Why the Xfinity Series Needs to Return to Lucas Oil Raceway

Following a less than memorable race for the Xfinity Series at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, could it be time to go back across town to Lucas Oil Raceway?

Since 2012, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has shared the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Sprint Cup Series, running the Lilly Diabetes 250 at the track. This year, the format changed, with the series running their final Dash 4 Cash event at IMS, with two heat races preceding the 60-lap main event. However, with lagging attendance and lower quality of racing in the eyes of many, is it time to go back to their former Indy home, Lucas Oil Raceway?

The 0.686-mile oval just outside of Indianapolis, formerly known at Indianapolis Raceway Park, had been on the schedule for the series from its inception in 1982 through 2011. Also noteworthy was the steadfast commitment the track received from race title sponsor Kroger, who sponsored every Xfinity Series race there. Of course, they were not the only ones to run at the short track, as the Camping World Truck Series ran there from 1995 to 2011.

While the track has since replaced the race with an ARCA Racing Series event, many fans and drivers would welcome the return of LOR to the schedule:

Ultimately, the move was made in order to make the racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway more compelling and attractive to race fans. More action on track means more tickets get sold, more sponsors come on board and purchase hospitality packages, and more money in the pockets of Hulman & Co. Sports car racing even was part of the package at one point, but that quietly petered out without much notice.

Perhaps the time has come for NASCAR to consider what matters more in this case – their track partners or their fans. These two are clearly not mutually exclusive, but when Lucas Oil Raceway would bring in 20,000 fans, that’s a very respectable number for the junior division. Also considering that 20,000 fans would still look like 200 fans to the naked eye around IMS because of the sheer amount of seats, and it leads to negative comments on social media and less than ideal images coming across TV.

Beyond the attendance, Lucas Oil Raceway helped produce a number of unique winners over the years, including Jason Keller, Ron Hornaday Jr., and the late Jason Leffler. A number of Cup stars have won races at LOR, including Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch. The races proved to be often competitive, and produced much more side-by-side action than IMS (in either Xfinity or Cup).

Related Story: Kyle Busch Dominates Xfinity Series at Indy

Regardless of the arguments, the curious questions, and the complaints of social media, it appears that the Xfinity Series will be staying at IMS for the foreseeable future. NASCAR signed five-year agreements with all their track partners, so it would seem unlikely that this issue would be revisited until at least 2021.

What do you think? Should the NASCAR Xfinity Series return to Lucas Oil Raceway in place of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Or can the two tracks coexist and have two different race dates? Give us your opinions below and your memories of the races there.