Why is there no NASCAR Cup Series race today?

There's no NASCAR Cup Series race this Sunday! What's up with that?

If you, like us, are missing the sounds and sights of cars flying around the track this Sunday, don't worry. It'll be back soon.

This is simply NASCAR's continued return to an old tradition of not holding a race on Easter Sunday, which dates back to 1971.

There was no scheduled Easter Sunday race for half a century (although there was one 1989 race at Richmond which was the result of a postponement) up until 2022, when NASCAR covered Bristol Motor Speedway with dirt and went racing.

They did that again in 2023 before scrapping the dirt race altogether and replacing it in the Easter weekend slot with a trip to Richmond in 2024. The break in racing returned in 2025 though, and looks as though it might be here to stay.

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When will the NASCAR Cup Series return?

Cup Series action will return as soon as next weekend for the Food City 500 at Bristol, going back to short-track racing after Martinsville last time out.

Kyle Larson absolutely dominated last year's race, taking both stages and the race win while leading 411 of the 500 laps. 2026 hasn't been the defending champion's year so far, sitting ninth in the standings without a race win, but a repeat of last year's performance would change that significantly.

When will the next break from the NASCAR Cup Series be?

After this weekend, there won't be another weekend without a Cup race until the start of August, with no race between the Brickyard 400 on July 26 at Indianapolis and the Iowa Corn 350 on August 9 at, you guessed it, Iowa.

That off-week will end a run of 16 straight racing weekends (including the All-Star Race on May 17), before a new 14-race run starts to take us to the end of the season.

Remaining NASCAR Cup Series 2026 Schedule

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