NASCAR has added 50 laps to the 2026 Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The 0.625-mile short track returns to the grid for a points race after a 29-year-long hiatus.NWS was revived in 2023 for the All-Star race and has had its fair share of backers for a points race. According to Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's EVP and Chief Venue and Innovation Officer, four out of five 18-to-34-year-olds have asked for an NWS points race. The Speedway Motorsports-owned track has seen a major push from Dale Earnhardt Jr. after state-funded renovations. The veteran driver initiated the digital scanning of the track for iRacing in 2020. The move brought a lot of eyeballs to the site of 93 Cup races from 1949-1996.The track has now expanded into a new format for the 2026 Cup race, as the official announcement on X read:"BUCKLE UP! 50 laps added to the 2026 @NASCAR Cup race at North Wilkesboro. 🤘"The NWS points race is slated for July 17-19, 2026. Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins the TNT booth to commentate for the race.NASCAR chief confirms rotational slots for All-Star race and The ClashNASCAR's chief venue and innovation officer, Ben Kennedy, recently announced a rotational format for the upcoming Clash and All-star races. With Dover Motor Speedway becoming the site for the All-Star weekend, many detractors complained about the event moving to daytime, seeing how the race has historically been under the lights.However, Kennedy reassured that Dover won't be the permanent site for the All-Star race. In an interview with SiriusXM, he said,“Even though it's (Dover) going to be the All-Star location for next year, it doesn't mean that it's gonna be there every single year. We talk about the Clash, we talk about the All-Star race... we feel like both of those venues could potentially be kind of rotational slots. So even if the All-Star Race next year... we want the All-Star Race to feel like a major event in our season.““We're going to continue to look at a number of options for both Clash and the All-Star Race and continue to move it around and keep it fresh for our fans,” he added.The 2025 Clash happened at the Bowman Gray stadium, and is expected to return to the same track for 2026. In other news, the Cup Series finale is returning to Homestead-Miami Speedway for 2026. The finale is also slated for a rotational format for venues.Homestead-Miami used to be the site of the finale from 2002 to 2019, until Phoenix Raceway took over the reigns after a $178 million renovation. Phoenix will remain as part of the rotational slot, while other tracks have yet to be confirmed.