NASCAR is shuffling its 2021 Cup Series schedule due to challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The series has announced the cancellation of its Feb. 28 race at California’s Auto Club Speedway and will replace it with races on the Daytona International Speedway’s road course on Feb. 21, a week after the Daytona 500 is held on the track’s oval.
The Dixie Vodka 400 originally scheduled for Feb. 21 at Homestead-Miami will now take place on Feb. 28, keeping the series in Florida for the entire month. The schedule will then pick up as planned in Las Vegas on March 7.
Auto Club Speedway is also pushing forward plans to demolish the 2-mile oval and replace it with a half-mile oval from spring 2021 to spring 2022, with an eye on hosting its first race on the new track in 2023.