3 venues highly likely to join IndyCar’s 2026 schedule: Reports

The 2026 IndyCar schedule has yet to be revealed. However, three new additions to the calendar might be made to accommodate the ever-growing series fan base.

The 2026 season is confirmed to kick off on March 1 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg. The new schedule is reportedly designed to keep the teams in constant motion, as after the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, the series had nearly two weeks of a gap in between. However, to solve this issue, the series will reportedly head west to Phoenix Raceway for the season's second race.

The series last visited the Phoenix Raceway in 2018. However, it struggled to get any attendance due to NASCAR's Cup Series being held in close proximity. The series has linked up with NASCAR to solve that issue and will race on a Saturday. The Phoenix Raceway could potentially serve as a replacement for the Iowa Speedway after it witnessed a low turnout earlier this year in July.

Another track that is most likely to be on the 2026 schedule is the relocated Toronto race. The race is expected to be relocated as the FIFA World Cup will take place in Toronto. IndyCar is currently looking at the town of Markham, which might host a street race. It is located 45 minutes away from the current track and is home to 300,000 residents.

Lastly, it is rumored that Mexico City is all set to host an IndyCar race. The series could potentially take a trip to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. However, nothing has been set in stone yet, as the talks continue.

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IndyCar team CEO proposes changes in financial structure

McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently spoke about Team Penske owner Roger Penske, who holds sole ownership of the sport. The matter was brought to light after the Indianapolis 500 scandal that happened earlier this year in May.

Before the Indy 500, two of the three Team Penske cars were found to be violating the technical rules. Brown spoke about how, with the right resources, IndyCar can also become as big as Formula One and challenge the series.

While speaking with RACER, the McLaren CEO expressed interest in becoming a stakeholder in the series alongside Penske and discussed how a franchise system could benefit the series.

“I would love to see a true franchise system. If you think about NFL, MLB, NBA, F1 kind of – technically, they're not equity owners, but the way it's set up, I'd love to see that, because I think that then means the teams share and can take the same view. My annual P&L is one thing, but [if] the value of my IndyCar team has gone up, then you also have everyone rowing the same direction because everyone's sharing in the growth of the sport. It’s not my decision, but personally, I'd love to see that,” he said

Zak Brown has been one of the key figures in the turnaround of the McLaren Formula One team and looks forward to doing the same with his IndyCar team, Arrow McLaren.