April 8th 2026

IndyCar open to expanded schedule

How many races can IndyCar fans look forward to in the coming years? According to IndyCar president Doug Boles, the answer is flexible.

The series held firm at 17 championship races per year from 2022-2025, announced 17 again for 2026 and then made the late addition of an 18th with the Freedom 250 in Washington D.C. It could expand the calendar as needed if its popularity continues to grow.

“Seventeen was where we've been for a long time, but adding the 18th, obviously, that's great opportunity for us to celebrate our country's birthday and doing something that's never been done before with the IndyCar brand and with racing there in D.C.,” Boles told RACER.

“But frankly, our focus really is on having great events, and that means the right events, good races and good markets. If that’s 17 next year, then we'll stay at 17. If we're able to find other venues where we should run and it's 18 or 19, then we'll be 18 or 19. There’s not a decision that says we're going to be 17 or 18 or any specific number. The decision really is wanting to have events that make a difference. And adding events like Arlington (main image) and D.C. clearly do that.”

With the inclusion of the Freedom 250, IndyCar finds itself with a perfect blend of six street courses, six road courses, and six ovals. Maintaining that structure is important to Boles.

“I think the thing to protect is as close to a third and a third and a third that we can have,” he said. “That doesn't mean that we're always going to be exactly one-third; you may have a little more in one of those buckets than the other, but the biggest issue is just to make sure that the diversity of skills and the courses upon which we run remains one of our unique points about our series and our drivers. It's more about just keeping that mix as close as possible to a third, a third and a third.”

For more information: www.racer.com

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