IndyCar eyeing revolutionary progress for fans at iconic races in 2026

IndyCar is eyeing a "big jump" in the fan experience for select marquee race weekends in the 2026 season. Mark Miles, the CEO of Penske Entertainment, which owns the premier American open-wheel racing series, shared their plans for the 2026 season and how fans will be 'wowed' with the progress.

IndyCar has added three new events to the 2026 schedule - a double-header with the NASCAR Cup Series in Phoenix (the series last raced there in 2018), the inaugural Arlington GP, and the race in Canada moves from Toronto to Markham. Miles shared how the series plans to keep adding such new events year-on-year, but the focus remains equally on uplifting the races that have been cornerstone events.

In a recent interview with Jason Stein on the Cars & Culture podcast, Miles said [9:40 onwards]:

"We are looking at the events we've got, and we'll start with the ones that are sort of furthest along and make serious investments in those events with the promoters, take them to a whole new level, and there's a long menu of the things we'll invest in or they'll invest in."

"So, our ambition will be to go to St. Pete this March, and if you were there last March, you'll say, 'Wow!' This is the vision and the aspiration. But the idea is not incremental improvement over a period of time, but a big jump in five or six of our key events from '25 to '26," the Penske Entertainment CEO added.

While Miles didn't mention any particular events apart from the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg that will see a makeover next year, some of the most iconic races on the IndyCar calendar outside the Indy 500 are the Long Beach Grand Prix, the Children's of Alabama Indy GP at Barber, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, and the season finale at Laguna Seca. Earlier this year, Miles also shared that the series is preparing to make the inaugural Arlington GP a tentpole event.

Where IndyCar stands in its pursuit of an independent governing body after the 2025 Indy 500 controversy

The No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden at the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

IndyCar began working on getting an independent governing body to regulate the racing after the 2025 Indy 500 controversy. Team Penske, owned by Roger Penske, who also owns the racing series, was found to have a technical breach on two of its three cars before the second day of Indy 500 qualifying.

It raised questions about whether Penske should be in charge of the series and its rulings in races, and also own a team that competes in it. To resolve this 'optics challenge', the series decided to hire an independent governing body.

IndyCar president Doug Boles revealed in mid-October that there were four options on the table and a decision would be made in a "few weeks". However, as per RACER, the series is not going with an external option. Penske Entertainment will create a three-person tribunal that will have autonomy over race control and the technical officials.

An official announcement is expected to be made before the end of the year, as Boles shared in October.