Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
The inevitable happened. Max Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive World Drivers' Championship. The drain covers remained in place. It was still a late night for everyone. There was an award show. Some announcers were announced. I might have been a week early on a season finale. Thanksgiving is upon us. People remain impressed by the little things. As the year approaches the end, it is a time to be thinking about the bigger picture, and something has been on my mind for some time.
One Step at a Time
The gripes have been covered extensively over the last few months since the IndyCar season ended.
Whether it be the schedule length, lack of engine manufacturers joining the series, lack of a new chassis, hybrid technology, marketing, start times, regional spread of the series, network broadcasting, streaming broadcasts, star power, horsepower, commentators, sponsors, charters, Mark Miles, Roger Penske, social media silence, LED panels, every knit that you can pick has been covered and we aren't even into December yet. We are just under 100 days until the 2025 season opener. We will not hit the halfway point of the offseason until December 8. There will be plenty more to pick apart.
At some point, we will focus on the races, the championship, the yearly Penske vs. Ganassi title fight, find more to complain about, and then wonder why nothing is great while ignoring the good that is around because it is not good enough to some lofty and unrealistic standard.
Only so much finger pointing can be done before things need to stop and a plan must be established for what comes next. You can be happy about how things are going, but being angry about the present and not having an outline for the future is not helpful.
There is a truth you must keep in mind when thinking about IndyCar's future.
It cannot be everything that everyone expects it to be.
For a series' that's entire identity is basically one race, it is expected to be the world and then some.
It must be an oval series, but also run all these great road courses while also having street course shows to attract different viewers. It is American and must be in every part of the country, but it also must be international and go all over the world. It must avoid football to maximize viewership while also race during football season to maximize viewership. It must promote more but Heaven forbid it does something untraditional to try and attract new fans and not cater to the people already watching. It must spend more money but not lose more money than it already losing.
There is no way to check all these boxes. It is at the limit but it must be more. In that scenario, it will never truly be seen as successful even if it does all it can with the resources available.
That is a tough place to be at, but this should be the time to recognize what the series is up against and at least properly adjust expectations of what the series can be in the short-term and the long-term.
Nothing will change in time for 2025, but things are already in motion for 2026. The Arlington street race has already been announced for March of that year. Races in Mexico City and São Paulo have been rumored. There is plenty of time between now and then announcement of the 2026 calendar. Arlington could be the only addition, or the schedule could see a shift.
What is realistic is IndyCar expanding beyond where it currently races. At the moment, there are four races along the Pacific Coast and then nothing until Iowa. Once past Iowa, the series only goes as far east as Toronto and St. Petersburg, Florida. Arlington will fill part of the middle of the country, but the absence on the Eastern corridor of the United States, which will be pushing seven seasons come 2026, is a major letdown for the series. Without any races in the area, a large population of the country does not have access to an IndyCar race.
IndyCar is constantly living for now. It is constantly making the decision that benefits the series in the moment because it needs money now, but it must start making some decisions for the long-term. The series must adjust its decision making and take a few chances with long-term hopes in mind that require patience.
The series must ask, “Does it need three races in California?” What is better, a Laguna Seca race that might draw 10,000 spectators or a Pocono race that will draw 25,000 people or a Loudon or Richmond race that will draw 20,000 people? Thermal is paying now, but are there enough one-percenters joining the series as team owners, series partners and sponsors that justifies a race at a facility that is severely limited in attendance and is not reaching the common man, the ones that can actually boost viewership?
If IndyCar is limited to 17 races on a schedule then it must make the most of those 17 races, and that might require some tough decisions. Laguna Seca has had some good races since it returned, but if it isn't drawing a respectable crowd and the series can draw something significantly better in a different part of the country that it is currently not visiting, then IndyCar should make a change.
For 2026, there should be a commitment from the series to race in areas where it isn't. It must be willing to take a five-year chance on racing in the Northeast and along the East Coast. It should find two tracks, doesn't matter if they are both ovals in Pocono and Richmond or an oval and Watkins Glen or two road courses, and say it is going to run there for five years. It cannot continue to be absent. It must establish a presence and see if it can grow.
That is only a step, but that is a more likely way of growing the series than continuing to race in the same areas, over-saturating a few markets and remaining stagnant. That will likely also require accepting some changes that we do not want to make, but IndyCar cannot be a 25-race schedule at this time. Maybe it can add a weekend or two but even with those new races, it cannot be everything that everyone wants it to be.
It is more than just scheduling. Location, location, location is important, but the series must produce faces that are recognizable outside of the current bubble. It is clear people will watch motorsports without making it about racing. There is a way to make those competing relatable without making it all about the racing.
A plan is a reasonable expectation, but no plan is any good without an attempt. There is definitely a plan, but we are tired of plans from IndyCar. When it feels like every other major series in the world has taken chances and done bold new things since 2020 when it felt like the motorsports world was on the verge of collapsing, IndyCar hasn't. It feels like a series that has been stuck and if anything it has shrunk but mostly due to choice and lack of ambition. We are ready for the series to take chance because what it has been doing for the last four years has not produced any notable growth.
These problems will not disappear overnight, but it is time to acknowledge what the series can realistically be and move in that direction, tough decisions and all.
Champions From the Weekend
You know about Max Verstappen, but did you know...
Thierry Neuville clinched the World Rally Championship with a sixth-place finish in Rally Japan.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about some champions, but did you know...
George Russell won the Las Vegas Grand Prix, his second victory of the season.
Elfyn Evans won Rally Japan.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula One travels right around the quarter from Las Vegas to Qatar for the penultimate round of the season.
Across the Arabian peninsula will be the Jeddah 1000km, the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
Turkey Night Grand Prix will be run in Ventura, California.
