Darlington back to Labor Day weekend on 2015 schedule
Darlington Raceway was the big winner in the realignment of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule for 2015, which was announced live Tuesday on FOX Sports 1's NASCAR Race Hub.
After spending the past decade having its date moved around, the granddaddy of NASCAR superspeedways gets its traditional Labor Day weekend date back, a nod to the grand traditions of the sport.
The 1.33-mile, egg-shaped oval hosted a Sprint Cup race every Labor Day weekend from the time the track opened way back in 1950 until 2003. In 2004, Darlington's second date was moved to November, when it became the penultimate race of the season and got its one and only appearance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
In 2005, Darlington was cut from two Sprint Cup races annually to just one, with its date moved to Mother's Day weekend, where it remained until this season, when it traded dates with Kansas Speedway, moving Darlington up to April.
With Darlington moving to Labor Day, Atlanta takes over as the second points race of the year, one week after the Daytona 500.
Other changes:
Phoenix moves from the second race of the year to the fourth.
Bristol moves back five weeks, from mid-March to mid-April.
Kentucky moves from one week before the July Daytona race until one week after.
Charlotte and Kansas trade fall dates.
Surprisingly, perhaps, there are no changes in the tracks used for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The last time a new track was added to the Chase was 2011, when Chicagoland Speedway replaced Auto Club Speedway.
2015 Sprint Cup Series Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 14 -- Sprint Unlimited, FOX
Sunday, Feb. 15 -- Daytona 500 Qualifying, FOX
Thursday, Feb. 19 -- Duel, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, Feb. 22 -- Daytona 500, FOX
Sunday, March 1 -- Atlanta, FOX
Sunday, March 8 -- Las Vegas, FOX
Sunday, March 15 -- Phoenix, FOX
Sunday, March 22 -- California, FOX
Sunday, March 29 -- Martinsville, FOX
Sunday, April 5 -- Off
Saturday, April 11 -- Texas, FOX
Sunday, April 19 -- Bristol, FOX
Saturday, April 25 -- Richmond, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, May 3 -- Talladega, FOX
Saturday, May 9 -- Kansas, FOX Sports 1
Saturday, May 16 -- Sprint All-Star, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, May 24 -- Charlotte, FOX
Sunday, May 31 -- Dover, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, June 7 -- Pocono, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, June 14 -- Michigan, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, June 21 -- Off
Sunday, June 28 -- Sonoma, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, July 5 -- Daytona, NBC
Saturday, July 11 -- Kentucky, NBCSN
Sunday, July 19 -- New Hampshire, NBCSN
Sunday, July 26 -- Indianapolis, NBCSN
Sunday, August 2 -- Pocono, NBCSN
Sunday, August 9 -- Watkins Glen, NBCSN
Sunday, August 16 -- Michigan, NBCSN
Saturday, Aug. 22 -- Bristol, NBCSN
Sunday, Aug. 30 -- Off
Sunday, Sept. 6 -- Darlington, NBC
Saturday, Sept. 12 -- Richmond, NBCSN
Sunday, Sept. 20 -- Chicagoland, NBCSN
Sunday, Sept. 27 -- New Hampshire, NBCSN
Sunday, Oct. 4 -- Dover, NBCSN
Saturday, Oct. 10 -- Charlotte, NBC
Sunday, Oct. 18 -- Kansas, NBC
Sunday, Oct. 25 -- Talladega, NBCSN
Sunday, Nov. 1 -- Martinsville, NBCSN
Sunday, Nov. 8 -- Texas, NBC
Sunday, Nov. 15 -- Phoenix, NBC
Sunday, Nov. 22 -- Homestead, NBC
VIDEO: Analyzing changes to the 2015 Sprint Cup schedule
