Racing in 2021 and last year signed a one-year extension through 2025. 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28 minutes ago
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Associated Press
29 minutes ago
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NASCAR's Mexico City race: Daniel Suarez balances racing at home with uncertainty over contract
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Daniel Suarez has become the unofficial tour guide for all things Mexico City as NASCAR prepares to race internationally this Sunday for the first international points-paying Cup Series event of the modern era. From where to eat, what to do, how to navigate the city and even basic conversation in Spanish, Suarez has been the go-to guy in the garage since NASCAR said it would take the Cup Series outside the United States for just the third time in 77 years. The Monterrey native has made multiple trips to NASCAR as the face of Sunday's race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, where he's raced on a different course layout 13 times, with three wins in NASCAR's Mexico Series. He'd like to win at the Cup level — if he pulls it out in his home country Sunday it will be his first victory of this season — but Suarez is juggling a very difficult balancing act. He's elated to be racing in front of a home crowd, honored to show of the culture and magic of Mexico City, but at the same time tremendously concerned about his NASCAR future. Suarez is in a contract year with Trackhouse Racing, which has Ross Chastain and Shane van Ginsberg under contract while Connor Zilisch is its development driver and on loan to several teams at lower national levels of NASCAR racing. Trackhouse only has three Cup Series seats, math Suarez can't ignore as he heads into Sunday ranked 28th in the standings. 'It's not the first time that I've been in this position. Definitely the first time with the Mexico race, but it's not the first time that I've been in the position that we have to win or in the position that we have a contract negotiation in the middle of the season,' Suarez said. 'It's definitely a distraction. I won't sit here and tell you that it doesn't really matter. I'm trying to be as smart as possible and to put all this stuff on the side and just do my thing on the track.' Return to Mexico Suarez, the only Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national series race, has two Cup victories, three Xfinity Series wins and one Truck Series win. His 2016 championship in the second-tier Xfinity Series made him the only foreign-born driver to win a national series title. Suarez has faced adversity before, but never like the pressure he's feeling hoping to deliver in front of the local crowd. This weekend in Mexico is special to Suarez, who expects well over 100 of the spectators in attendance Sunday to be friends and family. They've watched from afar as he's worked his way into the NASCAR spotlight, a journey full of ups and downs that have seen Suarez drive for four different Cup teams. He joined Trackhouse Racing in 2021 and last year signed a one-year extension through 2025. At the time, he said he wanted to reassess where the program was before signing a long-term deal. But it's been a disappointing start to the season and his average finish of 21st is three spots worse than last year. 'The Mexico race is something that I've been hoping and waiting on for many, many years, and I'm not going to let anything else from outside take that week and that moment from myself,' Suarez said. 'We have to just continue to put one foot in front of the other and continue to move forward. I think that in Trackhouse, we have found some decent speed in the last few weeks, so that's promising, and hopefully we can continue to move in that direction.' Suarez will have Mexican communication company Telcel on his car this weekend. 'For many years, I never had a sponsor deal with a company from Mexico because I wasn't racing there,' Suarez said. 'So right now that we're going to be having an event down there, it opens a whole new world of opportunities and that's great, obviously for me, but for the entire sport.' Contract Distractions It's another layer of pressure for Suarez, who wants nothing more than to balance the demands of being the star of Sunday's show with delivering a strong showing. 'Once we get into the race, we don't want to deal with any of this stuff, and I just want to focus and have fun driving race cars,' he said. 'There is going to be more on my plate just by nature, just being the local guy, the very first race ever in Mexico City in the Cup Series. I have to accept that. With that being said, I have to protect my space for the competition stuff because if we don't do the competition stuff right, everything else doesn't really matter. So we have to put a balance on everything.' As Suarez noted, a win on Sunday would dramatically improve his hopes of remaining with Trackhouse on a contract extension. It could happen: Suarez's first Cup victory came on the road course at Sonoma, and the next five Cup races include road-course races at Mexico City, Sonoma and the Chicago street course. He admitted 'honestly, I don't know' about what he'd like out of a contract extension, but said he speaks regularly with team owner Justin Marks. 'The trajectory of Trackhouse has been tremendous,' Suárez said. 'We have learned so many things. I really want to help Justin bring Trackhouse to the next level. I believe that 2022 has been our best year as a company, still. So why is that? Are we missing something? Do we have to change something? What do we need to do better? As a new team, to have your best years that early, it's kind of uncommon. One of the reasons, I believe, was because of the new car. So I believe that we have to continue to grow. 'Ross just won a race a couple weeks ago, and that's brought a lot of energy to the team and some more momentum. Before that, it was a little bit of a struggle. So we have to continue to find that speed in a consistent basis, just like the big teams,' he continued. 'So we're having all these conversations. I wish I didn't have to have these conversations, and I didn't have these distractions, but it's part of life, right? Sometimes you have to do several things at the same time. But I'm trying not to think about it too much and trying to work in my job and push as hard as possible for competition and trying to help the team slowly get better and better.' ___ AP auto racing:
