CONCORD, N.C. -- On Friday, NASCAR announced that eight races for the 2021 season will have practice and qualifying sessions.
Some crown jewel races, such as the DAYTONA 500, are among the eight races. Newly introduced Cup Series races, such as the event at Nashville Superspeedway, will have practice and qualifying, as well. The full list of the eight races with their dates and times are listed below.
DAYTONA 500
Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. ET (FOX/MRN/SiriusXM)
Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt)
Sunday, March 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET (FOX/PRN/SiriusXM)
Circuit of the Americas
Sunday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX/PRN/SiriusXM)
600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Sunday, May 30 at 6 p.m. ET (FOX/PRN/SiriusXM)
Nashville Superspeedway
Sunday, June 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM)
Road America
Sunday, July 4 at 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC/MRN/SiriusXM)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Sunday, Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. ET (NBC/IndyCar Radio/SiriusXM)
Phoenix Raceway
Sunday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. ET (NBC/MRN/SiriusXM)
NASCAR has not announced the official schedule nor details for the qualifying and practice sessions for these races. The 2021 schedule is also subject to change.
When racing resumed in May 2020, NASCAR took extra precautions to keep personnel at the track safe amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic by eliminating practice and qualifying sessions. This kept the events to one day, limiting possible spread of the virus. Aside from the first four races of 2020, only the 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway had a qualifying session and practice.
A drawing system initially was used to select the starting lineup for races once racing returned in 2020. That method was replaced by a weighted metric system at the beginning of August. NASCAR officials said the format to determine the starting lineups for 2021 races without qualifying and practice sessions will be announced later.