Mexico City’s loss is Milwaukee’s gain.
With IndyCar’s hopes for an event south of the border in 2026 dashed, the sanctioning body is turning to the Milwaukee Mile for its second doubleheader weekend in three years, it revealed in its schedule announcement Sept. 17.
In addition to the Aug. 29-30 races in Milwaukee, the NTT IndyCar Series will race on Father’s Day, June 21, at Road America in Elkhart Lake.
The schedule announcement came four days after IndyCar confirmed it was unable to make a long-sought race work at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, citing conflicts related to soccer’s World Cup. There also had been chatter an event in Washington around the United States’ 250th birthday, the Indianapolis Star reported, but that failed to develop.
With its schedule already delayed, IndyCar opted for a second Milwaukee race to reach a total of 17.
Although 2026 races will complete an initial three-year contract for Milwaukee, State Fair Park board chairman John Yingling said on race weekend this year he expected to soon begin working with IndyCar toward securing an extension. The extra race in ’26 would seem to bode well for the future.
The Mile returned to the schedule after a nine-year absence with a much fanfare, significant investment and two races in 2024 as IndyCar scrambled for oval dates. Both races lived up to the hype with record levels of passing that made them among the most exciting all season.
Then IndyCar came back in 2025 with one race. State Fair Park, which owns the track, opened additional general admission for sale in the days leading up to the race and they sold out, a positive sign for demand. Upwards of 20,000 spectators were again treated to gorgeous weather and a competitive race with a first-time winner, Christian Rasmussen.
The races at the Mile will be the 117th and 118th for Indy-style cars and again be the third- and second-last of the season, meaning they could play a significant role in the championship. The season ends the following weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, as Nashville Superspeedway moves ahead to July for a 400-mile night race.
The schedule includes the previously announced return to Phoenix Raceway (March 7) in conjunction with NASCAR; a new street race in Arlington, Texas, (March 15); and a move of the Toronto street race to Markham, Ontario, (Aug. 16). Gone are Thermal Club, a club track in California, and the once-popular Iowa Speedway doubleheader that flopped in 2025.
Road America began selling tickets already in June so the only detail to be filled in was the date for its 12th race of the IndyCar era. All but two of those have fallen in June.
The race at the 4-mile road course will be on Father’s Day, as it was in 2023, which may cause conflicts with high-profile short-track stock car races in the state. The ASA STARS National Tour raced twice on Father’s Day weekend in 2024, on the Friday at Madison International Speedway and the Sunday at Slinger Speedway. That series has not announced its 2026 schedule.
Under CART, Champ Car and IndyCar, Road America has hosted 36 Indy-car races.
2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule
March 1: Streets of St. Petersburg
March 7: Phoenix Raceway
March 15: Streets of Arlington, Texas
March 29: Barber Motorsports Park
April 19: Streets of Long Beach
May 9: Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course
May 24: Indianapolis 500
May 31: Streets of Detroit
June 7: World Wide Technology Raceway
June 21: Road America
July 5: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
July 19: Nashville Superspeedway
Aug. 9: Portland International Raceway
Aug. 16: Streets of Markham, Ontario
Aug. 29: Milwaukee Mile (Race 1)
Aug. 30: Milwaukee Mile (Race 2)
Sept. 6: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin gets a third IndyCar race as the 2026 schedule is finally revealed
Reporting by Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
