It has become an event unto itself in recent years - the announcement of the schedule for the next NASCAR season. There is never a pre-determined date as to when the next season's schedule will be announced, but those in racing know to expect it as the season prepares to wind down with the final 10 races.
For a number of years, the announcement of a new race schedule seemed to translate into major changes, whether it was the addition of a new racing venue, the loss of an old race track or the addition of more events. The last several Nextel Cup Series schedules, however, have not offered a lot in the area of drama, creating only subtle differences that have little impact on the balance of the race season.
While the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series schedule isn't dramatically different from the previous few seasons, it has substantially jostled a few of the race dates, particularly during the month of July, which corresponds with the changes in which networks will be broadcasting events next season.
The 36-race schedule once again begins in Daytona with the 49th running of the Great American Race - the Daytona 500 - on February 18th. The season will conclude in Florida with the Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Ford 400 on November 18th.
While the dawn and dusk of the new season are similar to the 2006 schedule, the changes really kick into gear in July. The last several seasons, teams have made the trek from the road course in Sonoma, Calif., to Daytona Beach for the running of the Fourth of July weekend event, the Pepsi 400. This year, however, teams will go from Northern California to the New England area, where they will race at New Hampshire International Speedway on July 1st. The weekend will be billed as the first event in the "Race to the Chase," the 10-race prelude to the "Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup."
Another significant shift in the 2007 schedule is a shuffle between the events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Pocono Raceway. In recent years, the Nextel Cup Series has closed out the month of July with the event at Pocono Raceway before taking a weekend off before the hustle and bustle of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in early August. The 2007 schedule gives the Nextel Cup Series teams their final weekend off the weekend after Chicago and before going to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 which on July 29th. The Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway is scheduled for August 5th.
This change is significant because ESPN will make its return to NASCAR as part of the broadcasting partnership beginning with the Indianapolis race.
Also remaining the same in 2007 are the series' two traditional "non-points" events. Both events are slated for Saturday nights. The 29th annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will be take place on Feb. 10th, while the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge is set for May 19th at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Additionally, Richmond International Raceway will host the final event in the "Race to the Chase" on September 8th, to be followed one week later by New Hampshire International Speedway hosting the kick-off event in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup on September 16th.
