The NTT IndyCar Series will join NASCAR’s top two national circuits for a crossover weekend next March at Phoenix Raceway, marking the open-wheel tour’s first visit to the Arizona oval since 2018.
The latest component of the Phoenix race weekend March 6-8 was added Tuesday, when IndyCar announced its 2026 schedule. The IndyCar Series event will share Saturday’s slate with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (currently called the Xfinity Series), with the NASCAR Cup Series and ARCA Menards Series completing the weekend lineup.
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The scheduling development means the Cup Series and IndyCar Series will share the weekend bill for the first time since 2023, when NASCAR last raced on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road-course layout. NASCAR and IndyCar will also hold crossover events on consecutive weeks on next year’s calendar, with the Craftsman Truck Series set to join the Indianapolis-based series for its debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg street course on Feb. 28-March 1.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the NTT IndyCar Series back to Phoenix Raceway,” Phoenix Raceway President Latasha Causey said in a release provided by the track. “This track has deep roots in open-wheel history, so we’re pleased to bring that tradition back to our race fans as part of a doubleheader Saturday with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.”
IndyCar’s history at Phoenix spans back to the track’s opening season in 1964. The circuit last competed on the 1-mile oval in April 2018, when major renovations to the facility were in progress. Next year’s Phoenix event will be the first for IndyCar with those enhancements complete and with the start/finish line in its current location, just before the dogleg that was formerly part of the track’s distinctive backstretch.
“I loved when we had the doubleheader with them at Indy, just kind of being right there and going over and hanging out and watching practice in their box and stuff like that,” said Ryan Blaney, who drives for the Team Penske organization that fields teams in both NASCAR and IndyCar. “It was cool, and I think it’s going to be fantastic. And I like that IndyCar’s going back to Phoenix. It’s been a while since they’ve run in Phoenix, and I think it’ll put on a really good show. So I’m looking forward to that in the spring, and yeah, it’ll be fun to watch those guys run about six seconds at least faster than us around that place, and I’m looking forward to going and standing like in (turns) one and two. Those guys just haulin’ butt around on there will be pretty amazing to see. So yeah, I think it’s great for both series, IndyCar and on the NASCAR side.”
The Cup Series will visit Phoenix twice next year – March 8 and Oct. 18. Between now and then, the track is also set to host NASCAR Championship Weekend for the sixth consecutive year, with 2025 season finales set for the three national series Oct. 31-Nov. 2. NASCAR’s season-ending weekend will move to Homestead-Miami Speedway next year.
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Kyle Larson drove an IndyCar at Phoenix Raceway during testing in February 2024, all as part of his preparations for his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double that year. Phoenix was also the site of preseason IndyCar testing for many years until the series’ departure after the 2018 event.