This is a track that, well, simply didn’t want IndyCar back. Ticket sales were terrible, promotional efforts were mediocre at best, the racing was so-so and temperatures during night races could get downright cold, even being in the desert.
The one-mile oval has been a NASCAR mainstay for nearly 40 years, and IndyCar at times was just as popular—if not more so—during much of its 35-year run in the Valley of the Sun (1979 through 2018). This is a track that folks periodically wonder if IndyCar will ever return to.
Unless there’s a way to guarantee 50,000 tickets sold (maybe run a race there in conjunction with NASCAR’s Championship weekend, which is very doubtful), we’re likely not to see IndyCar back there any time soon.
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