NASCAR released its 2026 Cup Series schedule, and a few insiders pointed out a big issue that could anger a certain group of fans. On the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Freddie Kraft, Tommy Baldwin and Jeff Gluck talked about how the schedule might not be a good one for fans in the Northeast.
One of the big changes was Watkins Glen being moved from August to May. “What threw this off was the Richmond sellout, right?” Kraft asked Gluck, who covers NASCAR for The Athletic. Gluck said that Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic had the early drafts of the schedule, which had Richmond in May and Watkins Glen in August. But because the Richmond race this year (which was earlier this month) was a sellout, it’s likely NASCAR decided to keep Richmond in August and move Watkins Glen earlier in the year.
“I guess I’m just worried about the Northeast fan,” Gluck said. “Pocono went from two races to one, fine. Dover went from two races to one, fine. But now their one race is the All-Star Race. Now, Watkins Glen is moved early and it’s back-to-back with Dover.”
Northeast fans may not like the NASCAR 2026 schedule
Baldwin revealed how the Northeast fans will respond. “Us Northerners get pissed off, and then we hold a grudge,” he said. “I’m telling you, these Northern fans are going to get pissed off, and this is what’s happening.
“They’re looking at that going, ‘Oh, they don’t care about us. Dover is now an All-Star Race. Oh, they moved Watkins Glen to a time that we’re still hibernated right up in Watkins Glen area.’ This is going to be a tricky time in the Northeast. I hope we all gather together and stay positive and make it work. But I think they pissed off the whole Northeast fan base.”
NASCAR will head to Watkins on May 10 of next year and will be in Dover on May 17. The next Northeast race will be Pocono on June 14 and New Hampshire on Aug. 23. The 2026 season will kick off on Feb. 1 with the Clash at Bowman Gray. The regular season will start on Feb. 15, with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
