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NASCAR announced today the 2011 schedule for its three national series, highlighted by several key changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“The adjustments and realignment of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will make for an exciting race season next year,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “The revised schedule provides better situated dates for the tracks, a more challenging lineup for the drivers and ultimately more intrigue for the fans.”

One of those changes comes early, as the second race of the season will be held at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 27, a week after the season-opening Daytona 500. PIR replaces Auto Club Speedway in Week 2. Texas Motor Speedway fills in the vacated Phoenix spot on Saturday, April 9 for what will be an exciting night race in the Lone Star State.

Southern California’s Auto Club Speedway will now run its race date on March 27, providing the track and its fans an optimum point in the schedule.

The series’ 36-race schedule will feature two realigned events. A second Kansas Speedway date follows the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and will be held on Sunday, June 5. And for the first time in a decade the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series realigns to a new track with a race at Kentucky Speedway. The Kentucky race will be held under the lights on Saturday, July 9.

The 2011 “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” – consisting of the season’s last 10 races, during which the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is decided – will begin at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 18.

Chicagoland’s previous race date was in early July, a slot that went to the realigned event at Kentucky. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which previously had the first Chase date, will now have the second, on Sept. 25.

Also released today were the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, highlighted by a second race at Iowa and Chicagoland speedways, and the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which will see nine races moved to different dates on the calendar.

All three national series – NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – will begin their seasons at Daytona International Speedway’s “Speedweeks,” with a weekend culminated by the Daytona 500. The traditional “non-points” Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will provide fans a NASCAR Sprint Cup preview, on Saturday night, Feb. 12, followed by qualifying for the “Great American Race” to be held on Sunday, Feb. 13.

All three series will end their seasons with another tradition – Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 18-20.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will consist of 34 races, all featuring the new car that is being run a total of four times this season.

Iowa Speedway, which joined the schedule in 2009, receives a second date in 2011. The series will visit the Newton, Iowa, facility for the first time on Sunday, May 22 and return on Saturday, Aug. 6.

A new date has been added at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, June 4. The series returns on Saturday, Sept. 17 as part of a NASCAR national series tripleheader featuring the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday, Sept. 18 and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Sept. 16.

Last season’s successful inaugural event at the Road America road course in Wisconsin returns in 2011 on Saturday, June 25, the weekend before the Friday, July 1 race at Daytona International Speedway.

A previous stand-alone event at Kentucky Speedway now will be part of the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup/NASCAR Nationwide Series weekend on Friday, July 8.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be paired with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on three weekends, at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, April 23 and Saturday, July 23 and at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis on Saturday, July 30.

The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will consist of 25 races, one of which will be announced at a future date.

Phoenix International Raceway, which traditionally hosted the penultimate race in November, will host the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Feb. 25.

Darlington Raceway, which returned to the schedule in 2010 after an absence of six years, moves from August to Saturday, March 12.

Michigan International Speedway’s truck race, previously held in June, will accompany its late-summer NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, Aug. 20.

Two additional date shifts in the fall have stand-alone events at Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, moving a month later on the schedule. The series races at Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 1 followed by Las Vegas on Saturday, Oct. 15.

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2011 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Date                             Site

Feb. 12                         Daytona International Speedway (Budweiser Shootout At Daytona *)

Feb. 13                         Daytona 500 Qualifying

Feb. 20                         Daytona International Speedway

Feb. 27                         Phoenix International Raceway

March 6                        Las Vegas Motor Speedway

March 20                      Bristol Motor Speedway

March 27                      Auto Club Speedway

April 3                          Martinsville Speedway

April 9                          Texas Motor Speedway

April 17                        Talladega Superspeedway

April 30                        Richmond International Raceway

May 7                           Darlington Raceway

May 15                         Dover International Speedway

May 21                         Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race *)

May 29                         Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 5                          Kansas Speedway

June 12                        Pocono Raceway

June 19                        Michigan International Speedway

June 26                        Infineon Raceway

July 2                           Daytona International Speedway

July 9                           Kentucky Speedway

July 17                         New Hampshire Motor Speedway

July 31                         Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Aug. 7                          Pocono Raceway

Aug. 14                        Watkins Glen International

Aug. 21                        Michigan International Speedway

Aug. 27                        Bristol Motor Speedway

Sept. 4                         Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sept. 10                        Richmond International Raceway

Sept. 18                        Chicagoland Speedway

Sept. 25                        New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Oct. 2                           Dover International Speedway

Oct. 9                           Kansas Speedway

Oct. 15                         Charlotte Motor Speedway

Oct. 23                         Talladega Superspeedway

Oct. 30                         Martinsville Speedway

Nov. 6                          Texas Motor Speedway

Nov. 13                         Phoenix International Raceway

Nov. 20                         Homestead-Miami Speedway

* – Denotes non-point event.

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2011 NASCAR NATIOWIDE SERIES SCHEDULE

Date                             Site

Feb. 19                         Daytona International Speedway

Feb. 26                         Phoenix International Raceway

March 5                        Las Vegas Motor Speedway

March 19                      Bristol Motor Speedway

March 26                      Auto Club Speedway

April 8                          Texas Motor Speedway

April 16                        Talladega Superspeedway

April 23                        Nashville Superspeedway

April 29                        Richmond International Raceway

May 6                           Darlington Raceway

May 14                         Dover International Speedway

May 22                         Iowa Speedway

May 28                         Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 4                          Chicagoland Speedway

June 18                        Michigan International Speedway

June 25                        Road America

July 1                           Daytona International Speedway

July 8                           Kentucky Speedway

July 16                         New Hampshire Motor Speedway

July 23                         Nashville Superspeedway

July 30                         O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis

Aug. 6                          Iowa Speedway

Aug. 13                        Watkins Glen International

Aug. 20                        Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Montreal

Aug. 26                        Bristol Motor Speedway

Sept. 3                         Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sept. 9                         Richmond International Raceway

Sept. 17                        Chicagoland Speedway

Oct. 1                           Dover International Speedway

Oct. 8                           Kansas Speedway

Oct. 14                         Charlotte Motor Speedway

Nov. 5                          Texas Motor Speedway

Nov. 12                         Phoenix International Raceway

Nov. 19                         Homestead-Miami Speedway

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2011 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE

Date                             Site

Feb. 18                         Daytona International Speedway

Feb. 25                         Phoenix International Raceway

March 12                      Darlington Raceway

April 2                          Martinsville Speedway

April 22                        Nashville Superspeedway

May 13                         Dover International Speedway

May 20                         Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 4                          Kansas Speedway

June 10                        Texas Motor Speedway

July 16                         Iowa Speedway

July 22                         Nashville Superspeedway

July 29                         O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis

Aug. 6                          Pocono Raceway

Aug. 20                        Michigan International Speedway

Aug. 24                        Bristol Motor Speedway

Sept. 2                         Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sept. 16                        Chicagoland Speedway

Sept. 24                        New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Oct. 1                           Kentucky Speedway

Oct. 15                         Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Oct. 22                         Talladega Superspeedway

Oct. 29                         Martinsville Speedway

Nov. 4                          Texas Motor Speedway

Nov. 18                         Homestead-Miami Speedway

Note: one additional date to be added

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