The past two NASCAR Cup Series seasons have featured drivers competing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. This change has led to questions from fans about when the oval will return to the schedule, and now there is a partial answer.
IMS President Doug Boles provided an update during a January 27 appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He acknowledged the importance of winning on the oval, something that made the Brickyard 400 a Crown Jewel event. Boles also expressed the belief that there will be a return to the oval in the near future.
🗣️ “Winning on the oval is special.”
@IMS President @jdouglas4 says #NASCAR returning to the oval at The Brickyard will happen “sooner rather than later”. 🧱
“These conversations have happened, and in fact, they continue to happen,” Boles said. “And I think we’ve said — maybe not formally — but we’ve said in — and I may have said it with you guys at some point — we never said that we’re not going to go back on to the oval when we switched to the road course. We wanted to see how it worked. That’s why we started with Xfinity and then rolled it into Cup.”
As Boles continued to explain, they want to go back to the oval. They just don’t know if it will be on a permanent basis or if there will be a rotation with the road course layout. What he does know is that the return will happen “sooner rather than later.”
“The oval is special, and the drivers know that it’s special,” Boles said in closing. “Winning at the speedway is special, but there is something really special about that oval.”
Boles Has Heard Comments From Veteran Drivers
GettyKevin Harvick celebrates a win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Boles acknowledged during the appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he has heard the comments from veteran drivers. He specifically mentioned Kevin Harvick, who has been vocal about wanting to return to the oval.
The 2014 Cup Series champion has made multiple comments about running on the road course instead of on the oval. In June 2022, in particular, he said that putting the NASCAR Cup Series on the alternate layout is “terrible.”
“I hate driving into the Brickyard and driving backward down the straightaway and driving the road course,” Harvick told media members at World Wide Technology Raceway, transcript courtesy of Motorsport.com.
“I think it is terrible for our sport and almost degrading to a certain degree that you take the best racing series in the country and take it to what most would consider one of the greatest race tracks in the world but race on the road course.”
Harvick continued and acknowledged that this is not his decision to make. He explained that you have to respect the decisions that other people make and what they think is appropriate for a billion-dollar business.
Harvick Has Multiple Brickyard Wins
GettyKevin Harvick’s team climbs the fence at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Closer has achieved significant success on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He has won three times in 20 career Cup Series starts at the track, including the final two races on the oval.
Harvick first won the Crown Jewel race during his time with Richard Childress Racing. He started from the pole in 2003, and he led 33 laps before capturing the win. He then returned to Victory Lane in 2019 while driving for Stewart-Haas Racing. Once again, he started from the pole before leading 118 laps.
Harvick’s final start on the oval took place in 2020. He lined up 11th overall in the midst of a dominant season, and he immediately began contending for stage points. Harvick finished Stage 1 in the fifth position and then he won Stage 2. Harvick ultimately led 68 laps before winning his third race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
Harvick will not have the opportunity to add a fourth Brickyard 400 win to his career total. He will retire after the 2023 season, which will feature another trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. However, there will be more drivers that will have the chance to win a special race in the future.
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IMS President Creates Hope for Brickyard 400 Fans