Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Kyle Kirkwood thrashed the field on his way to victory in the IndyCar race from Washington, D.C. The Netherlands didn't need to rain help produce a good Dutch Grand Prix, though it could have used it for the sprint race. We did see one of the greater passes of the year at Zandvoort. There were a few notable accidents across the sports car racing world. NASCAR started in the damp in New England. We are approaching the final weekend of August. That means the IndyCar season is almost over. We should consider the venue of the finale. IndyCar's best option could be right under its nose.
This Should Be The Finale
In two years since its return to the IndyCar calendar, Milwaukee has developed into a can't-miss event. Prior to its return in 2024, there was skepticism the one-mile oval would draw a respectable crowd after it struggled to attract and maintain interest a decade earlier. Year one blew everyone away and it continued in year two. Year three sees a return of a doubleheader weekend, providing full Saturday and Sunday for spectators.
Milwaukee has quickly become a standout event, something IndyCar needs especially for an oval. I said it after last year's race and I will reiterate it now, Milwaukee should be IndyCar's finale.
It has a crowd. It has an identity. It has outstanding racing. It certainly would feel like a proper setting to conclude the season. IndyCar has struggled for decades to have a worthy season finale. It has gone around the country chasing the proper event and none have stuck. It once ended at Chicagoland and tried Homestead. A Las Vegas attempt was made. It returned to Fontana. It has experimented in Northern California, first at Sonoma and then returning to Laguna Seca, once a proper finale. Nashville got the spot in what was supposed to be a street race, but turned into a respectable oval event. Each has had shortcomings, mostly the lack of a crowd and the feeling of a championship-decider.
Chicagoland was never going to stick on the first Sunday of the NFL season. Homestead never drew a crowd. Fontana was good and was better in 2013 it closed the season in October, but it lost the spot as the season finale when it was decided to conclude the season by Labor Day. Sonoma never really had great crowds, and Laguna Seca hasn't come close to the finales we saw over 30 years ago. Nashville was good, but it was distant from the downtown location we became accustomed to visiting.
Milwaukee ticks all the boxes. It is essentially in a downtown location, and it fills the stands. If it was the finale, it could force the removal of some of those sponsorship banners and opening a few more of those grandstands. Most importantly, it has had some dramatic racing in the last two years. The final race would come down to the closing laps, keeping the audience engaged to the very end, which is what you want especially if a championship is on the line. There is also history in the venue, hosting IndyCar races prior to World War II and long being a staple on the schedule even if it was absent for a chunk of the 21st century.
It might not be the finale IndyCar wants, but it is the finale IndyCar deserves.
Laguna Seca reclaimed the finale spot this year as Nashville moved to the summer to follow the FIFA World Cup Final, an experiment rain washed out. One of the other pushes for Laguna Seca is certain people desire to be in Monterey. It is a gorgeous part of the country, and for sponsors and dignitaries, it is a good place to spend a weekend. The problem is Laguna Seca doesn't draw 15,000 spectators. The place looks empty even with grandstands that are no larger than many top-tier high school football fields.
If Laguna Seca was drawing 40,000 people or 50,000 people and looked close to the old days of Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti and Alex Zanardi, it would be a proper place to finish the season. That isn't the case, and if we were honest, Laguna Seca could be sacrificed for a different venue with a better crowd elsewhere in the country. Pleasing sponsors is part of the game, but IndyCar needs to end with a bang, and Milwaukee is it.
It isn't the largest crowd, but Milwaukee feels big. Anyone watching at home will see a full grandstand and believe it is an event keeping an eye on. The visuals go further than you think. If the stands are empty, viewers at home will think it is not worth their time and move on. For the finale, IndyCar's final race for six months, it should do all it can to attract an audience before closing the curtain.
Beyond how it looks on television, Milwaukee has been done correctly the last two years. It has taken advantage of its location on the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds and made the race an extension of the fair atmosphere. People have loved it, and it gives the spectators more beyond what is happening on the track. The sponsors might love the setting of Laguna Seca, but in terms of an event, it is hard to say Milwaukee would not be a good sell.
After all, don't sponsors want to see a crowd, potential customers, people they can sell to? Even if it is 30,000 people, it is much more than we have at Laguna Seca, and it is contained to a smaller area, making it easier to reach and be seen by those attending.
For as much as we see IndyCar's midwestern base as a crutch to the series that keeps its from expanding, it is fine that it has that foundation and it is probably the best location for the finale to take place. We aren't lying to ourselves about where a fair number of the fanbase originates. Milwaukee would be accessible to the core audience and the finale would only be greater if it was held in their backyard.
If you need to wine-and-dine folks, house them an hour up the road at Whistling Straits, the golf resort on the shores of Lake Michigan, and hold the banquet there. It is a little out of the way, but they will all take their helicopters back and forth. They will be fine. They can have their luxurious weekend and the IndyCar fans can have a celebrated race cap off the season while enjoying cream puffs and fried cheese curds. Hell, even the swanky crowd loves fair food. It is a win-win for everyone.
Milwaukee is already 95% of the way to being a knockout finale location. The final 5% is mostly just making it the last race.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Kyle Kirkwood, but did you know...
Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix, his second career victory. George Russell won the sprint race.
Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup race from Loudon, his third victory of the season. Layne Riggs won the Truck race, his sixth victory of the season.
The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini of Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell won the IMSA race from Virginia International Raceway. The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG of Russell Ward and Philip Ellis won in GTD.
The #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson of Jakub Śmechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly won the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The #5 Rinaldi Racing of José Cautela, Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen and Alvise Rodella won in Ligier-Toyota won in LMP3. The #86 GR Racing Ferrari of Michael Wainwright, Lorcan Hanafin, and Mex Jansen won in LMGT3.
The #16 ARTA Mugen Honda of Tomoki Nojiri and Ren Sato won the Super GT race from Suzuka. The #9 Pacific Racing Team BMW of Yusuke Tomibayashi and Yuta Fujiwara won in GT300.
Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown and Broc Feeney split the Supercars races from Queensland Raceway.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar has its doubleheader in Milwaukee.
GT World Challenge America will be up the road at Road America. It feels like an unnecessary clash.
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup has its penultimate round at the Nürburgring. Another unnecessary clash within sanctioning body.
NASCAR concludes its regular season for its top two national series at Daytona.
MotoGP will be in Aragón.
The World Rally Championship is back in Paraguay.
