The last race is Nov. 18 at Atlanta. The two new races are July 15 at Chicagoland Speedway and Sept. 30 at Kansas City Speedway. Beginning with the Pepsi 400 July 7, the Winston Cup will run 20 races in 20 weeks. As much as fans care for the drivers and crews, many fans don't realize the toll all the travel takes on race teams. Generally, racing personnel leave for a race on Thursdays and return home late Sundays.
Crews spend the early portions of each week at the race shops.
This gruelling schedule leaves little room for home life. Teams already are preparing to hire more people. There's two more weeks, two more cars to prepare, two more weekends to race. A race weekend doesn't just affect one weekend. It affects a whole lot of what you are doing throughout the whole season.