Report: Las Vegas could get second NASCAR race as soon as next year

NASCAR could be getting ready to double down on Cup Series races in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been a popular stop on the NASCAR circuit for nearly 20 years, but one that only comes around once a year. That might be changing soon — perhaps as soon as next season.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Las Vegas Motor Speedway could add a second NASCAR race weekend as soon as 2018. The article specifically mentions only “first-tier sanctioned races,” suggesting that the additional date would be for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series only. That could work fairly easily since the XFINITY Series could go elsewhere and the Truck Series doesn’t currently go to Vegas at all.

A special meeting of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors will take place on March 8, though neither the LVCVA or NASCAR would comment to the paper on any specifics.

While the Review-Journal mentions the possibility that a second Vegas date could be a brand new race, that seems like a long shot. The NASCAR Cup Series schedule has consisted of 36 races since the 2001 season, and lengthening it would not be a popular move in the garage.

More likely is that one of the tracks with two race weekends would lose one, and with attendance dropping off over the last few years almost across the board, there’s no lack of candidates. Just off the top of the head, Pocono, New Hampshire, Michigan and perhaps Dover feel like possibilities, though the second Dover race is part of the current playoff schedule.

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Then again, a new Las Vegas stop could easily be part of the run-up to the championship if it happens, and neither drivers nor fans would likely complain much about that. It will be unfortunate if it costs another track one of its dates, but change is the one constant in the NASCAR schedule, and this is one that is logical and possibly inevitable.