Potential races in America’s Northeast, Brazil and Japan all on IndyCar’s radar

The IndyCar Series is experiencing an uptick of new interest that could bring additions to its future calendars.

Along with a potential return to international travel in the coming years, longstanding efforts remain in motion to find a regular home for racing in the Northeast, and together, the global and domestic searches are a positive sign for the series owned by Penske Entertainment and Fox Corporation.

This season’s 18-race schedule is rarity for the series, featuring three brand-new venues welcoming IndyCar to Arlington, Texas, Markham in Ontario, Canada, which replaces Toronto, and the late addition of a street race in Washington, D.C. The 2026 calendar also included a return to Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway as part of NASCAR’s early schedule, which underscored IndyCar’s ability to perform well and draw a meaningful crowd at one of its former venues.

Within the last 10 years, and with Phoenix as the most recent example, IndyCar has returned to an increasing number of tracks like Road America, Laguna Seca, Milwaukee, World Wide Technology Raceway [Gateway], Portland and Nashville Speedway, which comprise nearly 40 percent of the current schedule.

Creating more brand-new events like Arlington and Washington, D.C. will remain a priority, but the series is by no means averse to revisiting locations that delivered in the past.

“I don't think there's a reason you couldn't go back to someplace, but I think what you really have to do is think about, OK, strategically, where do we want to go that elevates the brand?” IndyCar President Doug Boles told RACER. “Where do we want to go that gives us the best chance to have a successful event in the market, as well as something that translates to a successful event on television, so when you look at it, people say, ‘Oh my gosh, it's a big deal. I've never watched IndyCar before, but how come all those people are there?’ Those are the things we have to do. So it's a bit of a balancing act. But the good news is we're not afraid to explore.”

If there’s one main takeaway from IndyCar’s potential calendar additions, it’s the timeline required to bring most of them to market. In short, patience will be required as the next new stops are developed.

With Texas back on the schedule and the Southwest ripe for a continuation at Phoenix, the Northeast is IndyCar’s white whale to land. The last race in the region took place back in 2017 at the Watkins Glen road course in upstate New York. IndyCar is known to have met with the circuit late in 2025, but its re-appearance would need to come with the blessing of WGI’s owner, NASCAR.

NASCAR's annual visit to WGI was moved forward in 2026 to take place on the same May weekend where IndyCar’s Friday-Saturday Indianapolis Grand Prix is run. The NASCAR-owned IMSA series also races at WGI in late June. Both events could use boosts in attendance, which could play to IndyCar’s favor.

As well, WGI currently serves as the penultimate Cup event aired on FOX before Amazon Prime, TNT and NBC take the series for the rest of the year. Using the combo Phoenix race as a guide, this could be another situation to explore that benefits both sides. With all of that being said, there is nothing brewing between WGI and IndyCar at the moment.

It’s not exactly north, but a return to the East Coast in Richmond, Va,, is one more venue where IndyCar has history and a willingness to see if something can be rekindled.

“Clearly we run really well on short ovals and we had Richmond on the schedule in 2020 and unfortunately, it didn't make it,” Boles said. “I have a lot of fond memories of our Panther Racing [IRL] days there at Richmond. And certainly, I think as you look around for ovals, it would be one that you would definitely consider. But again, it's the same with looking at the schedule and the timing, and then the commitment from the partner, and whether or not it would be a successful event.”

RACER first wrote about a Denver street race in 2022 and the talks between the promoter and the series continue to take place. The Coloradoan city, which hosted the CART IndyCar Series and the Champ Car World Series, put on popular events decades ago; the proposed return would run around the Denver Broncos NFL stadium, which is due to be razed and replaced in the coming years.

RACER’s sources confirm the possibility of a Denver street race have not dimmed, but also reiterated nothing is imminent. Barring a sudden burst of action, RACER’s sources say 2028 is the earliest to look for Denver to join the calendar.

Moving to Mexico, the once-hot topic of bringing IndyCar to the birthplace of Pato O’Ward has cooled. With the Arrow McLaren ace serving as IndyCar’s most popular driver, efforts were made last year to create an event at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City – site of Formula 1’s annual visit – but the matter ultimately fell through.

Although comments were made at the time about giving negotiations another try, RACER understands the high motivation held in 2025 has not been sustained. A return to Mexico, according to our sources, is not impossible, but the momentum for the concept has been lost and there are no plans to add a stop in Mexico for 2027.

The Motegi oval might be a non-starter, but the Japanese racing complex has an alternative option. Jun Sato/WireImage

Sticking with the international roster, there’s an ongoing desire held within Honda to add a new chapter to IndyCar’s history at the track it owns in Motegi, Japan. The Motegi oval, which held some great races, suffered enough damage during the Fukushima earthquake to render it unusable, but the road course continues to hold professional events. IndyCar held its last race at Motegi in 2011 where it used the 13-turn, 2.9-mile configuration.

Seeking the necessary support from Japan’s governmental agencies and the increasing number of Japanese sponsors in IndyCar – including NTT – to rally behind a return towards the end of the decade with the new cars and motors has been a passion project for the American arm of the brand. Dialogue with IndyCar has been continuing, but there is nothing to report on active plans to take the series across the Pacific Ocean to race.

A return to Brazil is the last international destination to cover, and it is spoken of as holding the strongest likelihood to develop into something – at least in comparison to the other long-haul options.

RACER’s sources confirm the Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna road course, which is located in the city of Goiania in the state of Goiás, has approached IndyCar regarding a date to make use of the repaved road course which recently underwent a $10 million renovation ahead of MotoGP’s return to the facility in 2026.

Like the rest, an immense amount of progress would be required to make anything happen in 2027, which puts the topic of a natural-terrain road course race in Brazil, or Motegi, or Mexico, or Watkins Glen, or a street race in Denver on timelines that favor 2028 at the earliest.

“The good news is we're not afraid to try some different things, to continue to make our hardcore fans, the people that love us, continue to be proud to be fans,” Boles added. “And B, give ourselves an opportunity to offer an olive branch to somebody that maybe isn't an IndyCar fan that might think, ‘I'm going to try it out, because there’s some unique things they're doing.’ I think it's important we focus on those things.”