All 23 NASCAR Race Tracks, Ranked

While there are no bad tracks, some offer a better experience than others.

All 23 NASCAR Race Tracks, Ranked

NASCAR has the widest variety of racing you can see. And you do want to see this action in person — whether it's freight-train pack madness at mammoth Daytona International Speedway, turning left and right on road courses, or bumper-banging hit-and-runs at tiny paper clip-shaped Martinsville

No matter how good your home theater setup is, nothing compares to the power and energy you can experience at the track. Add in the odd brush with drivers and other famous people, and you can make memories that last a lifetime.

All 23 of NASCAR's current race tracks have something to offer. Some just offer a better fan experience than others.

23. Kentucky Speedway

Location: Sparta, Ky.

NASCAR race established: 2011

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: The newest track on the circuit with the least history has learned its lesson after the infamous traffic jam that frustrated fans for its first NASCAR Cup Series race.

Now, the Kentucky Speedway is another 1.5-mile event stuck in the middle of the season at a track without much character. But it’s still fun.

22. Chicagoland Speedway

Location: Joliet, Ill.

NASCAR race established: 2001

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: In a place better known for its prison, Chicagoland deserves a better reputation than it has.

It’s hard to stand out as a 1.5-mile track in NASCAR, though, and despite kicking off the playoffs for years, the track never has built a great feel or following.

21. Kansas Speedway

Location: Kansas City, Kan.

NASCAR race established: 2001

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: There’s a casino. OK, you can get that lots of places, but Kansas is a fast track with good sight lines typical of the 1.5-milers built during the boom years when every track wanted to be the next Atlanta.

As technology changed, so did the racing.

20. Auto Club Speedway

Location: Fontana, Calif.

NASCAR race established: 1997

Track length: 2 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go:NASCAR tried to make two races a season work in the California desert a generation ago, but one is enough.

The racing usually is good, though, and the charms of Los Angeles aren’t far away. And the stark beauty of the location is worth a trip by itself.

19. New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Location: Loudon, N.H.

NASCAR race established: 1993

Track length: 1 mile

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: The old-school feel of NASCAR in New England, which is a racing hotbed.

The NASCAR races are great, but some of the other series racing the same weekend are a trip back in time.

Good food, good grandstands, and traffic isn’t terrible.

18. Atlanta Motor Speedway

Location: Hampton, Ga.

NASCAR race established: 1960

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: Every other NASCAR track wanted to be this track. It had the best racing, the best sight lines, the best hospitality and the smoothest-running operation in the sport.

The best racing has gone elsewhere, and so have the fans, but tickets are plentiful.

17. Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Location: Las Vegas, Nev.

NASCAR race established: 1998

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: Built during the sport’s 1.5-mile track boom, Las Vegas suffers from the same maladies of spread-out racing and not enough action.

But it is on the outskirts of Las Vegas, and the track operators know how to put on a show.

16. Sonoma Raceway

Location: Sonoma, Calif.

NASCAR race established: 1989

Track length: 1.99 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: Come for the picturesque views, the California wine country and the quality racing.

Sonoma is a good road course that’s a little too narrow for NASCAR cars, but the chrome horn can come into play as frustrated drivers try to complete a pass.

15. Texas Motor Speedway

Location: Fort Worth, Texas

NASCAR race established: 1997

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: You won’t get bored. There’s a giant screen on the backstretch larger than any other in the land.

There also is unparalleled hospitality throughout the track and a grand spectacle before the race.

The racing itself? Well, that's another story.

14. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Location: Speedway, Ind.

NASCAR race established: 1994

Track length: 2.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: You have to go to this track, but this is not the bucket-list race to go to. That belongs to the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend.

There’s still nothing like Indy on race day, however. Tickets are abundant now, and the city knows how to be a good host.

13. Michigan International Speedway

Location: Brooklyn, Mich.

NASCAR race established: 1969

Track length: 2 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: A big race for bragging rights in the backyard of Chevrolet and Ford.

Michigan has good, fast racing on multiple grooves, and recent facilities upgrades have made the fan experience even better.

Be sure to stop for a frozen custard nearby.

12. Pocono Raceway

Location: Long Pond, Pa.

NASCAR race established: 1974

Track length: 2.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: The "Tricky Triangle' is just that, a long triangular race track that sets up like a road course through the three turns, each of them unique.

This family-owned track has a staff as friendly as it comes, and the concessions are reasonably priced.

11. Charlotte Motor Speedway

Location: Concorde, N.C.

NASCAR race established: 1960

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: The home track for the teams in the sport, this place produced some of the best racing, fiercest feuds and grandest spectacles in the sport.

It's still pretty grand, and a giant TV on the backstretch means you won’t miss anything.

10. Richmond Raceway

Location: Richmond, Va.

NASCAR race established: 1953

Track length: .75 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: Not a short track, not a speedway, but often the best of both worlds.

Richmond is a lovely city, and the facility is in great shape, with superior sight lines to see the action-packed racing.

It is the most modern of the "old-school" tracks.

9. ISM Raceway

Location: Avondale, Ariz.

NASCAR race established: 1988

Track length: 1 mile

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: The track has undergone a complete refurbishment top to bottom. A great place to see race should be even greater when it’s all unveiled in March.

You don’t have to climb up Rattlesnake Hill for the view, but if you can, you should.

8. Watkins Glen International

Location: Watkins Glen, N.Y.

NASCAR race established: 1957

Track length: 2.45 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: If you want to see NASCAR turn left and right, "The Glen" is the best place for it.

The Finger Lakes region of New York is beautiful, the track is challenging, and the race often is an exciting one.

Spectator grandstands and seating are thoughtfully placed as well.

7. Dover International Speedway

Location: Dover, Del.

NASCAR race established: 1969

Track length: 1 mile

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: The "Monster Mile" lives up to its name. Cars get chewed up quickly, and wrecks anywhere on the track end up on the bottom in a pile of mangled machines as the high banking collects them.

The "Miles The Monster" sculpture outside smirks at the carnage.

6. Talladega Superspeedway

Location: Talladega, Ala.

Track length: 2.66 miles

NASCAR race established: 1969

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: Daytona’s bigger younger brother is the fastest, longest track in NASCAR, and the most dangerous.

It’s also close to one of the great cities of the South, Birmingham, and the racing is intense as the cars hit 200-plus mph, and each other.

5. Homestead-Miami Speedway

Location: Homestead, Fla.

NASCAR race established: 1999

Track length: 1.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: Yes, it’s one of the much-maligned mile-and-a-half tracks, but it is unique among them, it’s in South Florida with beautiful weather, and it hosts the championship race.

You’ll leave filled up on sunshine after seeing the champion and receiving outstanding hospitality.

4. Bristol Motor Speedway

Location: Bristol, Tenn.

NASCAR race established: 1961

Track length: .5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: This bullring dubbed "The Last Great Colosseum" is home to frayed nerves, crossover moves on the track and a great time everywhere else.

Past races were legendary, and a few years after its most recent repave, the old Bristol seems to be coming back.

3. Darlington Raceway

Location: Darlington, S.C.

NASCAR race established: 1950

Track length: 1.25 miles

NASCAR races a year: 1

Why you should go: Right up there with Martinsville, this place is NASCAR in its purest form, and the challenge on the track is to stay in one piece.

The egg-shaped "Lady in Black" takes a toll on drivers but rewards fans with a "Throwback" theme and great racing.

2. Martinsville Speedway

Location: Martinsville, Va.

NASCAR race established: 1949

Track length: .5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: When your grandfather, or great-grandfather, talks about NASCAR, this racing is the kind they mean.

The action is spectacular, the setting is awesome, the house hot dogs are legendary, and you can feel the air coming off the cars.

1. Daytona International Speedway

Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.

NASCAR race established: 1959

Track length: 2.5 miles

NASCAR races a year: 2

Why you should go: Not the longest track in NASCAR, and not the fastest, but Daytona is NASCAR.

The completed "Stadium" rebuild is a fan’s dream. The race is always exciting. And the season-opening Daytona 500 is one of those bucket-list items.

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