IndyCarThe return to Phoenix and the absence of Mexico culminate the IndyCar calendar for 2026

Having finished the season just over two weeks ago, the IndyCar Series already has a calendar for 2026, which has been the subject of multiple reports, leaks, and speculations over the past few weeks. The American single-seater competition, led on the track by four-time champion Alex Palou, published this Tuesday a calendar that remains at 17 races, a number that has not been surpassed since 2014, with several notable changes in dates and venues compared to 2025.

Two of the new features were already known, both in urban circuits: the incorporation of the Grand Prix of Arlington, a high-profile event announced last October, and the replacement of the Grand Prix of Toronto, after four decades, by the nearby town of Markham, as was made public earlier this month. The other major change will be the return to Phoenix Raceway, a short oval with a great tradition in the IndyCar world that hosted 64 races between 1964 and 2018. Both Phoenix and Arlington will take place in March, in the weeks immediately following the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which will continue to host the first race on March 1.

Not far from that, St. Petersburg and Phoenix will be two events that will share synergies with NASCAR, a move encouraged by the FOX broadcaster in its new role as minority owner. Thus, St. Petersburg will also feature the NASCAR Truck Series, while the Phoenix race will take place six days later on Saturday, during the visit of the NASCAR Cup Series, also giving IndyCar a date on the oval before the Indy 500 as several teams requested. The following week, the GP of Arlington, which has enormous corporate backing, will take place on March 15, a date that this year occupied the first scoring race at Thermal Club. The private circuit, which had already hosted a special event in 2024 and had been the subject of multiple criticisms for the elitist nature of the event, confirmed in May that there would not be a third visit.

In addition to Thermal, the calendar confirms the exit of Iowa Speedway, which seems to be saying goodbye definitively after several ups and downs and a notable absence of live spectators this year at the double event it had been hosting since 2020. In total, Iowa has held 23 IndyCar races since its inauguration in 2007, being absent only in 2021 when the small oval was facing financial problems, resolved since then by the arrival of NASCAR and a powerful sponsor for the single-seaters... who deserted after three years. A sad ending for one of the events that has consistently produced some of the best races in the championship, despite being in a small market.

The remaining loose race with these two exits seemed to be awarded to a popular return to Mexican soil that, in the end, did not occur. After almost a year of negotiations, IndyCar confirmed a few days ago that no agreement had been reached with the Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome to host a date in 2026. The unusual statement, published on Saturday about a race that had not been announced for a calendar not yet revealed at that time, argued that the significant impact of the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next summer, “has been too problematic to ensure a successful event, given the available summer dates”.

The statement also maintained that efforts would continue to ensure that the Mexican race, which was held between 2002 and 2007, materializes in 2027 “on the right date and the right year”, in the words of popular local driver Pato O'Ward. Sources close to the category also claim that the changes in the economic conditions imposed by the circuit manager, OCESA, after its acquisition by Liberty Media, have also played a role in this situation. The alternative had migrated, according to several media, to a possible urban race on the streets of the U.S. capital, Washington D.C., which would coincide with the 250th anniversary of the country's independence. This ultimately did not happen either, so the solution for 2026 has been to turn the Milwaukee race into a double event, as was the case in 2024.

The other major change in the calendar involves the season finale, which this year will be pushed back a week to September 6 due to the later date of Labor Day, the holiday that IndyCar marks as a calendar limit to avoid coinciding with the subsequent start of American football. This race faces a change of venue that undoes the one made in 2024, as Laguna Seca will return to close the season and moves the Music City Grand Prix to July 19. Conversely, the Nashville race will become a night race and will be contested over a distance of 400 miles, compared to the 300 of this year.

* In italics, oval races

The move seems strange, given the good attendance figures at both venues this year and the good audience Nashville had, but it has its justification. Looking ahead to 2024, the capital of Tennessee was designated as the host of the final race based on plans to move the event, held at that time on an urban circuit that had to be changed for logistical reasons, to the city center. These plans, conceived without the necessary permits or guarantees, did not materialize, and the oval located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area served as a temporary solution to save its dispute.

However, this oval is located in a relatively remote area compared to Nashville itself, which limits promotional actions with sponsors, in contrast to a Laguna Seca that has historically been a preferred choice for teams in this regard, situated in a picturesque Californian setting ideal for entertaining benefactors. At the same time, Nashville receives considerable support, as the event will be held immediately after the World Cup final on the same channel that broadcasts it in the United States, aiming for a large audience. It will be the first time in history that an oval of less than two miles (1.33, just over two kilometers) hosts a 400-mile IndyCar race, equivalent to 640 kilometers.

Overall, the calendar largely resolves the issues of a very sparse start to the season. After a 2025 in which two months elapsed between the first race and the fourth, this year the action kicks off with three consecutive races. Additionally, after leaving the appropriate gap for the 12 Hours of Sebring weekend, March will end with another race, after advancing the Grand Prix of Alabama, usually held in late April or early May like this year, to March 29. It will be the earliest Barber race in the history of the event along with that of 2012, which was on April 1.

There will still be two weeks without races before and after Long Beach, which delays its dispute by a week to compensate for the change in Barber, in line with the usual planning for May, crowned with the 500 miles of Indianapolis on May 24. Not only does Formula 1 avoid coinciding with the Indy 500 by delaying the start time of the Canadian GP, but IndyCar frees the week of the 24 Hours of Le Mans by moving Gateway up a week to June 7. At the same time, Nashville in July fills the gap created by the exit of Iowa and the delay of the Canadian visit to August, which will take place in consecutive weeks along with Portland. Milwaukee rounds off the changes by moving to the last weekend of August. In total, the distribution will be six oval races, five urban races, and six permanent circuit races, perhaps the most balanced in a long time.

Fotos: IndyCar Media