NASCAR closed out the 2024 season at Phoenix Raceway, but there was admittedly less excitement heading into the weekend. Whether it was the playoff format or the expected racing at Phoenix, the sport’s Championship Weekend wasn’t as electric as usual. NASCAR will review the playoff format and make changes if deemed necessary, but what about the final race of the year?

On the final weekend of the 2024 season at Phoenix, NASCAR held its annual “State of the Sport” address. NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell was asked about possibly changing the host city for Championship Weekend and name-dropped four race tracks.

“[Homestead-Miami Speedway] certainly has been one that we’ve looked at,” O’Donnell said. “I would say that in March when we go back, how do we do from an attendance standpoint? That’s going to be really big for us to see can we gain some momentum? We already know the racing is terrific, right? We are going to deliver on that, but we have a job to do collectively as a sport to drive attendance.”

“Then you look at a number of other venues that are out there. You know, [Darlington Raceway], [Charlotte Motor Speedway], you name it, [Las Vegas Motor Speedway]. There’s a lot of considerations for us. I think the goal for us would be to get well ahead in the future on the schedule so that we’re talking about not necessarily the whole schedule, but championship 2032 will be here, 2031, and we can back that up.”

Phoenix has a great facility with amazing race fans, but the on-track product is admittedly not the best. O’Donnell mentioned Homestead, Darlington, Charlotte, and Las Vegas as possible replacements, which all can be regarded as top-5 race tracks. Hopefully, NASCAR can find a new track or start a rotation of tracks to end the season each year in 2026.

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