Inside Line: Favorite Track To Return to Schedule?

Today’s question: Which track that has fallen off the INDYCAR SERIES schedule would you most like to see return?

Curt Cavin: This one is easy for me: Richmond Raceway (photo, top). For a series that needs an East Coast presence and could use more oval options, this short track accomplishes both, and it no longer has a spring NASCAR race. I covered all nine INDYCAR SERIES races there (2001-09), and I remember most of them being entertaining. In 2004, Dan Wheldon won despite starting 20th. Sam Hornish Jr. won with both Panther (2002) and Penske (2006), and Scott Dixon won a couple of times (2003, 2009). While Richmond would seem to be a natural fit, I’d also look into a return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It’s another fun short track with INDYCAR history.

Eric Smith: I’d love to see the series return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (photo, above). The schedule first included the track in 1992 and continued racing there until 2011. With the growing demand for a Northeast event and given how exciting the short ovals have been lately, the 1-mile track would be a perfect fit that checks several boxes. Its layout is similar to World Wide Technology Raceway, which has produced some of the series’ best races over the past two seasons. Just this past year, the event featured 485 on-track passes and a record-tying 254 passes for position, matching the mark set in 2024.

Arni Sribhen: I debated a few tracks (think both Western Canada or Northeast Ohio), but after considering where the current schedule reaches and where the series has historic ties, I picked a race on a temporary street circuit that hasn’t seen the INDYCAR SERIES since 2008 – Surfers Paradise (photo, above). For more than 20 years, the Australian tourist town played host to the INDYCAR SERIES, and while the original 2.778-mile beach-side street course can’t be used after local development has carved off nearly a mile off the top end of the course, the current 1.839-mile layout used by Supercars looks just as racy and keeps a lot of what made the original track special – tight chicanes that can be attacked and passing zones. You wouldn’t have to reintroduce the series Down Under. INDYCAR’s star drivers of the present (Will Power, Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin) as well as a few future stars (Lochie Hughes and Jack Beeton) hail from Australia or New Zealand, and local fans who don’t already follow the sport would have drivers they already know and support on the weekend shared with Supercars. (Selfishly, I only got to do the trip once and would love to go back). So why not bring a well-loved tentpole event back?

Paul Kelly: Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen (photo, above). It’s my home track, as I’m a native of the Syracuse, New York, area. It’s my second-favorite track on Earth, behind only Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 3.45-mile Grand Prix circuit, which includes the fantastic “The Boot” segment, is a true driver’s track. Undulating, challenging, fast and with a huge variety of corners. Nearly every driver gushes praise about The Glen’s circuit. Plus, The Glen has so much history through the years, with greats such as Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda and James Hunt winning there in Formula One, and NASCAR greats Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Mark Martin winning on the “short course” in Cup Series races. Plus, it has a ton of INDYCAR history, with legends such as Bobby Unser, Rick Mears, Scott Dixon and Will Power winning between the unique blue guardrails at The Glen. A revival at The Glen also would return the INDYCAR SERIES to the populous Northeast, which is needed. I don’t know the economic reasons why The Glen and INDYCAR separated after 2017, but I sure would like to see a reunion. I’ll be there.