In 2023, IndyCar may have 5 oval races alongside 5 short-term/avenue course occasions races and 7 races on pure terrain street programs. However there are hopes to broaden the oval roster in ’24 and past, though there have been no agency plans but in place.
Penske advised Motorsport.com: “We’re Milwaukee – and to how we will add ovals to our schedule sooner or later – however we actually don’t have a deal to return there and something you’ve heard like that’s considerably hypothesis.
“Clearly we’ve raced effectively there earlier than, such as you stated, like Rick [Mears] stated, and it will actually add to our sequence to have Milwaukee again, given our historical past there. However there isn’t a deal achieved in any respect so I’d not need you to assume that in any respect. I can simply say we’re a lot of totally different places and that’s considered one of them.
“Numerous work must be achieved earlier than it will be acceptable to us, in order that’s one other facet we’ve obtained to determine. It’s like all these items – we’ve got concepts the place we wish to go, however there’s quite a bit that must be achieved to make it occur.”
Iowa Speedway disappeared from the IndyCar schedule in 2021, returning this previous season with a double-header promoted closely by Hy-Vee. Reportedly, 80,000 followers gathered on the little oval over the weekend, a determine probably bolstered by the very fact that there have been concert events from famous person acts Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Tim McGraw and Florida Georgia Line. Penske stated that IndyCar could be looking for a equally dedicated promoter to make a brand new – or previous – venue work.
“We had to spend so much of effort and time on Iowa to get it to a spot the place we had a promoter who might make it a hit,” he stated, “and we wish to be sure that wherever we go, we’ve got the standard of an enormous occasion for the followers, and correct entry for them, and a venue that’s protected for the drivers.
“Then from the tv perspective, we’ve got to take a look at what weekends can be found, what time of the yr we wish to be racing there, et cetera. So it’s not only a case of, ‘Hey, let’s go right here’ and it really works. There’s a variety of effort that must be put in, over a protracted interval.”
Requested if superspeedways, together with Pocono, would possibly probably be on IndyCar’s medium- or long-term agenda, Penske replied that clinching a brand new take care of 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway for a race in early April had been extremely important for a couple of purpose.
“The excellent news is, we’re going again to Texas,” he stated. “That was an enormous one which I used to be actually anxious to do as a result of I wish to have a high-speed oval for anybody that’s going to run Indianapolis. It’s good for the drivers and the groups to have had the expertise of Texas.
“In the event you return to the previous days, to run at Indianapolis, we needed to run Mark Donohue [Penske’s first Indy winner and team talisman] first at Phoenix and Trenton earlier than we might even go to Indianapolis to take the rookie take a look at. I feel that was an excellent system, as a result of we have to be sure that we don’t have folks simply shopping for rides for the five hundred and attempting to run on the Speedway immediately except they’re actually skilled.
“So we’re going to speculate closely within the Texas race and attempt to make it a hit, not only for making ready for Indy, but additionally as a result of that could be a key marketplace for not simply us but additionally for NTT.
“We’re attempting to have a strong schedule, one which has nice observe range, and we’ve obtained to make all of the occasions work, and have the ability to placed on a fantastic present on all forms of observe.”