NASCAR team and IndyCar Series owner looking to slot in behind F1 and NASCAR's media rights' deals

NASCAR Cup Series team owner and the driving force behind the NTT IndyCar Series, Roger Penske, has had a successful year of racing in 2023. With his stock car racing team clinching back-to-back championships with Ryan Blaney this year, Penske plans to take the evolving nationwide series scenario and replicate something similar in IndyCar.

The 86-year-old legend of the motorsports world also happens to be the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the home of the famed Indy 500. With stock car racing returning to the quad-oval next year, Roger Penske also has the Brickyard 400 to add to his racing achievements this year.

As stock car racing evolves from its current media rights deal to a new 7-year, $7.7 billion contract with various broadcasters, Penske hopes to do something similar for his racing series. America's premier open-wheeled racing series also finds itself in a transitional period as it plans to roll out hybrid engines next year.

Keeping with the recent NASCAR deal and F1 tie-up with ABC and ESPN, IndyCar sits next in line for a significant bump in media rights. Penske elaborated on how the proceedings have been going so far to Forbes.com:

“As you know, we come up in 2025. We’re in discussions. We have a great media partner in NBC, and we expect to be talking. Other people have come to us. I think NASCAR, it was great to see that with The CW and obviously with ESPN and Formula One, so we hope we can draft in behind them.”

The open-wheeled racing series plans on releasing details of their next TV rights deal before the 108th running of the Indy 500 next year, as reported by Penske Entertainment President Mark Miles.

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How does NASCAR team owner Roger Penske justify an increase in TV rights deal money for IndyCar?

With the intent of funneling more money into what has been an expensive series for manufacturers as well as teams, Roger Penske stands firm on IndyCar slotting in third behind NASCAR and F1 in America.

He elaborated on why the increase is justified to Forbes.com and said:

“I think there’s a time period going on where people are moving from linear TV and certainly network television. Believe me, if NBC and FOX and the other partners didn’t believe that there was value in what they put together, NASCAR wouldn’t have gotten $7.7 billion, so I have to go along with the experts on that."

It remains to be seen how the talks surrounding the ever-important deal proceed in the future, well into the 2024 racing season.