Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Christian Horner was fired, and we have been talking about that all week. It was a good weekend for a set of brothers. It rained a lot in Germany. The Formula E championship was clinched with a round remaining, and the finale will now be an extended celebration for a home driver. There was a rebound in Berlin. Something is becoming inevitable. There was a historic winner in a junior series. Álex Palou continues to be dominant, but we need to talk about the venue and IndyCar’s future.
Why is IndyCar Wasting its Money in Iowa?
It is amazing how quickly things can change.
In 2022, after a one-year hiatus away from Iowa Speedway, IndyCar's return was celebrated. The injection of funding from Hy-Vee turned Iowa into a destination weekend. Doubleheader races. Big concert acts. Tickets were pricey, some felt slighted, but it was an IndyCar weekend that stood out from the others. The racing continued to be competitive and whether some people were only there for the music or there for racing, it drew a crowd.
After three years, Hy-Vee moved on. Iowa Speedway made an unexpected decision to re-pave the bottom lane of the racetrack a little over a month before last year's race, leaving IndyCar and Firestone scrambling for a solution. The disparity of the two lanes of the track turned a race weekend that saw well over 2,000 combined total passes over two races into two races that combined for less than a quarter of that total. Quickly, the mood turned.
IndyCar tried this year to improve the racing after last year's display, but there is only so much the series can do when a racetrack decides to have half its asphalt be brand new and then other half be 18 years older. Everyone went into last year's race nervous, and everyone went into this year's dismayed. At the test last month, everyone knew this would not be a good race weekend. It was slightly better than last year, but it neglects what we know Iowa could be and the Iowa we lost. It is difficult thing to accept because until 2024, Iowa had been a great track for IndyCar.
Now IndyCar must ask itself this difficult question, why waste its money for two unsatisfactory races?
Iowa is a rental. IndyCar rents the facility and promotes this race on its own, which the series didn’t do a good job at, but that is another story.
Sukup Manufacture, Co., the world's largest family-owned and operated manufacturer of grain storage, drying and handling equipment, took over as the title sponsor from Hy-Vee. Iowa Speedway doesn't really care if IndyCar is there. In the build up to the IndyCar race, Iowa Speedway's website never featured it on the main page. It listed IndyCar as one of its events under the calendar, but it didn't do anymore to encourage people to support an event running at its facility. If IndyCar is willing to write a check, Iowa Speedway and its owner (NASCAR) will happily accept it.
But why should IndyCar choose to return to a track where it is unnecessarily difficult to put on a satisfactory race?
IndyCar could invest millions and test religiously in the build up to next year's race to get the most out of it, but IndyCar isn't going to do that. It barely organized a test ahead of this year's race, and even after that test, the series and Firestone still decided to make changes ahead of the race weekend, meaning everyone was heading into this doubleheader running something untested. They wasted a day gathering data just to start from scratch.
Iowa had been one of IndyCar's best races, and it had tremendous support over the years, but even before the pandemic attendance had dipped. It bounced from night race to day race to late-evening race. Some were turned off when it became more than just a race weekend and ticket prices increased with big musical acts performing. Now the racing is frustrating. It isn’t really good. That great audience has mostly been turned off. If the race is bad, and no one is showing up, and the main sponsor who supported this race backed out, and the funding is less than what you were first getting, why go back?
The racing is not returning to its pre-2024 level anytime soon. Maybe in three or four years, but that is long wait, one IndyCar cannot afford. It would be one thing if there crowd was going to be there no matter what. If 30,000 people showed up every year at Iowa no matter the quality of racing, then IndyCar has a case to stick it out until the track wears even if it takes a few years. That isn't the case. The crowd didn’t have that type of devotion.
If IndyCar is going to spend millions of dollars to run a race weekend, why do it at a place where the support is gone and the racing is bad?
Next year will not be different, and if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly hoping for a different result, it would be insane for IndyCar to return to Iowa Speedway in 2026.
It is awful to accept, but IndyCar should take that money and look for another facility to rent. As much as it hurts to lose Iowa, it is a chance for IndyCar to go elsewhere. If only 10,000 people are going to show up over two days, why not go to a venue and an area of the country you currently are not running? What is the difference between 10,000 people over two days in Iowa and say 20,000 or 25,000 people showing up for Pocono or Richmond?
This is an oval weekend IndyCar supports. If the series is going to prop up one oval weekend a year, it better be a weekend where the racing is at least good. This is a chance for IndyCar to go somewhere else and branch out.
