For years, we heard about how difficult it would be to run an IndyCar-NASCAR doubleheader weekend. Then COVID-19 struck, restrictions were put in place across the country throughout 2020, and suddenly both leagues managed to throw one together at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that summer at the last minute, proving that it can, in fact, be done.
While the doubleheaders (or even tripleheaders, like that one was) haven't been as common in recent years, the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season opened up with one on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida this past weekend, and it's set for another this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, where the American open-wheel series hasn't raced since 2018.
The first non-NASCAR crossover weekend for IndyCar isn't scheduled until race number three at a brand new street circuit in Arlington, Texas.
While the general feeling around these sorts of doubleheader weekends has been "wow, cool", and you rarely hear anybody talk negatively about getting to see the other series in action, Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward isn't having it.
And quite frankly, we don't blame him.
"I’m already tired of IndyCar being like the support race," O'Ward said, according to Motorsport. "I know that every time we race with them, we are always the side show. It’s great for the fans, but not for us."
To be fair to NASCAR, IndyCar was indeed the main event in St. Petersburg after Saturday's Craftsman Truck Series race, the first street race in series history and a race that saw multiple former IndyCar drivers take part. Even the Indy NXT race wasn't run until Sunday morning, ahead of the IndyCar season opener.
However, when it comes to Phoenix, O'Ward has a point.
IndyCar isn't only playing second fiddle to the NASCAR Cup Series; it's playing third fiddle to Cup and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
The IndyCar race is scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon, while it's the O'Reilly Series race that was given the Saturday night slot under the lights, and obviously the Cup Series race was given the primary Sunday afternoon window.
We get it; IndyCar is always going to have a disadvantage when lined up against NASCAR, simply because NASCAR is more popular from top to bottom, even if IndyCar and NASCAR at the same track does make the latter look like a slow-motion series. That obviously makes a difference.
But IndyCar still has a ton of unrealized upside that is simply not being addressed, and the fact that its top level is relegated to a spot beneath NASCAR's second level is a slap in the face.
The Indy 500 is the most attended single-day sporting event in the world, and it is the most watched race in America, even above the Daytona 500. Although the O'Reilly Series (formerly Xfinity Series) had more races surpass one million viewers a year ago, IndyCar still generates better average viewership.
Even Formula 1 and its skyrocketing popularity had to take a back seat to the Indy 500 on Memorial Day Weekend, and surprisingly did so without any fuss.
Of course, we'd be remiss not to mention Fox for their promotion of the series, and the fact that all 18 IndyCar races are on Fox, rather than Fox Sports 1 or Fox Sports 2. IndyCar certainly benefits from that.
But the simple fact is, when applied properly, those benefits actually showed up beyond potential.
It's one of the reasons why, even as fans bitter about Alex Palou's dominance made up bogus claims that the sport was ruined (something they're still doing, by the way), viewership was up by 27% year over year, marking the biggest annual increase for any sport already averaging over one million viewers.
Subjectivity about whether NASCAR or IndyCar is "better" aside, IndyCar is simply not a series that deserves to take a back seat to a series that has maybe two or three drivers with serious top-level NASCAR potential.
And anybody who would argue against that clearly hasn't watched.
Fox is set to prove live coverage of the Good Ranchers 250 from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 7. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the weekend's action from the desert!