NASCAR tracks vary in length, shape, and size. They also come in a few distinct varieties, offering varying degrees of difficulty to challenge the Cup Series drivers. But this might leave you wondering just how long NASCAR tracks are.
NASCAR tracks can measure as long as 3.4 miles (5.5 km), like COTA, or they can be much shorter, like the 0.25 mile (0.4 km) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The average length of a NASCAR track is 1.6 miles (2.6 km), and the longest oval track is the 2.7-mile (4.3 km) Talladega Superspeedway.
Below, we will discuss which NASCAR track is the longest and which is the shortest, and dive into further detail regarding the average length of a NASCAR track. But first, we take a look at all the tracks on the current Cup Series schedule, listing their lengths, race lengths, and race durations.
List Of NASCAR Tracks By Length
| Track | Type | Length | Laps | Race Length | Race Duration |
| Circuit of the Americas | Road Course | 3.4 miles / 5.5 km | 68 | 235 miles / 378 km | 3.5 hours |
| Talladega | Superspeedway | 2.7 miles / 4.3 km | 188 | 500 miles / 805 km | 3.5 hours |
| Daytona | Superspeedway | 2.5 miles / 4 km | 200 160 | 500 miles / 805 km 400 miles / 644 km | 3.5 hours 3 hours |
| Pocono | Superspeedway | 2.5 miles / 4 km | 60 | 400 miles / 644 km | 3.25 hours |
| Watkins Glen | Road Course | 2.5 miles / 4 km | 90 | 220 miles/ 354 km | 2.25 hours |
| Indianapolis Road Course | Road Course | 2.4 miles / 3.9 km | 82 | 200 miles/ 322 km | 2.75 hours |
| Charlotte (Roval) | Road Course | 2.3 miles / 3.7 km | 109 | 250 miles / 400 km | 3 hours |
| Chicago Street Course | Road Course | 2.2 miles / 3.5 km | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Michigan | Intermediate | 2 miles / 3.2 km | 200 | 400 miles/ 644 km | 3 hours |
| Auto Club | Superspeedway | 2 miles / 3.2 km | 200 | 400 miles / 644 km | 3 hours |
| Sonoma | Road Course | 1.9 miles / 3 km | 110 | 220 miles / 354 km | 2.75 hours |
| Atlanta | Intermediate | 1.55 miles / 2.5 km | 325 260 | 500 miles / 805 km 400 miles / 644 km | 4 hours 3.5 hours |
| Texas | Intermediate | 1.5 miles / 2.4 km | 334 | 500 miles / 805 km | 4.5 hours |
| Homestead-Miami | Intermediate | 1.5 miles / 2.4 km | 267 | 400 miles / 644 km | 3 hours |
| Las Vegas | Intermediate | 1.5 miles / 2.4 km | 267 | 400 miles / 644 km | 3.5 hours 3 hours |
| Kansas | Intermediate | 1.5 miles / 2.4 km | 267 | 400 miles / 644 km | 3.25 hours |
| Charlotte | Intermediate | 1.5 miles / 2.4 km | 400 | 600 miles / 966 km | 5.25 hours |
| Darlington | Intermediate | 1.4 miles / 2.2 km | 293 367 | 400 miles / 644 km 500 miles / 805 km | 3.5 hours 4 hours |
| Nashville | Intermediate | 1.3 miles / 2.1 km | 300 | 400 miles / 644 km | 3.5 hours |
| World Wide Technology | Intermediate | 1.25 miles / 2 km | 240 | 300 miles / 483 km | 3 hours |
| New Hampshire | Intermediate | 1.05 miles / 1.7 km | 301 | 318.5 miles / 513 km | 3.25 hours |
| Phoenix | Intermediate | 1 mile / 1.6 km | 312 | 312 miles / 502 km | 3 hours |
| Dover | Intermediate | 1 mile / 1.6 km | 400 | 400 miles / 644 km | 3.5 hours |
| Richmond | Short Track | 0.75 miles / 1.2 km | 400 | 300 miles / 484 km | 3 hours |
| North Wilkesboro | Short Track | 0.625 miles / 1 km | 125 | 187.5 miles / 302 km | TBA |
| Bristol | Short Track | 0.53 miles / 0.85 km | 500 | 267 miles / 430 km | 3 hours |
| Bristol Dirt | Short Track | 0.53 miles / 0.85 km | 250 | 133 miles / 214 km | 3.5 hours |
| Martinsville | Short Track | 0.525 miles / 0.84 km | 400 500 | 210 miles / 338 km 263 miles / 423 km | 2.75 hours 3.5 hours |
| Los Angeles Coliseum | Short Track | 0.25 miles / 0.4 km | 350 (total) | 87.5 miles / 141 km | 2 hours |
Some tracks, you will notice, have multiple race lengths. Daytona, for example, has a 400 mile (644 km) and a 500 mile (805 km) event. Others, like Phoenix and Richmond, hold two races but they run for the same length and roughly the same amount of time, so you will only see one length and one duration listed.
