The 2027 NASCAR Cup Series will be the 79th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 56th season for the modern-era Cup Series. The preseason will feature the Wheatley Vodka Clash at Daytona International Speedway, the first time back for the event since 2021, on February 13. It will be followed by the season-opening 69th running of the Daytona 500 on February 21, and will end at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 14.
The season will mark the first Cup Series season without Kyle Busch starting a race since the 2002 season, following his death on May 21, 2026.
Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers are confirmed to be returning in 2027:
Full-time chartered teams Manufacturer Team Driver Crew chief Notes Chevrolet Haas Factory Team 41 Cole Custer TBA Cole Custer is likely to return to HFT in 2027. Hendrick Motorsports 5 Kyle Larson TBA Larson is signed through 2031. 9 Chase Elliott TBA Elliott is signed through 2027. 24 William Byron TBA Byron is signed through 2029. Alex Bowman TBA Bowman is returning to HMS for 2027 for his final full-time season. With Jimmie Johnson running the No. 48 at the Daytona 500, Bowman will run a different number for the race. Hyak Motorsports 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. TBA Stenhouse will return to Hyak in 2027. Kaulig Racing 10 Ty Dillon TBA Ty Dillon is likely to return to Kaulig in 2027. 16 A. J. Allmendinger TBA Allmendinger will return to Kaulig in 2027. Richard Childress Racing 3 Austin Dillon TBA Dillon is likely to return to RCR in 2027. 33 Austin Hill TBA Kyle Busch had planned to return to RCR in 2027, but he died in May 2026. Austin Hill is signed for 2027. Rick Ware Racing 51 Cody Ware TBA Cody Ware is likely to return to RWR in 2027. Spire Motorsports 7 Daniel Suárez TBA Suárez is likely to return to Spire in 2027. 71 Michael McDowell TBA McDowell is likely to return to Spire in 2027. 77 Carson Hocevar TBA Hocevar is signed through 2030. Trackhouse Racing 1 Ross Chastain TBA Chastain is returning to Trackhouse in 2027. 88 Connor Zilisch TBA Zilisch will stay at Trackhouse for one more year before his planned departure to Hendrick. 97 Shane van Gisbergen TBA Van Gisbergen signed a multi-year extension with Trackhouse during 2025. Ford Front Row Motorsports 4 Noah Gragson TBA Gragson signed a multi-year extension with FRM during 2026. 34 Todd Gilliland TBA Gilliland signed a multi-year extension with FRM during 2026. 38 Zane Smith TBA Smith signed a multi-year extension in 2025.RFK Racing 17 Chris Buescher TBA Buescher signed a multi-year extension in 2026. TBA Ryan Preece TBA Preece is expected to return in 2027. Team Penske 2 Austin Cindric TBA Austin Cindric is likely to return to Penske in 2027. 12 Ryan Blaney TBA Blaney signed a long-term contract extension with Penske during 2026. 22 Joey Logano TBA Logano will return to Penske in 2027. Wood Brothers Racing 21 Jesse Love (R) TBA Josh Berry will not return to WBR in 2027. Love signed a deal with the team to replace him. Toyota 23XI Racing 23 Bubba Wallace TBA Wallace is likely to return to 23XI. 35 Corey Heim TBA Heim will replace Riley Herbst for his first full-time season. 45 Tyler Reddick TBA Reddick signed a multi-year extension with 23XI during 2026. Joe Gibbs Racing 11 Denny Hamlin Chris Gayle Hamlin will return to JGR in 2027 for what is expected to be his final full-time season. 19 Chase Briscoe James Small Briscoe is likely to return to JGR in 2027. 20 Christopher Bell Adam Stevens Bell will return to JGR in 2027. 54 Ty Gibbs Tyler Allen Gibbs is likely to return to JGR in 2027. Legacy Motor Club 42 Josh Berry Chais Eliason John Hunter Nemechek was originally announced to return in 2027, however news broke on September 1 that he will not return to LMC. A week later, LMC announced that Berry would replace JHN. 43 Erik Jones Justin Alexander Jones will return to LMC in 2027. 84 Riley Herbst Jeremy Bullins LMC will add a third chartered car in 2027. Herbst was announced the driver on September 3. Bullins was announced to be the crew chief on September 23.
Full-time non-chartered teams Manufacturer Team Driver Crew chief Notes Ford RFK Racing TBA TBA TBA Brad Keselowski will leave RFK Racing as driver and owner at the end of 2026.
Part-time non-chartered teams Manufacturer Team Driver Crew chief Races References Chevrolet Spire Motorsports TBA Corey Day TBA Ford Garage 66 66 Josh Bilicki TBA Toyota Legacy Motor Club 48 Jimmie Johnson Chad Johnston
Changes Team changes On January 16, 2026, Ford announced their Mustang Dark Horse SC will be debuted this season for all of its teams.
On September 29, 2026, Brad Keselowski announced that he will leave the RFK Racing ownership group.
