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IndyCar released its 2024 schedule on Monday, and a couple of interesting dates on that schedule could have a major impact on how the 2024 NASCAR schedule works out. What dates are they, and what do they say about the 2024 schedule?
Last week, the rumor mill surrounding Texas was that the track was looking to move its date from the fall back to the spring. A 100-degree day in Fort Worth on Sunday further propelled those rumors.
Well, IndyCar is not traveling to Texas Motor Speedway this year, which opens up the entire springtime for Texas Motor Speedway to run a NASCAR race. Therefore, it seems more likely that NASCAR will make the move to have Texas Motor Speedway be a spring race in 2024.
The weather is one reason why Texas would want to move. Despite September not being the middle of summer, it is still a very hot month in Texas with temperatures routinely above 90 degrees throughout the month. Yes, Sunday was extreme, but, it will be hot in Texas in September pretty much every time NASCAR goes there.
There is also the issue of the racing product at Texas. Texas is not a popular track, and the Next-Gen car has not solved any of the problems the track still has. The track continues to be one lane with it being almost impossible to pass, and, given the current 1.5-mile product of the Next-Gen car, there is a legitimate question as to whether or not Texas deserves a Playoff race date.
Keeping it in the spring will allow the race to be held in better weather while also being at a less prominent race date. That would probably win over many in the fan base. After all, Texas Motor Speedway deserves a date solely because of the crowd that showed up on Sunday.
With NASCAR testing the Next-Gen car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, many have wondered whether or not NASCAR would move back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The consequence of that would be the loss of the IndyCar/NASCAR doubleheader weekend.
Well, it seems that weekend is no more at least at Indianapolis as IndyCar will only run one race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road course on May 11th, two weeks before the Indianapolis 500. With that August race at the venue gone, that doubleheader it seemingly not going to happen again, and there are not many realistic scenarios based on this schedule where IndyCar and NASCAR run another doubleheader.
The only other common race track between the Cup Series and IndyCar on the 2024 schedule is WorldWide Technology Raceway, which IndyCar is going to on Saturday, August 17th. Now, if NASCAR and the track choose to move the date around, they could run the doubleheader weekend that weekend if they really want it to happen.
The only other option outside of that is NASCAR adding a Cup date to Portland, Milwaukee, or Mid-Ohio. Portland and Milwaukee are both where the Daytona summer race and the Southern 500 currently are on the calendar, and I doubt that NASCAR wants Portland to host the Playoff cut-off race. Mid-Ohio is a track with not nearly enough infrastructure for the Cup Series, but it sits around the same time of year that Sonoma currently is which is rumored to be moving to the spring.
Regardless, it is tough to imagine a scenario where the doubleheader returns. The consequence, however, could mean the return of the Brickyard 400, which a lot of NASCAR fans are behind.
The 2024 IndyCar schedule has a doubleheader scheduled at Milwaukee on Labor Day weekend. That means that the weekend before, which is when the Craftsman Truck Series ran this season is still open. Milwaukee may not want two events like that back-to-back, but if they are okay with it, then the Truck Series could remain on the same date.
If the Truck Series remains on the same date, then it is tough to see a scenario where the Xfinity Series runs at Milwaukee that weekend. That is the weekend where the Playoff cut-off race happens for the Cup Series, which was held at Daytona this year. Having the Cup Series run as a standalone show at Daytona seems unlikely.
As a result, Road America being replaced by Milwaukee seems to be very unlikely at the moment. However, it is not impossible to see a scenario where NASCAR moves that Truck Series weekend to a different date.
The 2024 schedule remains in flux, but it seems the picture is getting slightly clearer at the moment. What other things do you expect from the 2024 schedule?
