Joey Logano

Richmond Raceway's 0.75-mile oval isn't your typical short track. In fact, you can say Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX) will look more like a race at a track twice its size, located a few hours down the road: Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway kickstarts the largest portion of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. This April 10 showdown (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1) is the first of 17 consecutive weekends of racing, running all the way through July 18 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns from Easter break refreshed and ready to restart its 2021 schedule at the oldest track on the circuit, Martinsville Speedway. For the first time in over 70 years, the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 will run as a Saturday night showdown under the lights at this .526-mile paperclip in southern Virginia.

NASCAR's version of March Madness makes its way down to Georgia for the running of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. It's one of two dates for Atlanta Motor Speedway this year, doubling its presence on the Cup Series schedule for the first time since 2010.

Last November was Chase Elliott's coronation as NASCAR champion, becoming kingmaker at the ripe old age of 24. This Sunday's Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX) is the first visit back to the one-mile oval where the sport's Most Popular Driver won it all in just his fifth full-time season on tour.

A little less than five months later, he's learning how hard it is to stay on top of the mountain.