Is Honda questioning its IndyCar future beyond 2026?

Honda and Chevrolet are the only two engine suppliers in the NTT IndyCar Series. Of the two, the Japanese manufacturer is more experienced in the modern era, with 2024 marking 30 consecutive years in IndyCar. However, trouble might be on the horizon.

In recent years, the costs of operating an IndyCar team have risen multifold. But the return on investment seems bleak. The pressure on the engine suppliers is more intense as there are only two of them providing to 11 teams.

In December 2023, American Honda Motorsports Manager Chuck Schifsky raised this issue, contemplating the team's exit from IndyCar on completion of the current contract in 2026. He said via RACER:

"We have great concerns over the costs. If we were to choose not to renew, that would be the reason why. And it’s easy to see. We don’t have a third (engine) manufacturer, and there’s a reason for that. It has to do with the cost. If the return on investment matched up with the investment, we’d have a number of other manufacturers involved."

Honda also considered branching into NASCAR and increasing its F1 commitment rather than tax itself for thin profits in IndyCar. In March 2024, IndyCar and Team Penske CEO Mark Miles addressed this concern, acknowledging the rising costs as an issue. He cited the lack of billion-dollar media revenues compared to F1 and NASCAR as one of the reasons for the absence of pivotal decisions that could change the series' future.

In 2024, Honda supplied engines to five teams - Meyer Shank Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Global, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and Dale Coyne Racing.

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IndyCar's new deal with Fox Sports could help retain Honda

Mark Miles with Roger Penske at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Source: Getty

In mid-2024, IndyCar agreed to a landmark broadcast deal with Fox Sports starting in 2025, replacing NBC. This move came in the aftermath of stalled viewership for the open-wheel racing series. NBC's wide portfolio of media rights to other properties was one of the reasons for IndyCar getting pushed down on the priority list. Along with the rising costs and the additional expense of the new hybrid engines, this spelled trouble.

In the first part of 2024, no race except the Indy 500 went over the one million viewership mark. IndyCar was in desperate need of more revenue and Mark Miles quickly finalized the Fox Sports deal. In July 2023, he revealed the greater coverage promise by Fox via BlackBook Motorsport:

"Every one of our 17 races in 2025 will be live on Fox Network, free-to-air and available everywhere in the United States. In addition to that, there will be broadcast network coverage of the Indy 500 qualifying, which we think is both compelling to fans but important to building the anticipation of the Indy 500 the weekend after. That’s a 52 per cent increase in the number of hours that IndyCar racing will be on network this year compared to next."

"That’s unprecedented, and I think that’s historic. We can probably look for more than 30 percent growth in our total audience delivery from year to year."

This 30% growth in viewership could aid IndyCar greatly, attracting more engine suppliers to the sport. It would ease the load on Honda and directly reflect a higher return on investment.