IndyCar’s final three races of the 2024 season have been all been at tracks which have been off the calendar for numerous years.
Milwaukee’s double header was a terrific weekend filled with action and title drama, which leaves the championship going down to the wire.
The IndyCar finale will be held in Nashville as per usual, but not on a street course and instead at the Superspeedway – which last hosted a race in 2008.
From the evidence of this, you’d think that the series likes to return to its old stomping grounds, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
IndyCar CEO ‘instantly’ rejects idea of returning to track
Other tracks that used to be the centre of IndyCar’s calendar and have since fallen off, are always amongst discussion for fans.
That includes Watkins Glen, which hosted events between 1979 and 2017 and was last won by Alexander Rossi – but IndyCar CEO Mark Miles was having none of it talking to the media.
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“We’re not going back to places like Richmond,” he said. “You’ve got to get your head out of the ‘old’ us. I don’t want to go to places that we’ve been, and I think I’m winning (that battle).
“We recently had a conversation where somebody said, ‘They want us back at Watkins Glen.’ And instantly [he heard], ‘Oh yeah, that’s great!’ No [expletive] way.
“We’ve got to quit being what we’ve been. We have to show some innovation. So no, this isn’t one we’ve been to.”
Nashville served up with incredible opportunity on return
When the Nashville Superspeedway signed a deal to return to IndyCar, it was fairly evident that it had a good chance of hosting a championship decider.
Until Alex Palou won last year’s title, it had gone down to the final event on 17 consecutive occasions.
This year, although the gap at the top is almost unassailable between Palou and Will Power, Milwaukee proved that anything can still happen.
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The Spaniard was shifted to the back of the pack after suffering an electrical issue at the start of the race – if the same fate awaits him next time, all Power had to do is finish in the top two to claim the title.
Another good race returning to the calendar and all of a sudden Miles might have to reconsider his words, seeing that the remaining races were all excellent at returning tracks.