NASCAR has not released the 2025 schedule, but the drivers will likely head to an international market based on comments made Saturday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
"I don't think we're gonna have a plethora of new venues (in 2025); we're probably gonna have one big new venue," Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing development strategy, told Danielle Trotta, Larry McReynolds, and Pete Pistone.
"Obviously, we've talked -- I think (it's) no secret -- about trying to get a race internationally, whether that's north of the border, south of the border. Think we're confident that we could deliver that next year and then you'll see a handful of other changes."
Taking the Cup Series to either Canada or Mexico is something that has become more likely in recent seasons. There was a possibility that NASCAR would return to Montreal in 2024, but that deal ultimately did not come to pass. Instead, Xfinity and Cup teams raced at Iowa Speedway.
There is still a possibility that teams will head to Montreal in 2025. If not, they may go south to Mexico City. This would mark the first time since Kyle Busch's Nationwide Series win in 2008 that the track was on a national series schedule.
Fans may not have an answer about the international race just yet, but one is on the way. According to Kennedy, they are close to finalizing the schedule. There are just some dates and venues to finalize as NASCAR brings new partners into the fold.
"We're gonna have two new broadcast partners, so Amazon and TNT for the Cup schedule and then the CW taking the Xfinity schedule," Kennedy said.
"So you'll see some date changes that we've made in partnership with both Fox and NBC and those new TV partners that are coming on board. So see a handful of changes in '25 and then we really want to start to build some date equity for '26 and beyond."
NASCAR has already locked down some dates for the 2025 season. The Daytona 500 will take place on Feb. 16, 2025. The championship race at Phoenix Raceway will take place on Nov. 2, 2025. The summer race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be on June 28, 2025. The Coca-Cola 600 will take place on Sunday, May 25, 2025.