NASCAR and IndyCar dates announced for Texas in 2016

Texas gives IndyCar another try

The 2016 schedule will feature two races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series to go along with the only stop in Texas for the Verizon IndyCar Series. The Duck Commander 500 NASCAR doubleheader in April and AAA Texas 500 NASCAR tripleheader in November will sandwich the traditional INDYCAR/NASCAR doubleheader in June.

The season will open April 7-9 with the Duck Commander 500 weekend featuring the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series. The weekend is highlighted by qualifying for the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series as well as the XFINITY Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 on Friday, April 8, and the first Saturday night race of the Sprint Cup season with the Duck Commander 500 on April 9.

The Firestone 600 enjoys its 20th anniversary as an INDYCAR/NASCAR combination event dating to Texas Motor Speedway's inaugural year in 1997 when it returns June 9-11. The weekend features qualifying day for the Verizon IndyCar Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, June 10, that will be followed that evening by the running of the Camping World Truck Series Rattlesnake 400. The Firestone 600, the weekend's marquee event known as “America's Original Nighttime IndyCar Race," will run on Saturday, June 11.

The Texas Motor Speedway racing season concludes Nov. 3-6 with a NASCAR tripleheader that includes a pivotal Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in the Eliminator Round of the playoff-style format. The AAA Texas 500, set for Sunday, Nov. 6, will be the middle event of the three-race segment (Martinsville and Phoenix are the other races) that will determine the four drivers of the eight remaining in championship contention that will earn the right to vie for the Sprint Cup Series crown at the season finale in Homestead, Fla.

The race weekend also features Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series qualifying followed by the Camping World Truck Series Longhorn 350 race on Friday, Nov. 4., and XFINITY Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge qualifying and race on Saturday, Nov. 5.