In-Season Challenge returns to Cup Series schedule in 2026

NASCAR will bring back its five-race In-Season Challenge in 2026, returning a midyear jolt of stakes and story lines to the regular-season schedule.

All five rounds of the bracket-style, head-to-head competition will again air during TNT Sports‘ portion of the broadcast schedule. Only the top 32 drivers in the point standings will qualify for the In-Season Challenge. Instead of using three races to determine seeding on performance, drivers will be seeded based on their points position entering the mid-season tournament.

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Another difference in 2026 will be the venue lineup. Sonoma Raceway will move from Round 3 in 2025 to the challenge opener in 2026, setting the tone with a road-course test right out of the gate. In Round 2, the Cup Series will remain in Illinois but transition from the downtown street course to the Chicagoland Speedway oval. It will mark the series‘ long-awaited return to Joliet, Illinois, for the first time since 2019.

EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta, which opened the 2025 In-Season Challenge and busted plenty of brackets, will remain on the schedule as the third-round bout. As such, the stakes will be even higher as the event will determine which four drivers advance to the semifinal.

The historic North Wilkesboro Speedway will receive its first Cup Series points race since 1996, adding a layer of nostalgia to the penultimate bracket-style round. The North Carolina short track has already become a fan favorite again by hosting the All-Star Race the past three seasons, but with Dover Motor Speedway stepping into the All-Star role, North Wilkesboro returns to host a pivotal contest during the challenge stretch.

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Finally, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will once again serve as the finale, deciding the 2026 In-Season Challenge champion. With the history and crown-jewel prestige, Indy makes the perfect backdrop to deliver a winner who can handle the spotlight on one of racing‘s biggest stages.

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“It’s the first time that we did it this year, and obviously we learned a lot of things, gathered a lot of feedback, some positives and some areas that we may want to make some changes in the future, but I think the great part about it is it creates more story lines, especially in that portion of the season,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue & racing innovation officer. “You have a ton of energy and momentum, certainly during the Daytona 500 and as you go through the spring and then the Amazon Prime portion of the season, a strong slate from the Coke 600 to San Diego, and we have a really strong slate of races for TNT’s portion of the season, and I think returning back again with the In-Season Challenge with a wide variety of tracks, whether it’s a road course, a mile-and-a-half in Atlanta, which races a little bit like a superspeedway now, North Wilkesboro being a short track, and then ending up with another very unique race track in Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the oval again, I think it creates a lot of variety and a lot of excitement for our fans as they get to follow the In-Season Challenge.”

During its inaugural season, the In-Season Challenge produced unforgettable racing moments and story lines that carried throughout the summer stretch, culminating with Ty Gibbs banking a $1 million payday while ending Ty Dillon‘s Cinderella run.

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Combining road courses, short tracks, intermediate ovals and one of the most iconic venues in all of motorsports, the 2026 In-Season Challenge will again offer variety, unpredictability and the possibility for plenty of drama in Year 2.

See the full 2026 Cup Series schedule below:

*Denotes playoff race