{"id":531139,"date":"2026-03-12T09:51:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/531139\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:51:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:51:23","slug":"more-indycar-nascar-doubleheaders-what-we-learned-from-the-joint-motorsports-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/531139\/","title":{"rendered":"More IndyCar, NASCAR doubleheaders? What we learned from the joint motorsports weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

IndyCar\u2019s<\/a> return to Phoenix Raceway for the first time since 2018 came in collaboration with NASCAR<\/a> for what was deemed a \u201cDesert Double\u201d weekend. For the first time, IndyCar<\/a> and NASCAR shared an oval, with IndyCar having its Good Ranchers 250 race on Saturday and the NASCAR Cup Series holding the Straight Talk Wireless 500 on Sunday.<\/p>\n

For so long, division existed between the two series due to a tug-of-war for the title of the United States\u2019 most popular auto-racing series. But after this weekend\u2019s races and four doubleheaders at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway\u2019s<\/a> road course from 2020 to 2023, the two series may join forces more frequently in the future.<\/p>\n

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“To see two completely different forms of motorsport on one ticket is such a wonderful concept,\u201d Ed Carpenter Racing driver Alexander Rossi said Tuesday. \u201cI think every team and driver enjoyed the experience. I think that the majority of the fans did, as well. I hope that’s a template for the future and something that we can do not only at Phoenix — hopefully we’re going back to Phoenix — but other ovals on the calendar, as well.”<\/p>\n

1 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing driver for the 2026 IndyCar Series season<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing driver for the 2026 IndyCar Series season<\/p>\n

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2 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Santino Ferrucci, 2026 IndyCar Series driver for A.J. Foyt Racing<\/p>\n

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3 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Will Power, Andretti Global driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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4 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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5 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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6 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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7 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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8 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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9 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2025 Indianapolis 500 driver<\/p>\n

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10 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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11 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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12 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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13 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – JANUARY 24: Romain Grosjean driver of The #16 Myers Riley Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 GTD walks on stage during driver introductions before the start of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on January 24, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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14 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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15 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Conor Daly (76) makes his way to pit lane Thursday, May 15, 2025, during practice for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

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16 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Jack Harvey was announced Monday as the driver of the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Hy-Vee Honda for 2022 on a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n

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17 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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18 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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19 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Ed Carpenter, 2025 Indy 500 driver<\/p>\n

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20 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Rinus Veekay, Juncos Hollinger Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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21 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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22 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Helio Castroneves walks onto the track Friday, May 23, 2025, On Carb Day ahead of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

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23 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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24 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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25 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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26 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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27 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, walks through the pit lane during the first day of the ADAC Formula Four preseason tests in Oschersleben, Germany.<\/p>\n

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28 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Josef Newgarden, Team Penske driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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29 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

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30 \/ 30<\/p>\n

Indy 500 confirmed drivers<\/p>\n

David Malukas, Team Penske driver in 2026 IndyCar Series<\/p>\n

Talks of the doubleheader arose days before last year\u2019s Brickyard 400, at the NASCAR IMS dinner. From there, the plans were put in place for the series to link up and for IndyCar to come back to Phoenix Raceway.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s IndyCar race drew an average of 1.247 million viewers, a 391% increase from IndyCar\u2019s last race in Phoenix (254,000 viewers), albeit the race in 2018 was on cable (NBCSN) while this year\u2019s race was on network television (Fox). It was also a 77% increase from the second race of the season in 2025.<\/p>\n

IndyCar president Doug Boles feels it \u201cmakes sense\u201d for IndyCar to continue racing on Phoenix Raceway\u2019s 1.0-mile short oval, although a deal to return in 2027 hasn\u2019t been finalized.<\/p>\n

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“We started racing Indy cars there from the moment the track was built,\u201d Boles told IndyStar. \u201cFrom the Unsers, the Foyts, the Andrettis \u2013 you think about the names of people that have competed there are such strong, historic IndyCar names.”<\/p>\n

Several IndyCar drivers stuck around on Sunday to watch the NASCAR Cup race on Sunday, and a good portion of the NASCAR grid was in attendance on Saturday. These are two series that, although different, contain drivers and team personnel who have developed kinship through the years. Putting both series in the same place for a weekend gave fans a chance to recognize both, even if they don\u2019t regularly follow one of them.<\/p>\n