What Is The Average Length Of A NASCAR Track?
The average length of a NASCAR track is 1.7 miles, or 2.7 kilometers. The average length of a NASCAR road course is the longest of the four types, at 2.45 miles (3.94 km), even longer than superspeedways, which are 2.4 miles long on average (3.86 km).
NASCAR tracks vary in size and shape. There’s the tricky triangle of Pocono Raceway, the egg-shaped Darlington Raceway, the tri-ovals of Daytona and Talladega, and the many road courses dotted across the schedule. The tracks are divided into four categories: Road Course, Superspeedway, Intermediate, and Short Track.
Road Courses
The size of road courses vary more than the others, as they can measure as little as 1.9 miles (3 km), or as long as Circuit of the Americas at 3.4 miles (5.5 km).
Superspeedways
Superspeedways measure at least two miles (3.2 km) in length. While some tracks, like Nashville Superspeedway, have the word in their name, they are really intermediate tracks because they measure less than two miles. Nashville is also one of the smaller intermediate tracks on the circuit, at just 1.3 miles long (2.1 km).
Intermediate Tracks
Intermediate tracks measure between 1 mile (1.6 km) and 2 miles (3.2 km), so there is a bit of a gray area when deciphering between larger intermediate tracks and superspeedways. For example, Auto Club and Michigan are both 2 miles (3.2 km), but Auto Club classifies as a superspeedway while Michigan is an intermediate track.
Short Tracks
Short tracks measure under a mile. They can be as short as 0.25 miles (0.4 km), or as long as 0.75 miles (1.2 km). During the Winston Cup Era, the presence of more intermediate tracks slowly phased out the short track, and by 2020, there were only three left: Bristol, Martinsville, and Richmond. Starting in 2022, that changed when the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum joined the circuit for The Clash.
Average Length Of NASCAR Tracks By Type
| Type | Average Length | Average Race Duration |
| Road Course | 2.45 miles / 3.94 km | 2.85 hours |
| Superspeedway | 2.4 miles / 3.86 km | 3.25 hours |
| Intermediate | 1.4 miles / 2.25 km | 4.35 hours |
| Short Track | 0.54 miles / 0.87 km | 3 hours |
What Is The Longest NASCAR Track?
The longest NASCAR track is currently the Circuit of the Americas, or COTA, which is 3.4 miles long (5.5 km), and is a road course. The longest oval track on the NASCAR schedule is Talladega Superspeedway, at 2.7 miles or 4.3 km in length.
For years, Talladega Superspeedway held the honor of NASCAR’s longest track. The 2.7 mile (4.5 km), high-banked fast tri-oval hosted what became known as America’s fastest race. The spring race, the Winston 500, was also once known as a Crown Jewel event. However, as NASCAR changed toward the end of the 2010s, Talladega’s title as the longest track was about to shift hands.
Road America
In 2021, Talladega lost the honor to the incoming road courses. The longest track that season and in 2022, Road America, measured 4 miles (6.5 km). Road America also returned to the schedule in 2022, but for 2023, the Chicago Street Course, measuring 2.2 miles (3.5 km) replaced it.
Daytona Road Course
Daytona International Speedway’s road course, which measures at 3.6 miles (5.8 km) in length, dropped Talladega to third. NASCAR raced with that track configuration for 2021’s Clash at the beginning of the season, and in a points-paying race one week after the Daytona 500.
