NASCAR may be about to make a major last-minute change to the 2026 schedule, according to a new report from The Athletic.
Sources told the outlet that NASCAR is planning to move the fall race from the Charlotte Roval course back onto the speedway’s oval track.
The race has been held on the infield road course since 2019, leaving the oval exclusive to the Memorial Day Weekend Coca-Cola 600.
It began as a way to drum up interest in the fall event, which fell within the NASCAR Playoffs, but it has failed to draw big crowds in recent years while the racing has been widely criticized since the launch of the seventh generation Cup Series car in 2022.
A redesigned layout implemented for 2024 has failed to turn things around over two races, while competition on the oval track has only improved with the new cars. NASCAR has not issued any official comment about the potential change, but the report said that an announcement is expected in the coming weeks.
The NASCAR season kicks off Jan. 31-Feb. 1 with the exhibition Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, which will be followed by the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15, and it is likely that the fate of the Roval would be confirmed before the start of the regular season.
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The fall Charlotte weekend is scheduled for Oct. 9-11 and will be the sixth round of the rebooted Chase postseason format for the Cup Series. The Roval is currently the only non-oval track on 10-race Chase schedule this year and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series are also set to race on it the same weekend. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in a social media post that he’s fine with whatever NASCAR decides.
“The Roval will always be there when they want to bring it back. The oval has been solid recently. No reason not to take advantage of that,” Earnhardt said. “One may complain about the lack of road courses in the chase. It makes zero difference to me either way.”
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