NASCAR announces changes to 2018 schedule

NASCAR announced several changes to its 2018 schedule Tuesday, including new tracks for the final 11 races of the season. The Valley’s two main NASCAR events stay in their places, running March 11 and Nov. 11.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway will become the 26th race of the Cup season and the final chance to set next year’s playoff field. The race will be run Sept. 9 and not be part of the summer schedule for the first time since it was added to the NASCAR schedule in 1994.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway will replace Chicagoland Speedway as the opening event in the 10-race playoff series. Chicago moves to a regular-season race in July. Richmond International Raceway, which had been the playoff cutoff race since the format debuted in 2004, will move into the playoffs.

Charlotte Motor Speedway’s playoff race will now be run on the venue’s road course instead of its 1.5-mile oval. It will be the first NASCAR road course race in Charlotte’s 58-year history.