NASCAR & Auto Racing

Kansas keeps two races on 2021 NASCAR schedule that features dirt, more road events

Kansas Speedway will keep its two races for the 2021 Cup Series schedule, and the playoff event will run later in the season, NASCAR announced on Wednesday.

Dates for the 2021 races in Kansas City, Kansas, are May 2 and Oct. 24.

“We’re very happy to keep two dates,” Kansas Speedway president Pat Warren said. “It’s a good reflection on racing fans in the Midwest and the support they show for NASCAR and Kansas Speedway.”

Kansas Speedway held single Cup Series races in the fall from 2001-2010 and two events on the schedule every year since then.

Three new tracks, six road courses and the first dirt track race in more than 50 years highlight the schedule.

The race on dirt will occur at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 28, when the track converts to a dirt surface. It will be the circuit’s first dirt track race since 1970.

Among the road course race sites are Austin, Texas; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin; and Indianapolis. Austin has held Formula 1 and IndyCar competition. Elkhart Lake will hold its first NASCAR event since 1956, and Indy will shift from an oval to road course.

Dropped from the schedule are events at Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway. Nashville SuperSpeedway will host a race.

The NASCAR All-Star race will move to Texas Motor Speedway for the first time on June 13.

NASCAR Cup Series 2021 schedule

Feb. 14 Daytona International Speedway

Feb. 21 Homestead-Miami Speedway

Feb. 28 Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, California)

March 7 Las Vegas Motor Speedway

March 14 Phoenix Raceway

March 21 Atlanta Motor Speedway

March 28 Bristol Motor Speedway

April 10 Martinsville Speedway

April 18 Richmond Raceway

April 25 Talladega Superspeedway

May 2 Kansas Speedway

May 9 Darlington Raceway

May 16 Dover International Speedway

May 23 Circuit of The Americas (Austin, Texas)

May 30 Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 6 Sonoma Raceway

June 13 All-Star Race, Texas Motor Speedway

June 20 Nashville Superspeedway

June 26 Pocono Raceway

June 27 Pocono Raceway

July 4 Road America (Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin)

July 11 Atlanta Motor Speedway

July 18 New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Aug. 8 Watkins Glen International

Aug. 15 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Aug. 22 Michigan International Speedway

Aug. 28 Daytona International Speedway

Sept. 5 Darlington Raceway

Sept. 11 Richmond Raceway

Sept. 18 Bristol Motor Speedway

Sept. 26 Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Oct. 3 Talladega Superspeedway

Oct. 10 Charlotte Motor Speedway

Oct. 17 Texas Motor Speedway

Oct. 24 Kansas Speedway

Oct. 31 Martinsville Speedway

Nov. 7 Phoenix Raceway

Blair Kerkhoff
The Kansas City Star
Blair Kerkhoff has covered sports for The Kansas City Star since 1989. He was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
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