Driver changes Following the death of Kyle Busch on May 21, 2026, Richard Childress Racing's No. 8, now renumbered to the No. 33, was left without a driver. Austin Hill would take his place for that weekend's Coca-Cola 600, as was announced just hours before his passing, and later the remainder of the season. Hill was announced to pilot the car in 2027 on August 24.
Riley Herbst would not return to 23XI Racing for 2027, with Corey Heim stepping up to fill his slot at the team. On September 3, 2026, it was confirmed Herbst would be driving for Legacy Motor Club in their newly opened third team.
Josh Berry would not return to Wood Brothers Racing for 2027, with Jesse Love stepping up to fill his slot at the team. Berry would move to LMC replacing John Hunter Nemechek.
Brad Keselowski announced on September 29, 2026, that he will be leaving RFK Racing as driver and owner in 2026.
Rookies
Jesse Love is the only expected rookie for 2027 so far, having signed a deal to race with Wood Brothers Racing in place of the outgoing Josh Berry. Austin Hill and Corey Heim will both be racing in their first full time Cup Series season in 2027, but will not be eligible for Rookie of the Year due to them both having already surpassed the 12 race limit.
Schedule The 2027 schedule was fully unveiled on August 26, 2026, and consists of 32 ovals, 3 road courses, and 1 street course, as well as 3 non-championship races to be held on ovals.
Notes: Race names and title sponsors are subject to change. Not all title sponsors/names of races have been announced for 2027. For the races where a 2027 name and title sponsor has yet to be announced, the title sponsors/names of those races in 2026 are listed.
Bolded races indicate an event generally known as a Crown Jewel race.
Oval track Road course Street course
No Race name Track Location Date TV Radio Regular Season Wheatley Vodka Clash Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida February 13 FOX Sports MRN The Duel at Daytona February 18 1 Daytona 500 February 21 2 Autotrader 400 EchoPark Speedway Hampton, Georgia February 28 PRN 3 DuraMAX Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas Austin, Texas March 7 4 Straight Talk Wireless 500 Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Arizona March 14 MRN 5 Pennzoil 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada March 21 PRN 6 Goodyear 400 Darlington Raceway Darlington, South Carolina April 4 MRN 7 Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tennessee April 11 PRN 8 Cook Out 400 Martinsville Speedway Ridgeway, Virginia April 18 MRN 9 Jack Link's 500 Talladega Superspeedway Lincoln, Alabama April 25 10 Würth 400 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas May 2 PRN 11 AdventHealth 400 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas May 9 MRN 12 TBA Dover Motor Speedway Dover, Delaware May 16 PRN NASCAR All-Star Race North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro, North Carolina May 23 MRN 13 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina May 30 Prime PRN 14 Cracker Barrel 400 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee June 6 15 The Great American Getaway 400 Pocono Raceway Blakeslee, Pennsylvania June 13 MRN 16 FireKeepers Casino 400 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan June 20 17 eero 400 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois June 27 In-Season Challenge 18 Iowa Corn 350 Iowa Speedway Newton, Iowa July 4 TNT MRN 19 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sonoma Raceway Sonoma, California July 11 PRN 20 Dollar Tree 400 EchoPark Speedway Hampton, Georgia July 18 21 Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana July 25 IMS 22 Anduril 250 Coronado Street Course San Diego, California August 1 MRN Regular Season 23 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tennessee August 14 USA Sports PRN 24 Enjoy Illinois 300 World Wide Technology Raceway Madison, Illinois August 22 MRN 25 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida August 28 26 Cook Out Southern 500 Darlington Raceway Darlington, South Carolina September 5 Cup Series Chase 27 Cook Out 400 Richmond Raceway Richmond, Virginia September 11 USA Sports MRN 28 Go Bowling at The Glen Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York September 19 29 Dollar Tree 301 New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire September 26 PRN 30 Hollywood Casino 400 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas October 3 MRN 31 South Point 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada October 10 PRN 32 Bank of America 400 Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina October 17 33 Freeway Insurance 500 Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Arizona October 24 MRN 34 YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway Lincoln, Alabama October 31 35 Xfinity 500 Martinsville Speedway Ridgeway, Virginia November 7 36 Straight Talk Wireless 400 Homestead–Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida November 14
Notes
Schedule changes The races at Richmond Raceway, Watkins Glen International and New Hampshire Motor Speedway return to "The Chase" for the first time since 2021, 2024 and 2025 respectively. The Wheatley Vodka Clash will return to Daytona International Speedway for the first time since 2020, replacing Bowman Gray Stadium. Bristol Motor Speedway's Bass Pro Shops Night Race returns to its traditional August weekend, after six years in The Chase. The NASCAR All-Star Race returns to North Wilkesboro Speedway as it was from 2023 to 2025. Due to that change, Dover Motor Speedway regained its points race after a one year-hiatus.
See also 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series 2027 NASCAR Truck Series 2027 ARCA Menards Series 2027 ARCA Menards Series East 2027 ARCA Menards Series West 2027 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
References