Inside Line: Most Interesting Part of 2026 Schedule?

Today’s question: What interested you the most about the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule released Sept. 16?

Curt Cavin: With all due respect to the 16 other events on the schedule, the pairing of INDYCAR and NASCAR at Phoenix is the most intriguing to me, and the intrigue is multifaced. For starters, this series has been hoping for a return to the PIR oval almost since the day it left in 2018. Historically, Phoenix (photo, top) has been a staple of open-wheel racing – the first of the annual races was in 1964 – and every recent schedule without it has felt incomplete. Secondly, many of us have wanted another INDYCAR-NASCAR pairing like the one we had on the Indy road course in 2021 and 2022, but the right opportunity hadn’t materialized. I’m sure FOX Sports, which will carry the INDYCAR (Saturday) and Cup (Sunday) races, was an important difference-maker in this case, so applaud its influence and look for massive promotion across its platforms.

Eric Smith: What stands out to me is the growing trend of Sunday night races. As viewer habits have shifted – many now busier on Saturday nights – the era of Saturday night primetime races under the lights has faded. Since 2021, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES has held four primetime races, with only one airing on network television: the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Valvoline and Axalta at World Wide Technology Raceway last June (photo, above), which took place on a Sunday night. Next season, two Sunday night races are scheduled: WWTR (June 7) and Nashville Superspeedway (July 19). NASCAR, as an example, has leaned more heavily into Sunday night events over Saturday nights, and it paid off. In 2023, its Sunday night race at Nashville Superspeedway drew over 3 million viewers, a 9 percent increase from the previous year’s Sunday afternoon race. That same season, Atlanta’s summer race on a Sunday night attracted 2.6 million viewers. By contrast, this year’s race, held on a similar date but on a Saturday night, dropped to just 1.5 million viewers. I expect INDYCAR to see similar benefits from this shift.

Arni Sribhen: The thing that stands out to me about the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule is the diversity of circuits. I know it’s a point that is often made and could be PR spin, but the 2026 calendar features six oval races, five street courses, and six road courses. I like that even-ish mix of the three very different racing disciplines. I also like the fact that the schedule (except for April’s lone race at Long Beach and the Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) doesn’t benefit any team/driver that is strong in one area or another. With at least one oval and one road or street course race in each month’s slate, you won’t be able to focus on one specific area. No other open-wheel series in the world has an equal mix of racing styles, and to win the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, you have to be good at all of them.

Paul Kelly: There’s a lot to like about the 2026 schedule, as Curt, Eric and Arni have illustrated above. But nothing made me happier when I first saw the 2026 schedule than to see the NTT INDYCAR SERIES burst from the gates with four – four! – races in March. Ever wonder why the NFL is America’s most popular sport, by a mile? One of the reasons is that for 18 consecutive Thursday nights, Sundays and Monday nights in the fall, fans know they can turn on their TV or streaming app and see pro football. Watching football becomes a tent pole, a personal tradition, for tens of millions of Americans, especially on Sundays. Now INDYCAR has the same with four races in five weeks – St. Petersburg (March 1), Phoenix (March 7), Arlington (March 15) and Barber (March 29, photo, above). Even better, all three types of circuits in the series are represented in that stretch – street circuit, oval, natural road course. It’s a huge improvement over this season, which had just two races in March and a three-week gap between the first and second races. I’ve been around long enough to remember when the INDYCAR SERIES season opened in January at Walt Disney World and then went dark for six to eight weeks before resuming in the late 1990s and 2000. That gives me the shivers just thinking about it. This very active 2026 schedule in March hopefully will erase any lingering memories of that scheduling silliness.