Everything is bigger in Texas, including the gap now between the much-anticipated NASCAR race weeks at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) and Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) on the 2025 Cup Series (NCS) schedule announced today.
COTA and TMS, which had just three weeks separating their race weekends in 2024, will now have a beneficial two-month break – March to May – between NCS races at Austin’s 3.41-mile permanent road course and Fort Worth’s 1.5-mile oval. The extended break allows NASCAR fans and visitors more time to plan trips for a “Texas Two-Step.”
NASCAR at COTA will move up to the third regular-season race of the year with the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday, March 2. The season’s first road-course event shifts from late March last season to immediately after the season-opening Daytona 500 and NCS race number two at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2025.
Texas Motor Speedway slides from its mid-April date in 2024 to Sunday, May 4 in 2025 for the fourth running of the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. It will now be the 11th race of the 36-event season, following Talladega.
“Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are destination markets for NASCAR fans from across the country and around the world,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “This new schedule allows fans not only from out of state, but also Texas-based fans to have more convenient dates to plan vacation time with family and friends.
“We received a lot of feedback earlier this year from fans who said they’d like to attend both races but they were just too close together on the calendar. NASCAR worked with us to create a 2025 schedule that is more accommodating for fans to enjoy everything that both Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth have to offer.”
Fans can now take advantage of a “Texas Two-Step” promotion between the two venues. Speedway Motorsports will offer ticket purchasers of either NCS race a 20-percent discount if they would like to attend both. Click HERE for more information on the “Texas Two-Step” promotion or to purchase tickets.
Both NCS races should also have festive atmospheres as they fall on notable dates. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will be held on Texas Independence Day and the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 is just before Cinco de Mayo.
COTA and TMS will also play host to additional NASCAR national series events during their Cup weekends. The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will compete at COTA on Saturday, March 1 with the Focused Health 250.
The event weekend will also include the IMSA-sanctioned VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, which will be making its COTA debut. The series features three different classes and includes exotic, prototype sports cars racing alongside GT-style race cars from many of the world’s greatest sports car manufacturers. The weekend will include a pair of 45-minute sprint races – no pit stops, no driver changes – just an all-out, mano a mano battle from the drop of the green flag until the checkered flag falls.
The NXS, along with the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS), will head to TMS for a tripleheader weekend. Race action will open with the NCTS SpeedyCash.com 250 on Friday, May 2 followed by the NXS Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on Saturday, May 3. The dirt-flying, side-by-side and sideways action of the Kubota High Limits Racing sprint car series will return to the TMS Dirt Track during the NASCAR race week with full nights of practice, qualifying, heats and features on May 1 and May 3.
TV/radio broadcast start times and network affiliations will be announced at a later date along with additional support series and entertainment.
Tickets:
Tickets for children ages 12 and under are just $10 for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix and AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NCS races and free for the Focused Health 250 and Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 NXS races, SpeedyCash.com 250 NCTS race and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. For individual tickets, weekend packages and camping, fans should visit NASCARatCOTA.com or TexasMotorSpeedway.com.
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