It sounds like Daytona Speedweeks is going to be more than one week again next year. The Athletic reports that NASCAR’s Clash pre-season kickoff event will return to Daytona International Speedway in 2027.
The Clash was last held on the 2.5-mile oval in 2020 and on the infield road course in 2021 before it hit the road with stops at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for 2022-2024 and North Carolina’s Bowman Gray Stadium for the past two years.
NASCAR has yet to publicly confirm the news, but sources say it will be scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 13, the day before the NFL’s Super Bowl.
The Daytona 500 would typically take place on Feb. 14, but the new 17-game NFL calendar pushed this year’s Super Bowl a week later than usual, so NASCAR decided to move the race to Feb. 21, rather than attempt to compete with America’s biggest sport and TV event.
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Teams have already started preparing for the event, according to The Athletic, even though the official announcement has not yet been made.
The 2020 Clash featured a starting lineup of 18 cars and was scheduled to be a 75-lap event, but ended up running 88 laps through three overtimes as several crashes wiped out all but six finishers, with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones taking the win.
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Aside from the Daytona 500, the only confirmed 2027 Cup Series race date is the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 30. NASCAR is expected to release the full schedule sometime in August or September.
