The history of NASCAR racing on Father’s Day
For the 46th time in NASCAR Cup Series history, the series will race on Father’s Day.
This weekend is the second consecutive year the Cup Series will compete on the national holiday with its inaugural trek to Mexico City.
Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will race at the 2.417-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course.
NASCAR and Father’s Day
Father’s Day became a national holiday in the United States on April 24, 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed into law the holiday to be observed on the third Sunday of June annually.
The first time NASCAR raced on the officially recognized holiday was at Riverside International Raceway on June 18, 1972.
Road course ringer Ray Elder picked up his second and final career win in the Cup Series driving for his father’s team.
The tradition continued for another 27 seasons with a majority of the races held at Michigan International Speedway. Riverside International Raceway and Pocono Raceway also held a Father’s Day race.
In 2000, the streak then ended, as inclement weather postponed the Pocono 500—originally scheduled for Father’s Day—to the Monday after.
The last Father’s Day race at Pocono to date was held the following year in 2001.
Michigan held races on the holiday thereafter through 2014, with the exception of 2009 and 2010 races at Sonoma Raceway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series even got a chance to host a Father’s Day race in 2015-16 and 2018-19.
In 2015, Erik Jones led 94 of 200 laps and won at Chicagoland Speedway.
Then in 2016, Sam Hornish Jr. led 183 of 250 laps and won at Iowa Speedway. When Xfinity Series racing on Father’s Day returned to Iowa in 2018-19, Justin Allgaier and Christopher Bell won.
Father’s Day NASCAR race winners
In total, 31 drivers have a win on Father’s Day in 45 total points-awarding Cup Series races.
Three-time series champion Cale Yarborough won a record four Father’s Day races. 1988 champion Bill Elliott has three Father’s Day wins, which is the second-most.
Four different Father’s Day winners went on to win the title in the same year on five occasions; Richard Petty (1974), Cale Yarborough (1977, 1978), Jimmie Johnson (2010), and Kyle Larson (2021).
Michigan has held 31 Father’s Day races. Pocono has also held eight races, Riverside has held three, Sonoma Raceway has held two, and Iowa and Nashville have each hosted one.
| YEAR | DRIVER | TRACK |
| 1972 | Ray Elder | Riverside International Raceway |
| 1973 | Bobby Allison | Riverside International Raceway |
| 1974 | Richard Petty | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1975 | David Pearson | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1976 | David Pearson | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1977 | Cale Yarborough | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1978 | Cale Yarborough | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1979 | Buddy Baker | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1980 | Benny Parsons | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1981 | Bobby Allison | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1982 | Cale Yarborough | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1983 | Cale Yarborough | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1984 | Bill Elliott | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1985 | Bill Elliott | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1986 | Bill Elliott | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1987 | Tim Richmond | Riverside International Raceway |
| 1988 | Geoff Bodine | Pocono Raceway |
| 1989 | Terry Labonte | Pocono Raceway |
| 1990 | Harry Gant | Pocono Raceway |
| 1991 | Darrell Waltrip | Pocono Raceway |
| 1992 | Davey Allison | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1993 | Ricky Rudd | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1994 | Rusty Wallace | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1995 | Bobby Labonte | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1996 | Jeff Gordon | Pocono Raceway |
| 1997 | Ernie Irvan | Michigan International Speedway |
| 1998 | Jeremy Mayfield | Pocono Raceway |
| 1999 | Bobby Labonte | Pocono Raceway |
| 2001 | Ricky Rudd | Pocono Raceway |
| 2002 | Matt Kenseth | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2003 | Kurt Busch | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2004 | Ryan Newman | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2005 | Greg Biffle | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2006 | Kasey Kahne | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2007 | Carl Edwards | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2008 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2009 | Kasey Kahne | Sonoma Raceway |
| 2010 | Jimmie Johnson | Sonoma Raceway |
| 2011 | Denny Hamlin | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2012 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2013 | Greg Biffle | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2014 | Jimmie Johnson | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2017 | Kyle Larson | Michigan International Speedway |
| 2021 | Kyle Larson | Nashville Superspeedway |
| 2024 | Ryan Blaney | Iowa Speedway |
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.
What a letdown. I have been a true nascar fan for 50 years and went to MIS for years on Father’s Day or watched it on tv. Now what do I do for Father’s Day without nascar Get it together Nascar
Why no race
How dare you go to CORRUP MEXICO ON FATHERS DAY FOR A NASCAR RACE, THIS IS A ALL TOME LOW. MY FAMILY REFUSED TO WATCH!!!