IndyCar: Top Five Tracks to Fill Schedule Gaps

Auto Club Speedway

Our series finale is back at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. We know the track is open to holding an IndyCar race. It held events there from 2002 to 2005 and 2012 to 2015. Last year, the racing was simultaneously spectacular and frightening. With a few tweaks, IndyCar could end the year on a high note with a super exciting race.

In 2015, Graham Rahal made waves by charging through the almost pack-like racing and picking up the win. Many fans, and some drivers, said the racing was pack-style and too dangerous. It wasn’t nearly as pack-like as the old races at Chicagoland Speedway, but we see the point. So, we think IndyCar should go back there and take some downforce off the cars to keep them from getting stuck like that. (But don’t take too much away or it will just be a parade).

Another change that must happen for this race is the timing. The past few years, IndyCar has held the Fontana race in the middle of the day in order to catch the TV audience at home. The problem with that is the immense heat that kept fans away from the track and led to lower ticket sales. So, it has to be either a night race or an early evening race. The best bet is to go with a 4:30pm or 5:30pm start time so that the Eastern Time zone would get the race at 7:30pm or 8:30pm. That would promise dropping temperatures and less sun for the fans at the track and a decent start time for race fans in the opposite time zones.

Next: A.J. Foyt Adds Third Car for Indy 500

So, there are our picks for the Top 5 tracks to fill the gaps in the current Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. The real schedule continues on April 2 at Phoenix International Raceway. It’s a night race and it will air at 8:30pm (ET) on the NBC Sports Network.