By: Zach Arnold

After a few months of no NASCAR action on weekends, the sport prepares for the 2024 season. In just a month, NASCAR teams will send their haulers off to Daytona International Speedway for the first official race of 2024. Let’s take a look at what has changed since 2023.

1. 2024 SCHEDULE CHANGES

For the past few years, the schedule for each NASCAR season has mostly remained the same with a few minor changes, such as a track getting a night race like Atlanta did in 2023 or the addition of an old/new track to the schedule. In 2024, there are multiple changes to the schedule worth being aware of. 

To open up the season, NASCAR fans are used to starting the year at the famed racetrack, Daytona International Speedway. This remains the same; however, back-to-back superspeedway races are unusual. After Daytona, teams are used to heading out to California to race on the two-mile track, Auto Club Speedway.

Since its final race in 2023, the Auto Club Speedway has been torn. NASCAR will not be racing there for the next couple of years as the two-mile track is being rebuilt into a short track. Thus, NASCAR decided to give Atlanta the second race weekend of 2024. If you have missed high-speed, multi-groove racing in the past few months, get ready for multiple weeks of superspeedway racing to open the 2024 season.

Another change to the 2024 schedule was the playoff format. There has not been much change in the playoff format in recent years, which has led to a new look.

Darlington Raceway which has usually hosted the first race of the playoffs, will not have a playoff race in 2024. Instead, Atlanta Motor Speedway took the spot with Darlington moved to the regular season finale. Another change to the playoff schedule was the addition of a second road course race at Watkins Glen International.

WGI takes the second race in the round of 16, after Atlanta. The second road course race in the playoffs remains the same at Charlotte Roval: the elimination race in the round of 12. In the past, there has not been more than one road course race in NASCAR playoffs with the current playoff format.

2. DRIVER CHANGES

If you have not been paying attention to the news during the off-season, you could end up very confused when you see your favorite driver is no longer with the team you were used to racing with in past years. Below are all the driver changes that have occurred so far in the NASCAR Cup Series.

• Josh Berry- Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4
• Noah Gragson- Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10
• Kaulig No. 16- Multiple Drivers on a full-time schedule (AJ Allmendinger confirmed for Daytona 500)
• Justin Haley- Rick Ware Racing (car number not confirmed)
• Daniel Hemric- Kaulig Racing No. 31
• John Hunter Nemechek- Legacy Motor Club No. 42
• Zane Smith- Spire Motorsports No, 71
• Carson Hocevar- Spire Motorsports

3. New body style/ Broadcast Changes

Early into the 2023-24 offseason, it was announced that two manufacturers would be running new models in 2024. Toyota and Ford were the two manufacturers. For the past two years, all three manufacturers’ models have remained the same. Chevrolet is the only manufacturer that will adhere to the model that they run in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Ford will be running the Ford Mustang, “Dark Horse,” while Toyota will introduce the new version of the Toyota Camry, the “Camry XSE.” With these changes, it will be interesting to see how aerodynamics has an impact on each manufacturer. Do you think Ford or Toyota will perform better with the new model?

Another piece of news that has dropped over the offseason is a new broadcast deal that will debut in 2025. If you enjoy Fox and NBC sharing the season, take it all in as 2024 is the last year there will only be two broadcasts. Amazon Prime and TNT/Sports (Warner Bros) all want to jump in on NASCAR action.

Announced in late November, both Amazon Prime and TNT will join FOX and NBC Sports to host the NASCAR races for the next seven years, completing a deal by 2031. FOX and NBC Sports have been splitting the NASCAR schedule for the last ten years, so if you prefer this, enjoy the final year of its occurrence.