NASCAR’s 2015 schedule includes three-race Western swing in March

NASCAR on Tuesday unveiled its 2015 schedules and the 36-race calendar for its premier Sprint Cup Series includes a three-race Western swing in March.

After the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, the Cup series moves to Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 1 and then to Las Vegas on March 8, Phoenix on March 15 and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on March 22.

That’s a change from this year, when the series moved from Daytona to Phoenix to Las Vegas and then to Bristol, Tenn., before returning west to Fontana. The Bristol race was moved back to April 19 for next year.

The other major shift in next year’s Cup schedule is the return of the Labor Day weekend race to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where it had long been held until a decade ago. The race is being held in Atlanta this Labor Day weekend.

There are no changes next year in the 10 tracks used in NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup championship playoff. The season will again end at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida on Nov. 22.

NASCAR’s other national series are its second-tier Nationwide Series, which will have 33 races next season, and its 23-race Camping World Truck Series.

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