NASCAR Bucket List: Top 10 Tracks to Watch Cup Series Racing, Ranked

Many NASCAR fans have a bucket list of tracks they want to visit.

Some want to experience the 30-car drafting packs of Talladega. Some prefer the tight short-track action of Martinsville. For others, the night race at Bristol is top of the list.

One of the attractions of the coast-to-coast NASCAR Cup Series schedule is its diversity. There are short tracks, road courses (traditional and hybrid), superspeedways, intermediate tracks and—a new flavor thrown into the mix—racing on city streets.

Here’s a ranking of the top 10 NASCAR tracks, ranked based on competition, history, the fan experience and decades of stops on the road to racing:

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The track in the desert, within sight of Vegas’ huge hotel/casinos, features one of the tour’s best fan experiences. The Neon Garage is perhaps the No. 1 attraction of its sort in NASCAR, offering fans a variety of activities and some up-close looks at the driver/crew experience.

And showgirls roam the premises now and then.

Charlotte Motor Speedway

A fan favorite for decades, CMS offers a pair of dramatically different Cup races: The marathon Coca-Cola 600 in May and a playoff chase on the infield “Roval” in the fall.

The level of competition can be mixed here. Kyle Busch led 327 of 400 laps in winning the 600 in 2021, but there have been some wild finishes on the 1.5-mile oval, and the move to the road course for the track’s second race of the year has added considerable uncertainty to the closing laps.

Atlanta Motor Speedway

The track in the far suburbs of Atlanta (actually, Hampton, Georgia) received a big boost with a recent repave and redesign that has produced faster laps and closer competition. The change has resulted in a totally new dynamic for competitors and has made racing at the track both riskier and more rewarding.

AMS has a long history in the sport and has been through several iterations—generally for the better. Host of the second race of the year, it provides an early test for teams and drivers after the drama of Daytona.

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville has had a spot on the Cup schedule since Year One.

The little track has seen changes—new grandstands, a totally revamped infield and (in an unfortunate decision) the addition of lights—but bumper-to-bumper competition on the half-mile is much as it ever was.

A dominant driver can lead many laps in front of a parade at Martinsville, but restarts are usually chaotic and tension mounts over the final 50 laps. Gaining a position can be a work of art. Car-design issues come into play here, but, on any given Sunday, so do unexpected results.

And some drivers leave the track not particularly liking some other drivers.

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Home to NASCAR’s championship race for many years, Homestead’s progressively banked 1.5-mile track is a winner. Although tracks of similar size often are dismissed as “cookie cutters,” Homestead has an attractive blend of speed and strategy.