Dover, Watkins Glen Moves Will Test NASCAR Risk-Taking

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

Dover as the All-Star Race? Watkins Glen in May?

Those were the two somewhat startling reveals of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. In fact, some might be scratching their heads asking, “what are they thinking?”

Speedway Motorsports has the All-Star Race and wanted North Wilkesboro to have a points race on the 30th anniversary of the last points race at the track. Nothing wrong with that.

But of all its tracks, it chose Dover, a track that doesn’t have lights. So most likely, this will be a daytime race.

Now, where temperatures are concerned, Dover in May is likely going to be cooler than Dover in hot July. And it is a short track, at one mile in length. It will be an intriguing All-Star Race — one that fans should want to watch since it will be unique.

But what about Nashville?

Maybe the idea was to wait to see if the Fairgrounds deal could be pushed through and then bring the All-Star Race there. Or Bristol? That has some of the same challenges as Dover, but it would also differentiate the two Bristol events.

“We worked with Speedway Motorsports on the shift there,” NASCAR Executive Vice President Ben Kennedy said. “Part of it was taking into consideration whether moving them into May felt like it was a better time of year from at least a heat perspective, and we considered a handful of other tracks as well. We felt like that one was the best.

NASCAR Executive Ben Kennedy speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center in Nov. 2024

“A number of considerations just as we think about each one of these moves, and Dover was the best option that we had for ’26.”

If the All-Star Race went to Bristol, that would mean adding another track in the early months of the schedule. And the decision to move Watkins Glen shows there are limited options.

Richmond had enough success with a recent Saturday night summer race that it appears a summer Saturday night works best for its one event.

Could Iowa have moved to May? Possibly, although then it would likely be within a week or two of the Kansas race. Maybe St. Louis? Sonoma?

So, yes, it is a little bit of a challenge. But camping in August at Watkins Glen seems like the perfect time.

NASCAR’s Jusan Hamlin, who is managing director for racing operations and handles much of the schedule issues, is from that area of New York and is hopeful the new date will work.

“The cool thing about having the race take place that time of year, school is still in session. The population of central New York is much higher that time of year, so you have the opportunity to potentially reach a fan demographic up there that’s typically not around during the summer,” Hamlin said.

Cup Series drivers race at Watkins Glen in Aug. 2025

“As far as weather goes, we look at a lot of data at all our venues, and weather is always certainly a consideration. You look at that time of the year. It says on average lower 70s during the day, chance of rain is relatively low even compared to August.”

Whether upstate New York will be recovering from a spring snow remains to be seen, but it is nothing that NASCAR hasn’t dealt with in March and April at some venues.

There’s lots to like in the 2026 Cup schedule.

Homestead as the finale and the addition of points races at San Diego (Naval Base Coronado), Chicagoland and North Wilkesboro should all generate excitement.

But as a series generates excitement, it often generates questions. We’ll see how these two work out.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

What did you think of this story?