As the Verizon IndyCar Series closes in on their final two races of the 2015 season, fans are already looking ahead to the start of 2016 and the upcoming IndyCar silly season. While IndyCar still has one of the longest off-seasons in all of motorsports, Mark Miles and the Indy brass have promised new tracks and an even longer season next year.
Thus far, Miles and crew have delivered. Already announced for next season are the additions of a road race in Boston on Labor Day Weekend, as well as open wheel’s return to Road America. However, these additions already come at the expense of NOLA Motorsports Park, which will be off the schedule after only one year. There also remain threats to the Milwaukee Mile’s place on the IndyCar schedule, especially now with another Wisconsin track joining the series.
Looking at the races that are confirmed, we see the following tracks on the schedule so far:
- St. Petersburg: March 13
- Long Beach: April 17
- GP of Indy: May 14
- Indy 500: May 29
- Dual in Detroit: June 4-5
- Road America: June 26
- Two in TO: July 16-17
- GP of Boston: September 4
This totals to ten confirmed rounds of racing at eight different tracks thus far. Now, that may seem a far cry from the promised expansion of IndyCar racing, but when you factor in the tracks on this year’s schedule that are more likely than not to return, then you see how there’s room to grow. Adding in the following tracks:
- Iowa Speedway
- Barber Motorsports Park
- Texas Motor Speedway
- Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
- Auto Club Speedway
- Sonoma Raceway
The schedule now beefs up to sixteen rounds at fourteen tracks. Noteworthy though are three tracks missing from this list – NOLA Motorsports Park, the Milwaukee Mile, and Pocono Raceway. Having already covered the struggles of the first two tracks, the fate of Pocono Raceway will ultimately lie in the attendance figures from next weekend’s race.
It is worth assuming for all intents and purposes that NOLA is out and both Pocono and the Milwaukee Mile are back in. That brings the schedule back to eighteen races at sixteen tracks. It is certainly possible that the series could add up to three more races to the IndyCar Series.
Breaking down the top three contenders:
Phoenix International Raceway
A historic and old face on the IndyCar schedule, fans and drivers alike has clamored for a return to the track in the desert. With the move of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to a few weeks earlier in March, there could be an opportune time between St. Pete and Barber for Phoenix to be back, timing well being less than a month after NASCAR comes to town.
Homestead-Miami Speedway
This track once hosted the opener to the IndyCar Series season, and at one point hosted its finale. Now it’s been off the schedule for years after a fight with track giant International Speedway Corporation that saw all their tracks eliminated from the schedule. It would be great to see open wheel racing back in south Florida, after Formula E’s announcement that they will not return to the streets of Miami.
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
While all the news about the road course of late has been surrounding the potential takeover by the International Speedway Corporation, Laguna Seca has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for an IndyCar Series finale in late September or October. However, would the addition of a third California track prove too heavy for the series? The addition of Laguna Seca would likely come at the expense of Auto Club Speedway, which has struggled for a solid date and fan base in IndyCar’s return.
While these certainly are not all of the tracks that could potentially be seen on future IndyCar schedules (there are many still pushing for the return of the Grand Prix of Cleveland), Mark Miles and the entire IndyCar leadership must deliver at least two more new tracks to satisfy the thirst of the open wheel fans.
Toronto, Canada – June 14 – Australia’s Will Power races during practice on the morning of his Verizon IndyCar Series victory on Sunday, June 14, 2015, on Race Day of the Honda Indy in Toronto’s Exhibition Place. (Cole Burston/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