NASCAR’s points-paying race at the Daytona Road Course was a one-off, since the COVID-19 Pandemic prevented them from racing at Auto Club. When racing returned to the Fontana track, NASCAR did away with racing at the Daytona Road Course, but Talladega, even with the absence of Road America and the Daytona Road Course, has not reclaimed its throne.
COTA
This is because Talladega dropped to fourth in the rankings, thanks to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), which clocks in at 3.4 miles (5.5 km) in length. COTA is the longest track on the schedule and one of the most complicated, given its number of turns and Formula 1 specifications, presenting a challenge to NASCAR drivers.
Having opened in 2012, COTA is also one of the youngest tracks on the circuit, and NASCAR ran its first race there in 2021. The inaugural event was memorable in that NASCAR teams had to use the grooved rain tires for the race plus the windshield wiper blade, making this a rare race that NASCAR ran in the rain.
However, visibility problems forced NASCAR to end the race prematurely, saving its first full event for the following season in 2022. The race at COTA was the first road course event to feature the Next Gen car, and it also remains NASCAR’s first road course race of the season, replacing Sonoma, which held the honor until 2019.
What Is The Shortest NASCAR Track?
The shortest NASCAR track is the Los Angeles Coliseum, which measures just 0.25 miles in length (0.4 km). It hosts the Clash at the Coliseum preseason event. The shortest track to host a points-paying race is Martinsville Speedway, which is just 0.53 miles long, or 0.85 km.
Like Talladega, another longtime venue held the honor of NASCAR’s shortest track. That venue is Martinsville, one of the oldest tracks on the NASCAR schedule today. The track, often called the Paperclip and the Half Mile of Mayhem, measures just over a half-mile (0.84 km) in length, and it ran its first Cup Series event in 1949. It continues to host two races per season.
Martinsville is unique among NASCAR tracks, as it contains a mixed surface of asphalt and concrete, and it remains one of the sport’s most popular tracks because of the close racing it produces. And despite losing its title as NASCAR’s shortest track in 2022, it is still the shortest venue that hosts points-paying races.
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
You may know the Coliseum as the home of the NCAA’s USC Trojans, one of college football’s finest programs. Starting in 2022, NASCAR hosted its preseason event called The Clash at the Coliseum at the venue. This race is the most unique in the sport, as the quarter-mile (0.4 km) track is so small, it cannot hold a 40 car field.
Instead, the race is divided into heats over the course of seven mini-races. All 36 charters are invited to compete in the event, with up to four non-charter teams also eligible. The first four heat races comprise 25 laps. The drivers that finish in the top four in each heat advance to the featured event, while the bottom six in each heat enter one of two playoff races comprising 50 laps.
The top three drivers in this playoff race also advance to the feature race, bringing the total to 22 cars. Finally, the driver who did not qualify for the feature race in any of the races that ranked the highest finish in the standings the previous season rounds out the feature race, bringing the field to 23 cars for the 150 lap event. This gives the event a total of 350 laps.
How Long Are NASCAR Races?
NASCAR races vary in length, as a race that runs for the duration of the Coca Cola 600, often called NASCAR’s endurance race, is substantially longer than the exhibition race held in Los Angeles. Combining the heat races and the feature, the duration of the Clash at the Coliseum lasts just two hours. The Coca Cola 600, however, lasts for over five hours.
The average NASCAR race lengths are as follows:
- NASCAR races with lengths of 500 miles often last between three hours and 30 minutes to four hours and 30 minutes
- Those that go for 400 miles are often in the three hours to three hours and 15 minutes, though some can last for as little as two hours and 45 minute
- 300-mile races typically take around 2-3 hours
- The road course races, which typically run for fewer than 300 miles, usually last between 2 and 3 hours as well
Final Thoughts
The average NASCAR track measures 1.6 miles long (2.6 km), but road courses can measure up to 3.4 miles (5.5 km) or even longer. The shortest tracks are shorter than a mile in length, with the Los Angeles Coliseum being the shortest at just 0.25 miles (0.4 km).
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