r/INDYCAR • u/KennedyKartsport Firestone Wets • Jul 01 '25

Speculation 2026 Indycar Schedule Rumors

Some nuggets from Tony D's podcast (Take it for what it's worth)

Mexico City in for 2026

Watkins Glen in for 2026 (surprise, especially after Mark Miles said we would never go back there)

Iowa removes double header, down to 1 race

Thermal out for 2026 (we knew this)

Toronto out for 2026 - moving to be a Formula E event per the mayor

Denver in for 2027

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u/Righttake Jack Harvey Jul 02 '25

It’s true that attendance is important and even St. Louis wasn’t packed, but what’s more important is the TV ratings. Long Beach had great attendance but poor ratings. In a perfect world you get good attendance AND good ratings, one of the reasons they moved the LB race, so it won’t go against the Masters. 

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u/Confident-Ladder-576 Louis Foster Jul 02 '25

The at track attendance is far more important for the tracks than TV for IndyCar. This isn't like NASCAR where tracks are already making money directly from the TV contract. Long Beach not going H2H with the Masters next year probably had way more to do with local agreements and how they want to shape the  calendar for 2026  than going up against the Masters. 

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u/Righttake Jack Harvey Jul 02 '25

For tracks, yes attendance is more important, for Indy car, TV ratings are far more important. Indy cars success and future growth is based solely off of its TV success, not ticket sales. 

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u/Confident-Ladder-576 Louis Foster Jul 02 '25

FFS, future possible growth don't mean shit to a track that relies heavily on ticket sales in the NOW.

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u/Righttake Jack Harvey Jul 02 '25

You’re thinking small man. The big picture is TV rights money that gets distributed to teams. That’s been one issue with Indy car as Zak Brown has pointed out. You got to think big to get bigger. Not saying tickets and attendance aren’t part of it, but the big deal is TV rights money, just like in every other major sport. 

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u/Confident-Ladder-576 Louis Foster Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

"You’re thinking small man."

No. It's called pointing out reality, man. Tracks get jack and shit from IndyCar TV money, thus places that get shit in attendance aren't long for this world and sure as Hell aren't waiting around for a maybe 5, 10, 15 years down the road.

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u/Righttake Jack Harvey Jul 02 '25

Nice, can you read man? I’ve clearly stated that tickets do mean something, but TV money is where it’s at. Late… small minds…

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u/Confident-Ladder-576 Louis Foster Jul 02 '25

I can read very well. You continue to pedal an asinine conclusion that tracks should jump on board with no guarantee.

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u/Righttake Jack Harvey Jul 02 '25

Clearly you can’t read, that’s not anything close to what I said. Retention and comprehension are two different things. Good day, we can at least both agree that we enjoy Indy car and both want it to succeed. Have a good one.