Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
IndyCar closing on Toronto replacement decision
Options to replace the cancelled Honda Indy Toronto NTT IndyCar Series event are coming into view.
The Canadian street race was meant to be run next month across the July 9-11 weekend, but with COVID restrictions in place, the event was shuttered for the second consecutive year, leaving the series to look to its promoters for a replacement venue.
RACER has learned three leading scenarios have developed to solidify the calendar, which has 16 of 17 races confirmed. Mid-Ohio, due to be held over the July 4 weekend, is led by the same Green Savoree Race Promotions group that runs Toronto and is the first option to be converted into a doubleheader.
The second is World Wide Technologies Raceway (formerly known as Gateway), set for a Saturday race on August 21, which could be expanded to twin races on the Illinois oval. And the third option is to go without replacing Toronto and stick with a 16-race schedule. No other tracks are known to be under doubleheader consideration.
Timing could be the deciding factor on whether Mid-Ohio or the WWTR oval at Gateway would receive a second race. Both venues held doubleheaders in 2020, making a request to repeat the expansion from one to two rounds a familiar experience for the two facilities.
But the pacing of the existing calendar could be the key factor in the decision. Without Toronto on the schedule, Mid-Ohio is the only IndyCar race in place for July, which would give teams an ample amount of time to recover and prepare for the next event in Nashville on August 8. WWTR closes a busy month and sits as the third consecutive weekend of action that starts with Nashville, heads straight into the packed Indy road course round within NASCAR’s weekend at the Brickyard, and wraps with the last oval of 2021.
Will IndyCar double up at Mid-Ohio, add a fourth race to August, or leave the season at 16 races? An answer is expected soon.
Marshall Pruett
The 2026 season marks Marshall Pruett's 40th year working in the sport. In his role today for RACER, Pruett covers open-wheel and sports car racing as a writer, reporter, photographer, and filmmaker. In his previous career, he served as a mechanic, engineer, and team manager in a variety of series, including IndyCar, IMSA, and World Challenge.
Read Marshall Pruett's articles
Latest News
Comments
Comments are disabled until you accept Social Networking Cookies. Update cookie preferences
If the dialog doesn't appear, ad-blockers are often the cause; try disabling yours or see our Social Features Support.