2011 Sprint Cup Series Calendar Announced

NASCAR has just announced the competition calendar for the 2011 Sprint Cup Series, and the major news for the upcoming campaign regards Kentucky Speedway. After several years of successfully hosting events in the Nationwide and Truck Series, the Kentucky track was finally allowed to be part of the premier NASCAR series, with its first ever Sprint Cup event scheduled to take place in July.

Aside from that, one other novelty regarding the 2011 racing calendar involves the Chase opening round, now scheduled for Chicagoland Speedway. This will therefore be the first time in the history of the series that the Chase will start off on a different track than the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (which will account for the second race of the Chase next year).

“The adjustments and realignment of the 2011 schedule will make for an exciting season next year. The revised schedule provides better situated dates for the tracks, a more challenging line-up for the drivers and ultimately more intrigue for the fans,” said NASCAR's Brian France.

The basics of the Sprint Cup series calendar have remained the same however, with the 2011 schedule still consisting of 36 races and starting off with the Daytona 500 in mid-February. As in every other year until now, the opening race of the season will be preceded by the Shootout, scheduled a week earlier, on February 12.

The calendars of the Nationwide and Truck Series have also been released, the former comprising 34 races, while the latter having the same 25-race structure. Here is the complete calendar of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series:

02/12 Daytona International Speedway (Shootout At Daytona*)
02/13 Daytona 500 Qualifying
02/20 Daytona International Speedway
02/27 Phoenix International Raceway
03/06 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
03/20 Bristol Motor Speedway
03/27 Auto Club Speedway
04/03 Martinsville Speedway
04/09 Texas Motor Speedway
04/17 Talladega Superspeedway
04/30 Richmond International Raceway
05/07 Darlington Raceway
05/15 Dover International Speedway
05/21 Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR All-Star Race*)
05/29 Charlotte Motor Speedway
06/05 Kansas Speedway
06/12 Pocono Raceway
06/19 Michigan International Speedway
06/26 Infineon Raceway
07/02 Daytona International Speedway
07/09 Kentucky Speedway
07/17 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
07/31 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
08/07 Pocono Raceway
08/14 Watkins Glen International
08/21 Michigan International Speedway
08/27 Bristol Motor Speedway
09/04 Atlanta Motor Speedway
09/10 Richmond International Raceway
09/18 Chicagoland Speedway
09/25 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
10/02 Dover International Speedway
10/09 Kansas Speedway
10/15 Charlotte Motor Speedway
10/23 Talladega Superspeedway
10/30 Martinsville Speedway
11/06 Texas Motor Speedway
11/13 Phoenix International Raceway
11/20 Homestead-Miami Speedway