For six years we have been talking about how the Northeast (really the entire East Coast) is barren of IndyCar. IndyCar has three good options, Pocono, Richmond or Loudon. Pocono is a known. Its IndyCar crowds were better than what Iowa pulled in this weekend. With Pocono’s NASCAR race in late-June, I am not sure mid-July is when IndyCar would like to go, but IndyCar could shuffle the schedule around to get Pocono back to late-August. Richmond was on the doorstep of a return in 2020 before the pandemic. Mid-July isn't ideal for Richmond, but dates could be shuffled around for it to run in spring time.
Loudon is actually perfect for this weekend. It hosted NASCAR races in mid-July for the longest time. The NASCAR weekend is now in September. IndyCar could run this weekend and it would still be two months before the NASCAR weekend. Also, the weather was rather hospitable at this weekend in New Hampshire. The high yesterday was 82° F.
If the Northeast isn't an option, then do something notable. Rent out Michigan and run a 500-mile race. IndyCar's biggest race is a superspeedway and that is the only time we get to see these cars at their maximum potential. It is borderline criminal IndyCar doesn't run at least two or three a season. It is definitely short-sighted, but if IndyCar needs an oval race, give the people an oval weekend. Give us big speeds and slingshot passes! NASCAR's Michigan weekend was at the start of June. IndyCar could move a few dates around and place Michigan at the end of July, and also give it some breathing room from the Detroit weekend. The state of Michigan already has a date and it isn't expanding the spread of the series, but there aren't that many other options, especially for ovals.
Where else is IndyCar going to run? Kansas? Chicagoland considering NASCAR is rumored to be returning? Those are Midwest tracks and Gateway is basically in the middle of those two. Let's rob Peter to pay Paul!
Charlotte Motor Speedway would be good, but some are still haunted by ghosts. I would be for going to North Wilkesboro. It would be the smallest track IndyCar has ever run and it is an unvisited area of the country for the series, but it is a facility that has received significant upgrades and I think the locals will support any race that comes through. Rockingham's future is too unstable to give it a race.
Atlanta is unlikely with its reconfiguration. I would love to see Darlington for the sake of seeing it, but I don't think it is realistic nor am I sure the racing would be good. Dover is too dangerous. Martinsville is too small. I don't think Bristol would be good, but hey, it couldn't be worse than Iowa.
Then there are the options that do not work if you need a summer race. You could go to Homestead, Phoenix or Texas, but those would have to be spring races. With IndyCar going to Arlington and NASCAR racing at Texas in May, I don't think Texas is returning. Las Vegas is there, but it also has a ghost problem.
Those are basically all of your oval options, and more aren't coming anytime soon. IndyCar's oval future depends on making it work with what exists. Otherwise, there will no oval weekends outside of Memorial Day weekend very soon.
I don't see a reason to return to Iowa. That doesn't have to be a disaster. IndyCar can use this to find root somewhere else. It can use this to create a new race and find a new audience. If in four or five years things have changed, and Iowa is serviceable again, a return can be considered, but not in 2026. IndyCar must go somewhere and have at least good racing. Give Gateway or Milwaukee the doubleheader weekend, and find another track where people can tune in and see a good race.
We know that will not be the case for Iowa. It is no longer worth IndyCar wasting its money on a weekend that leaves nobody happy.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Álex Palou, but did you know...
Marc Márquez won MotoGP's German Grand Prix. Márquez also won the sprint race. Deniz Öncü won in Moto2, his second victory of the season. David Muñoz won in Moto3, his second victory of the season.
Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy split the Berlin ePrix.
Shane van Gisbergen won the NASCAR Cup race from Sonoma, his second consecutive victory and third of the season. Connor Zilisch won the Grand National Series, his third victory of the season
The #12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac of Alex Lynn, Norman NATO and Will Stevens won the 6 Hours of São Paulo. The #87 Akkodis ASP Team of José María López, Clemens Schmid and Rǎzvan Umbrǎrescu won in LMGT3.
The #99 AO Racing Oreca of Dane Cameron and P.J. Hyatt won the IMSA race from Mosport. The #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari of Albert Costa and Giacomo Altoè won in GTD Pro. The #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini of Danny Formal and Trent Hindman won in GTD.
Toprak Razgatlioglu swept the World Superbike races from Donington Park. Stefano Manzi and Can Öncü split the World Supersport.
Brodie Kostecki (race one) and Broc Feeney (race two and three) split the Supercars races from Townsville.
Myles Rowe won the Indy Lights race from Iowa, his first career victory.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar makes its one trip to Canada for the Toronto weekend.
MotoGP has its final race before the summer break, and it is a return to Brno, Czech Republic.
NASCAR returns to an oval for the semifinal round of its in-season tournament at Dover.
Super Formula has a doubleheader at Fuji.
GT World Challenge America heads down to Virginia International Raceway.
The World Rally Championship will be in Estonia.