Updated NASCAR schedule 2020: Everything to know about Cup Series races as season resumes

Entering the season, we knew the 2020 NASCAR schedule would feature significant changes in terms of which tracks would host races on which dates. Yet nobody could have predicted the amount of change the 2020 NASCAR schedule has actually endured.

After shifting some dates and moving certain races to different tracks, NASCAR still has a complete slate of 36 races intact for 2020. Four Cup races were completed before the outbreak reached the United States, and NASCAR became the first American sports league to resume its season — albeit without fans in attendance — starting with a previously unscheduled race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17.

In its effort to squeeze a 36-race schedule into a condensed time frame before the start of what the organization hopes will be a normal playoff race schedule, NASCAR has scheduled all of the regular-season Cup races that will play out through August.

The revised NASCAR schedule started with races in a relatively close proximity to the Charlotte, N.C., area, where the majority of race teams are located. That eliminated most of the travel-related logistics issues associated with running multiple races in one week. Four of the last six regular-season races will be part of doubleheaders at Michigan and Dover.

Below is what we know about the current state of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

NASCAR schedule 2020

NASCAR on July 8 released the third edition of its revised Cup Series schedule for 2020. The latest update confirmed the last six regular-season races before the start of the Cup Series playoffs in September.

Below is NASCAR's schedule for the rest of 2020, starting with the Darlington races it ran in its return in May.

The Darlington race on May 17 ran instead of the the Chicagoland race that was originally scheduled for June 21. The Darlington race on May 20 ran instead of the postponed Richmond race that was originally scheduled for April 19. The Charlotte race on May 27 ran instead of the Sonoma race that was originally scheduled for June 14.

The Pocono doubleheader remained as previously scheduled for the final weekend of June, with the Cup Series racing on back-to-back days. Those races were presented on Fox (and FS1) rather than on NBC. Fox closed its coverage this season with the All-Star Race at Bristol on July 15 before NBC took over, but NBC still carried the Brickyard 400 on July 5.

The previously postponed races at Dover and Michigan are now part of Saturday-Sunday doubleheaders at those respective tracks in August.

Because New York requires people to quarantine for 14 days after traveling from one of the states impacted heavily by COVID-19 (including North Carolina), the Watkins Glen race on Aug. 16 was moved to the Daytona road course. According to The Athletic, NASCAR tried to get a quarantine waiver for its Watkins Glen races but was denied by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.

For @NASCAR's top three national series and the @ARCA_Racing Series races on August 14-16, the 3.56-mile road course layout is the same layout used for the #Rolex24!

➡️ https://t.co/cjKexkXY1e pic.twitter.com/Mn2Qyjb6Ej

— Daytona International Speedway (@DISupdates) July 8, 2020

The Aug. 16 race will be the NASCAR Cup Series' first on the road course at Daytona.

NASCAR playoff schedule 2020

NASCAR reportedly is hoping to keep its playoff schedule intact with its original dates and tracks. The only change currently being considered is a flip-flop of the dates for the Las Vegas and Texas races (similar types of tracks) to account for another event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Below is the original Cup Series playoff race schedule NASCAR hopes to preserve.