Indianapolis Motor Speedway
By Pat DeCola
NASCAR.com
Published:
2 Minute Read
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — After seeing the stand-out success of last season’s road course/oval layout at Charlotte Motor Speedway, could a similar concept be deployed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway down the road?
In short, maybe.
“We have considered the road course and we still continue to talk about it,” IMS track president J. Douglas Boles said Sunday morning ahead of the 2019 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I think the challenge for us, especially with respect to the Monster Energy (NASCAR Cup Series), is where we’re really an oval brand and the Monster Energy Cup is really an oval brand and … what makes running here special is winning on the oval where Ray Harroun won, where AJ Foyt won, where Wilbur Shaw, you can just go through the list of names, where Jeff Gordon won. That’s what really makes this special.”
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The long-standing tradition of the Brickyard is among the most prestigious in sports, but IMS isn’t afraid to mix things up in the name of opportunity to put on the best show for the fans.
While it’s unlikely NASCAR’s top series will try an alternate layout at IMS in the foreseeable future, Boles mentioned the Xfinity Series could be a proving ground “first, to see how it works.”
“We’re considering everything,” he continued. “We talk to Scott (Borchetta, of Big Machine Records) all the time about opportunities, changes. We’re not afraid to change if we think that change is going to make the event better and, like I said, the road course is something we’ve talked about, it’s just not on the horizon yet.”