2019 IndyCar Schedule (Update)

Miles gives some insight into our rumored 2019 schedule below

UPDATE Barring a last-minute change of heart by the city of Monterey, Calif., IndyCar will announce its return to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca early Tuesday afternoon following a vote by the city’s board of supervisors.

“We haven’t lobbied counselors," IndyCar CEO Mark Miles told the IndyStar with a laugh Sunday at the Honda Indy Toronto, “so I can’t give you an independent view, but we’ve worked over a period of some time with track management, and we think we have an agreement that should be adopted by the council, so I’m very optimistic."

Miles addressed a number of other schedule-related topics Sunday with IndyStar, including whether Iowa will be a night race next year, Gateway as the season finale and more.

Q: Why go back to Laguna Seca? What made that track, that location appealing to IndyCar?

A: There’s a ton of really favorable IndyCar history and open-wheel racing — a lot of history in our current paddock in terms of ownership and the like who wanted to go back and who have enormous affection for all of those years there. It’s a place that has deep roots into the automobile, and it’s a really sexy venue. Monterey is a place our paddock, our sponsors, NBC, all of our constituents see as a sensational destination.

Q: Should Laguna Seca be seen as a replacement for Phoenix?

A: I don’t think of it that way. As far as the date, it’s very unlikely. We want to improve our schedule by a lot of different metrics and end up with 17 races again next year. So in some sense, if Laguna is added, it can be seen as a Phoenix replacement. But if Sonoma, they want to remain, then is it a replacement? I don’t think of it that way.

Q: If Sonoma does stay, the 17-race schedule would include only four ovals. Is that OK with you and the series?

A: I think IndyCar is about speed, and ovals are where we’re fastest, so they help convey those elements to the public. So it’s important to keep ovals, but I don’t think there’s a magic number. Again, it’s in the mix with: Is it a strong vibrant event that reflects on all the other events and the series itself? It’s a priority for us. We are continuing to look at all the possibilities available to us. Not just ovals for next year. We’re sifting through all of that to make the best schedule. I think we’re going to end up with a better schedule for ’19 and beyond than we have in ’18.

Q: You believe Sonoma can still grow with Laguna Seca on the calendar?

A: I believe the two could co-exist and do that successfully.

Q: IndyCar President of Competition Jay Frye said last week the hope is to make Iowa a Saturday night race next year. Is that going to happen?

A: We all hope so. I think so. … It’s more their view than ours. We think IndyCar is cool under the lights. Their view is that a Saturday night race sets up well for their date, with campers and people who travel — they’re not in a big urban area. We want to accommodate them if we can.

Q: Have you asked Gateway about the finale? And does it concern you or the track promoters to tinker with an event that was so successful last year?

A: We’re not asking them to move to the finale. We’ve had a discussion that’s not concluded about whether they think that’s a good idea or not. If you put yourself in their shoes, I think it would mean being – if they were willing to do it and do it on Sunday – it would mean hitting a network broadcast window, which is attractive to them. But that event worked really well Saturday night, so we’re not going to put a gun to their head and say you have to do that if they don’t think it’s in their best interest. Because if it’s not in their best interest, then it’s not in the best interest of the series or the finale. So it’s not that kind of discussion.

We have talked with them about being the finale, but we haven’t closed the conversation on whether that’s a good idea. Jim Ayello/Indy Star

Pocono Pit Action

07/14/18 With TV ratings plummeting and IndyCar losing yet another two venues for 2019 (Phoenix and Sonoma) here is what the slate of races is shaping up to be in 2019. Pocono has been drawing small crowds and we have to wonder if that one will make the 2019 schedule. Two NASCAR races and an IndyCar race in 12 weeks does not work out for IndyCar so we could see Pocono die and a third former race be regurgitated. What that might be at this point is anyone's guess, but Fontana, Michigan, Richmond and Kentucky have been mentioned. There are so many previously failed ovals to replace Pocono if it were to go away the number is too long to list here.

Rumored 2019 IndyCar Venues
Homestead-Miami, FL (Tentative)
St. Pete, FL
Long Beach, CA
Birmingham, AL
GP of Indy
Indianapolis 500
Detroit, MI (Tentative)
Ft Worth, TX
Elkhart Lake WI
Newton, IA
Toronto, CN
Mid-Ohio
Pocono, PA (Questionable)
Portland, OR
Laguna Seca, CA (Tentative)
Gateway (Madison)

A return to Laguna Seca? Are they crazy? It was a ghost town the last time they were there and nearby Sonoma is an annual ghost town event. Homestead? You'll be able to shoot a cannon in the grandstands and not hit anyone.

Many race promoters today still think the old model of promoting a race works – runs some radio and print ads, a few billboards, and they will come. Well they "ain't coming."

How does COTA draw so many fans for its F1 race outside of Austin? When were Texans ever in love with F1?

They weren't.

Unless your event has a special atmosphere, like a Road America with its beauty, speed and campgrounds, proper race promotion and big name concerts draw the fans – this year it's Brittany Spears and Bruno Mars for the USGP at COTA. It works. Long Beach and the Indy 500 have concerts and this contributes to the success of both events.

Would Laguna Seca or Sonoma ever invest the money it would take on Brittany Spears and Bruno Mars for an IndyCar race? Of course not. The IndyCar races at these marginal venues — that also includes Iowa, Texas, Toronto, Portland, and already failed joints like Watkins Glen, Fontana, Richmond, Michigan, Nashville, Kentucky, etc. — eventually cease, or will cease to exist, because the promoters at these tracks are not willing to make the investment needed in today's racing-unfriendly environment to go outside the box that worked in the past. Think small and you will remain small.

As we have said on this page in the past, they would fill Watkins Glen to capacity and beyond if they held an IndyCar race on Labor Day weekend and brought in Brittany Spears and Bruno Mars (or any big-name draw) and sold combined concert and race tickets to college students in NY state (we listed all the colleges previously). It would be a huge college party weekend and expose many young people to IndyCar. Would ISC (NASCAR) ever do that for IndyCar? Of course not.

And there, dear readers, lies the problem.

What's the solution?

IndyCar needs to be sold immediately to someone like a Liberty Media (see related rumor) who have the resources to rent a Watkins Glen (and other venues from IndyCar unfriendly promoters) and do as we suggest – self promote the event and make the investment in star talent – and they will come. This isn't rocket science.

It can't happen soon enough.