Does the ‘Second Home of IndyCar Racing’ still apply to Texas Motor Speedway? Photo: Kevin Dejewski
The NTT IndyCar Series just completed its yearly race from Texas Motor Speedway, and, to my surprise, produced some great action. But that hasn’t always been the case in recent years. The continued presence of the maligned traction compound in the upper lane has often led to very few attempts to pass anywhere but on the front and back straight. The problem had gotten so bad, that it was widely expected this year’s race was going to be one of the least interesting of the season.
The changes the series brought this year, including added downforce by way of new bodywork pieces, seemed to be much of the reason the racing product was better this time around. But the lack of promotion combined with recent lackluster events meant that there were not many fans in the stands to witness the dramatic last lap pass for the win. A single close finish does not solve all the problems that currently plague the event.
There has been some talk recently that IndyCar may stop coming to the once-loved 1.5-mile oval just outside Fort Worth, TX, partly on account of the recent quality of racing. Fan interest in the race that was once the king of open wheel oval racing, the Indy 500 notwithstanding, has dropped significantly. Instead of an action-packed spectacle, it has quickly become known as one of the more boring races on the calendar. But what the event needs is a genuine long-term solution, not a farewell.
Texas Motor Speedway opened in 1997, and from the outset it was designed and built to host IndyCar racing as well as NASCAR. In fact, there was a unique feature built into the initial layout that was meant to be used by IRL [as it was known at the time], which saw a shallow-banked section in the corners created between the steep banks and the flat apron. The thinking was the lighter open wheel cars would use their downforce advantage and choose to run on the shorter inside path.
Mostly empty stands greeted the drivers for the entirety of the race weekend. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
That plan did not work out as expected, and the entire field of drivers immediately chose to run on the 24-degree banking rather than the eight-degree banking below. The very next year, the track removed the lesser banking and merged the apron to the banking in a more traditional manner, allowing for a wider racing surface at the same time.
That first race in 1997 did produce quite a show, however, and began a tradition of fantastic racing at the new venue. After a timing and scoring problem led to confusion on track, Billy Boat was celebrating the win in victory lane when Arie Luyendyk arrived to say that he felt he should be the winner. Boat’s team owner AJ Foyt was none too pleased to have his celebrations interrupted, and famously threw the Dutch driver to the ground while throngs of media watched on. Luyendyk was correct and was later awarded the trophy, but his post-race scuffle is the moment that became the stuff of legends.
Texas hosted IndyCar races twice per season for the next seven years, and traded the action in victory lane to action on the track. Side-by-side battles were commonplace, and excruciatingly close finishes became the norm. By the end of 2002, the track held two of the three closest finishes in IndyCar’s history, and it still holds three of the top-nine smallest margins of victory to this day.
Recently, however, the magic that created such close battles has slipped away. There are multiple reasons for the shift, but a big one comes in the form of the notorious PJ1 traction compound. The chemical has been applied to the upper groove of all four corners of the track since 2019 to help NASCAR produce good side-by-side racing, but it has had the opposite effect for IndyCar. The series’ Firestone tires simply do not grip the darker, altered surface very well, and it has resulted in a mostly single-file race ever since.
There was more passing than in recent years, but that is not the only issue that needs to be addressed. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
The solution is not as simple as removing the compound, although that has been tried. Multiple supplemental chemical applications have been attempted to alleviate the problem, but none have made significant improvements so far. This year the series allowed teams to run more downforce than before, and that helped the problem more than other attempted solutions, but did not alleviate it completely.
Currently, Texas hosts the only race of the season outside the Indianapolis 500 to feature the low-downforce aero package, so fans looking for the same kind of action in other parts of the calendar have nowhere to turn. The prevailing rumor is that the Milwaukee Mile could see a return in Texas’ place, but the one-mile oval is a substantially different type of track, and would not represent a proper replacement on IndyCar’s diverse calendar.
The current contract for the race in Texas ran out following this past weekend’s race, meaning the time for decisions is now. This could be in the form of commitment to continue to find ways to open up the second groove, increased local promotion to get more fans to come to the track, some type of support series to help draw interest, or all of the above. Something needs to be done to boost the attention at the ‘Second Home of IndyCar Racing,’ or that namesake will no longer have any meaning.
Rather than saying goodbye as old friends who have parted ways, Texas Motor Speedway and IndyCar should work together to find a way to bring the excitement back to the banking. If they don’t, Texas may find its longtime partner has decided to move on after giving the track one final dramatic finish.
Keyword: Opinion: IndyCar at Texas needs a revival, not a send-off