This season, the NTT IndyCar Series will race on oval tracks five times out of a total of 17 races, a number that includes both races of the doubleheader at Iowa Speedway in July.
Though that ratio is the same as last season, just below 30%, it is on the lower end of the scale for a series that raced on ovals for over half the schedule as recently as 2009.
Since IndyCar and CART merged in 2008, the number of oval races run each year has slowly declined. What was once upwards of 10 races has come down to roughly five oval races a season in the past decade.
Some of the longer tracks the series visited in the past have fallen off the schedule completely, with Texas Motor Speedway (1.5 miles) and Indianapolis (2.5 miles) being the only high speed ovals that the series still visits.
20-year-veteran Scott Dixon relayed his thoughts about the current number of oval rounds, including the decline in fan attendance over the years at tracks like Texas.
“I think people view or watch the races a little bit different these days,” said Dixon. “We all get a pretty quick reminder from when we see older races in the 2000s of [Texas Motor Speedway] being pretty packed.
“I think it’s not just tough for us, but obviously for [NASCAR] Cup races there, as well. I think people just view races in a slightly different way.
“I think at this point I’d like to see more ovals on the circuit, whether it was a Richmond or Kentucky, some of the circuits that provided fantastic racing for us throughout the years. I would like to think this would be our minimum of oval races, for sure.”
IndyCar executives have stated that the general formula of having one third of the races on street courses, one third on road courses, and remaining third on ovals is a desirable format to aim for.
However most fans of the series, and many drivers, enjoy the close and unpredictable battles that oval races produce, and would welcome an additional one or two on the schedule.
At this point no new oval events have made it past the rumor stage, and there does not appear to be immediate plans for the series to change its general formula regarding the balance of track types.
IndyCar races its first oval round of the year this weekend with the PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race begins Sunday, April 2 at 11:00 AM Central Time.
