Highlights

No changes to Chase races in 2007

(AP)
Updated: 2006-08-25 08:37

There will be no changes to the 10 races in the Chase for the championship in 2007, with much of next season's schedule the same as this year's.

NASCAR chairman Brian France has promised slight adjustments to the championship format and did not rule out tweaking the locations of the final 10 races of the year. But when the schedule came out Thursday, it was unchanged.

The 26th and final qualifying race will again be at Richmond International Raceway, and the Chase will begin Sept. 16 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Then it's on to Dover, Kansas, Talladega and a stop at Lowe's Motor Speedway in suburban Charlotte.

From there the Cup series will go to Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and then crown the champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18.

When France said in July he was considering changes to the Chase, which he developed in 2004, many believed the schedule could be one of the alterations — perhaps by adding a road course to the final 10 events. The series races twice a year on road courses, and critics of the system believe every kind of track should be represented during the playoffs to make it a true championship battle.

"We look at the complete schedule each year to consider possible realignment where it makes sense," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. "This year we decided that the last 10 races are the right fit for the Chase and didn't need adjustment at this time.

"The 10 races include a set of tracks that are diverse in terms of shape, size, and location."

The Busch and Truck Series schedules were not released Thursday, and the sanctioning body is still working on a deal to hold a Busch Series race in Montreal next season.

The Cup schedule has no changes in sites, but several dates have been changed. The second race at Daytona International Speedway has been moved back a week to July 7, and is sandwiched between stops in New Hampshire and Chicago. The previous order was Daytona-Chicago-New Hampshire.

Also, the annual stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be July 29, one week earlier than usual. It will be followed by races in Pocono, Pa., and then Watkins Glen, N.Y. The order had been Pocono-Indy-Watkins Glen.

The season begins with the exhibition Budweiser Shootout at Daytona on Feb. 10, and the season-opening Daytona 500 will be Feb. 18.

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