Darlington Raceway’s return to its traditional Labor Day Weekend date after an 11-year absence is the highlight of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, which was unveiled Tuesday.

As part of Darlington’s move from April to Sept. 6, Atlanta Motor Speedway’s date moves to March 1 — the second race of the season — and Bristol Motor Speedway moves from March to April 19.

Also, the Atlanta change means Phoenix International Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway — formerly the second and third races of the season, respectively — are now part of a West Coast tripleheader with Auto Club Speedway in Southern California. The order is Vegas, Phoenix and Fontana.

Daytona International Speedway will host the Daytona 500 on its expected date — Feb. 22 — but its summer night race will move to a Sunday night (July 5) instead of Saturday night.

Fans accustomed to planning their July 4 holiday around the race may have to plan an extra day or two of vacation to account for travel home.

Kentucky Speedway moves from late June to July 11, which bumps New Hampshire Motor Speedway one week later and eliminates the traditional July off-weekend in favor of one in June.

NASCAR added a third off-week in late August before the final two races of the regular season, which could give drivers and teams a much-needed breather before the grueling Chase begins. It also could give teams revving up for the title run some extra time to prepare.

In another minor move, Texas Motor Speedway’s spring race returns to Saturday night after being scheduled for a Sunday this season to accommodate the Final Four in nearby Arlington. Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway will swap Chase spots by one week in October.

NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup will open at Chicagoland Speedway for the fifth consecutive year, on Sept. 20, and end at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22.

Richmond International Raceway will again be the cutoff for the regular season, which ends Sept. 12.

By moving Atlanta to the second race of the season, NASCAR could be opening itself up to some cold-weather concerns such as the ones Rockingham Speedway used to face in the week after Daytona. But Bristol’s move to April should mean warmer temperatures in the Tennessee mountains.

This season’s races will be broadcast by FOX and NBC, which take over for TNT and ESPN as part of a 10-year, $8.2-billion deal.

The NBC Sports Network will carry some key races, including the Brickyard 400, the Chase cutoff race at Richmond and the Chase opener and the fall event at Talladega Superspeedway.

There were no major changes for the Nationwide Series (which will have a different sponsor next season) or the Camping World Truck Series. The two support series will share a doubleheader Saturday date at Atlanta on Feb. 28. The popular Eldora Speedway dirt race remains on the Truck schedule (July 22).

Here’s the full Sprint Cup Series schedule for 2015:

Feb. 14: Daytona International Speedway (Sprint Unlimited exhibition race) (FOX)

Feb 15: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500 qualifying) (FOX)

Feb. 19: Daytona International Speedway (Duels) (FOX Sports 1)

Feb. 22: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500) (FOX)

March 1: Atlanta Motor Speedway (FOX)

March 8: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (FOX)

March 15: Phoenix International Raceway (FOX)

March 22: Auto Club Speedway (FOX)

March 29: Martinsville Speedway (FOX)

April 5: OFF

April 11: Texas Motor Speedway (FOX)

April 19: Bristol Motor Speedway (FOX)

April 25: Richmond International Raceway (FOX Sports 1)

May 3: Talladega Superspeedway (FOX)

May 9: Kansas Speedway (FOX Sports 1)

May 16: Charlotte Motor Speedway (All-Star Race) (FOX Sports 1)

May 24: Charlotte Motor Speedway (Coca-Cola 600) (FOX)

May 31: Dover International Speedway (FOX Sports 1)

June 7: Pocono Raceway (FOX Sports 1)

June 14: Michigan International Speedway (FOX Sports 1)

June 21: OFF

June 28: Sonoma Raceway (FOX Sports 1)

July 5: Daytona International Speedway (NBC)

July 11: Kentucky Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

July 19: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

July 26: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

Aug. 2: Pocono Raceway (NBC Sports Network)

Aug. 9: Watkins Glen International (NBC Sports Network)

Aug. 16: Michigan International Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

Aug. 22: Bristol Motor Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

Aug. 30: OFF

Sept. 6: Darlington Raceway (NBC)

Sept. 12: Richmond International Raceway (NBC Sports Network)

CHASE RACES

Sept. 20: Chicagoland Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

Sept. 27: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

Oct. 4: Dover International Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

Oct. 10: Charlotte Motor Speedway (NBC)

Oct. 18: Kansas Speedway (NBC)

Oct. 25: Talladega Superspeedway (NBC Sports Network)

Nov. 1: Martinsville Speedway (NBC Sports Network)

Nov. 8: Texas Motor Speedway (NBC)

Nov. 15: Phoenix International Raceway (NBC)

Nov. 22: Homestead-Miami Speedway (NBC)

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck