Second Thoughts: INDYCAR as Support Series Makes Sense for Phoenix

Pato O’Ward loves him some INDYCAR. So it is understandable that he’s slightly frustrated ahead of the INDYCAR-NASCAR Cup weekend at Phoenix. “I’m sick and tired of INDYCAR being, like, the support race,” O’Ward told me and other INDYCAR beat reporters during his media session last Friday morning in St. Petersburg. In the same conversation, O’Ward said, “It is a good thing” and “I’m neutral,” on the opinion of whether there should be more races with INDYCAR and NASCAR Cup racing on the same weekend at the same spot. “If they added more, great. If they don’t add more, great,” O’Ward said. “I don’t really care.” If there were more, that could be a problem. Having one celebration of the two biggest U.S.-based motorsports series seems like a good move. It makes it special. And to the point O’Ward is making, maybe it would be smart to take NASCAR to a traditional INDYCAR market and have it be the support series. But that’s looking down the road. When it comes to what makes this weekend cool, it makes sense to look back. The last attempt at a NASCAR-INDYCAR weekend (sorry, Doug Boles) wasn’t all that special. O’Ward’s personal experience is from the Brickyard weekend, where INDYCAR ran Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, followed by Cup the next day. My guess is that adds to his frustration. There wasn’t a great buzz about the overlap that weekend. INDYCAR’s big race at Indy is the Indianapolis 500. And Cup cars on the IMS road course didn’t generate a whole lot of juice. This weekend will be different because both series have spent decades racing at Phoenix. INDYCAR has a long history at this track. This will be the 65th race on the 1-mile oval. It hasn’t raced at Phoenix since 2018, so the fans in that area are looking forward to another competition. Hopefully, this one will be better if the upper lane can get rubbered in (they will have a specific high-lane practice Friday). INDYCAR will run laps five or six seconds faster than the Cup cars, so those drivers will offer fans something totally different than what NASCAR drivers are bringing to the weekend. And Saturday at Phoenix is typically a day that draws a decent crowd, and the expectation is that there will be a good crowd for the INDYCAR and O’Reilly Series doubleheader that follows Cup qualifying. NASCAR and INDYCAR will put on different races beyond just the speeds. INDYCAR has a rule that drivers can’t go on the apron, so that isn’t an option (it would also be very dangerous). So the great thing about this weekend is that the two series will put on quite different shows. And while Cup has the more recent tradition and has been the focus of the Phoenix market, the crowds should have a good mix of INDYCAR and NASCAR fans. “Obviously, we’re catering to a very similar crowd,” O’Ward said. “Obviously, some NASCAR people don’t watch INDYCAR, vice versa. I would love to say that I watch all forms of motor sports, but I don’t. “I don’t really keep up with what’s going on with NASCAR…I can’t tell you last time I watched the NASCAR race that we raced with them. I usually just look at how the friends are doing and look at the results…I don’t really follow it, and it’s not because I don’t care about it or anything, but usually I’m doing other things and, or traveling or whatever.” The facts are that, except for the Indianapolis 500, more people watch Cup racing than INDYCAR racing. NASCAR rode the wave of high-contact, high speeds on more intermediate ovals and strong personalities in the 1990s and 2000s to become the dominant U.S.-based racing series. As the rise of the Brickyard 400 to huge crowds to spare crowds to now more modest crowds shows, there can be an ebb and flow to the popularity of the series. The INDYCAR industry should be fine with being the support series to a NASCAR weekend. The same would go for NASCAR if it ever raced on the same weekend as Formula 1. In that instance, Cup should be cool with being the support series there. The potential exposure is great. All series, successful and not-so-successful, should look to expand their fan bases. This is how expansion works. Maybe one day, INDYCAR could be the main show on a joint NASCAR-INDYCAR doubleheader at Phoenix. The best way to get there, for the time being, is to race on Saturdays during the NASCAR weekend.