“Both should complement each other,\u201d Josef Newgarden said after winning the Good Ranchers 250<\/a>. \u201cIf you’re a motorsport fan, you’re just getting way more value for your weekend to have the top two motorsport championships together on the same weekend. I don’t see why we can’t do a little more of this. I think it’s good for everybody.”<\/p>\n

“I think it’s beneficial for both sides,\u201d Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon said. \u201c… Hopefully, some of the crossover can happen. And I think all of us would be welcome to adding more doubleheaders down the road.”<\/p>\n

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Boles wanted to get through the weekend before deciding whether to continue going to Phoenix and collaborating with NASCAR, but after witnessing this past weekend, he feels both are worth continuing. Boles had preliminary conversations with Phoenix Raceway president Latasha Causey about returning over the weekend, and he and Penske Corporation president Bud Denker spoke with NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy about having another doubleheader weekend.<\/p>\n

Conversations will continue throughout the coming weeks, but Boles claims there\u2019s a \u201cmutual desire\u201d to move forward with the doubleheader idea. If IndyCar and NASCAR continue the doubleheader, Phoenix Raceway appears to be the most feasible site for the joint weekend.<\/p>\n

“We wouldn’t be opposed to looking at other oval tracks where we could partner together,\u201d Boles said. \u201cThe biggest challenge in it is (the) schedule and finding a date on the schedule that works for both NASCAR and IndyCar.”<\/p>\n

In Phoenix, NASCAR was still the main event, despite respectable TV ratings and fan attendance for the IndyCar race. The Straight Talk Wireless 500 drew 2.841 million viewers at Phoenix Raceway, which NASCAR has owned since 2019. What was seen as applaudable IndyCar viewership was still less than half the audience that watched the NASCAR Cup race the day.<\/p>\n

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Some IndyCar diehards have scoffed at the idea of taking a backseat to NASCAR, even if it\u2019s for only a weekend. Arrow McLaren\u2019s Pato O\u2019Ward initially wasn\u2019t thrilled with the idea of the doubleheader.<\/p>\n

Ahead of IndyCar\u2019s first race, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, O\u2019Ward said, \u201cI\u2019m already tired of IndyCar being like the support race. I know that every time we race with them, we are always the side show. It\u2019s great for the fans, but not for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following some online backlash, O\u2019Ward further explained his comments in Phoenix, saying, \u201cWhen you see the viewership, I get it. I\u2019m not saying that it\u2019s wrong, it\u2019s just I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the best look for the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

While O\u2019Ward wants IndyCar to develop its own identity, Boles doesn\u2019t have the same concerns about IndyCar being the second fiddle if doubleheader weekends like this continue.<\/p>\n

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“I think, if chosen correctly, and if it’s something that we do on a limited basis, I don’t think it hurts either NASCAR or IndyCar to be the opener, if you will, for the other,\u201d Boles said.<\/p>\n

Two-time NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson hopes to do more of these weekends in the future. Larson, who drove as O\u2019Ward\u2019s Arrow McLaren teammate in the last two Indy 500s<\/a>, wouldn\u2019t mind doing a doubleheader where IndyCar is the main draw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would be pretty neat to kind of go to their neck of the woods, maybe with like a street course or a road course, kind of let them be the premier division,\u201d Larson told Fox59<\/a>. \u201cThose guys deserve it, they put on great racing. Would love to do it again, but the crossover’s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

So long as negotiations don\u2019t falter, it appears IndyCar and NASCAR will continue to do doubleheaders. The locations and schedules for these future doubleheaders may eventually change, but the two series finally seem aligned with one another, which could benefit both.<\/p>\n

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Zion Brown<\/a> is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn<\/a>. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter<\/a>. Subscribe to theYouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar<\/a> for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why IndyCar and NASCAR doubleheaders could be here to stay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IndyCar\u2019s return to Phoenix Raceway for the first time since 2018 came in collaboration with NASCAR for what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,154275,208351,208350,1193,634,43326,82],"class_list":["post-531139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-doubleheader","tag-doubleheaders","tag-doug-boles","tag-indycar","tag-nascar","tag-phoenix-raceway","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}