- IndyCar looks to replicate Chicago Street Race and Las Vegas Grand Prix
- Non-points race in Argentina nearing confirmation
IndyCar is exploring the addition of a major event to its 2025 calendar, according to Penske Entertainment chief executive Mark Miles.
The US-based open-wheel series wants to replicate the success of events like the Chicago Street Race in Nascar and the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Formula One.
“The answer to that question is yes,” Miles told Racer. “But I want to go back and reiterate the move [In 2023] from Belle Isle to downtown around the Ren Center was that sort of major change and it definitely had a much bigger impact in Detroit than we had before. Taking over the city, lighting up the skyline, I thought it was a very important, very impactful improvement.
“Gracefully moving Nashville next year downtown and making it the finale, maybe that’s in between. And everybody’s anticipating [the return to] Milwaukee; we’re stoked about being back there.
“Saying that, we’re working on at least one that I think people would see as high impact, a very different opportunity for 2025 in the United States that it’s too early to talk about, but we’re certainly looking for big events and big partners in the process.”
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While there is no indication of what the new event might be, IndyCar is edging closer to confirming its second non-points race of 2024. Miles has previously spoken about IndyCar’s future race prospects, but an event in Argentina after the season ends appears likeliest.
“I don’t know if we’re in the red zone or just inside the 50-yard line,” Miles added. “But I think it’s quite feasible, even for the offseason – the post-championship part of the 2024 calendar. The presidential election happened; by all indications, that has not presented any new challenges to us.
“We have a promoter who is putting together the components to organise a great event. We’ve got a fantastic facility that’s available to us. So I think it could be an example of the kind of thing that we could do.
“We’ve just got to get all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed, and hopefully, it can happen and it could be formalised and made public in probably the early part of the first quarter of next year.”
BlackBook says…
Marquee events have become an easy way for motorsport series to generate buzz, but IndyCar has significant competition in this area from the likes of Nascar and Formula One.
Both series saw their events go significantly over budget, with the Chicago Street Race rising to US$50 million and the Las Vegas Grand Prix exceeding US$500 million.
IndyCar has already shown that it is willing to spend where necessary to increase the visibility of the series, but looking to replicate these types of events will be an investment like no other.
For a successful expansion, though, IndyCar must move away from its focus on exhibition races to give true meaning to these new events for fans.