NASCAR considering multiyear track contracts

Nate Ryan | USA TODAY Sports

After a longtime policy of one-year engagements, NASCAR is poised to enter long-term relationships with its racetracks.

There have been multiple meetings after the 2014 season to discuss the concept of multiyear sanctioning agreements that effectively would set much of the Sprint Cup schedule beyond the current season for the first time.

NASCAR traditionally has signed annual deals with every track, pushing the yearly release of the schedule to late summer or early fall.

"I think it's fair to say we have had discussions with the tracks about multiyear agreements," NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O'Donnell told USA TODAY Sports. "We're not there yet. If we can put something together where it's helpful for fans to know, our goal is to get the schedule out as early as we can. That helps fans making plans for going to tracks. Some fans travel a long way. If we can make that better through a multiyear (deal), that is something we're considering."

A multiyear deal would offer tracks the ability to sell season ticket packages and sponsorships with more flexibility and security.

It also would allow a better savings opportunity for fans who travel long distances for races and sometimes face intractable situations in adapting to major changes.

When the 2015 schedule was released last August, Atlanta Motor Speedway was swapped to a March 1 race in 2015 after six consecutive seasons of playing host to a Labor Day weekend event – giving the track and its fans only a six-month turnaround from the 2014 race.

"If you knew the Atlanta date two years from now, and you're a big fan of going to Atlanta, you make the plan to head there," O'Donnell said. "Maybe you look at California one year. It just gives you more time to plan and go to tracks that may not be as close to you."