IndyCar 2024 Schedule: Texas a No, Milwaukee a Go Go

The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series schedule will have a frothy look and taste to it, as the American open-wheel series returns to race at the legendary Milwaukee Mile for the first time in nearly a decade (last race there was 2015).

Not only will the series once again race in Beer Town, it will actually race twice as part of a pair of doubleheader weekends during the season (the other will once again be a return twinbill at Iowa Speedway). Next season’s schedule was released by series officials on Monday morning.

Milwaukee will host the two races heading into the Labor Day weekend: on Saturday, August 31, and Sunday, September 1. Meanwhile, Iowa Speedway’s pair of dates will be about six weeks earlier on July 13 and 14.

While there had been rumors of its removal from the schedule (after NASCAR announced it was pulling out for next season), Wisconsin IndyCar fans will be happy to know that Road America—one of the premier permanent road courses in the country at 4.048 miles—will once again host the open-wheel series on Sunday, June 9.

Unfortunately, IndyCar fans in Texas will not be happy as the series will not return in 2024, breaking a 35-race streak that dates back to 1997. It’s rumored that Fort Worth will be back on the 2025 schedule, but that remains to be seen.

While the series will remain at 17 races, another notable change is there will not be a combined IndyCar-NASCAR weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has been the case for the last several years.

The change is occurring because the annual NASCAR race will return to the 2.5-mile IMS oval after having spent the last several years racing on the legendary speedway’s road course.

Also of note are two Saturday night races: the front half of the Iowa doubleheader on July 13, and August 17 at WorldWide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis.

The schedule begins with the traditional points-paying race on the Streets of St. Petersburg (Florida) on March 10, two weeks before the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club.

The biggest race of the year is the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26. Preceding that race are the two qualifying days on May 18 and 19 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The series will take a nearly month-long hiatus for the 2024 Summer Olympics, with the last race preceding The Games on the Streets of Toronto on July 21, and then resuming with the Saturday, August 17 night race at WorldWide Technology Raceway.

“2023 was a record-breaking season for the NTT IndyCar Series,” IndyCar President Jay Frye said in a statement. “For the first time, 27 starters competed at each event, and on-track passing records were broken at six racetracks. INDYCAR remains the most diverse and competitive championship in motorsports. We cannot wait to see how the 2024 season plays out beginning on the Streets of St. Pete.”

For the sixth consecutive season, NBC returns as the primary carrier of IndyCar telecasts, but will air only 9 events on the 17-race schedule on network television, plus a $1 million made-for-TV non-points “Challenge” event on March 26 at The Thermal Club outside of Palm Springs, Calif.

Six other races will be televised on USA Network, while two others will solely air on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.

The just-completed 2023 season proved to be the most-watched campaign in IndyCar history, with an average of 1.32 million viewers per race, officials said.

IndyCar’s deal with NBC ends after the 2024 season and it’s unclear if the sanctioning body and network will forge a new deal for 2025 and beyond, or if the series may jump to a rival broadcast outlet.

One other change of note in the schedule: the season finale will no longer be at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca along the Central California coast. That race will be moved to June 23, while the final race of the season will now be the Sept. 15 street race in Nashville on a slightly different 2.17-mile, seven-turn layout than in the event’s previous two races.

Follow Autoweek contributor Jerry Bonkowski on X (formerly Twitter) at @JerryBonkowski

2024 NTT IndyCar Schedule

Dates, place, TV for NTT IndyCar Series next season:

March 10 - Street of St. Petersburg, NBC, Peacock

March 24 - *The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge, NBC, Peacock

April 21 - Streets of Long Beach, USA, Peacock

April 28 - Barber Motorsports Park, NBC, Peacock

May 11 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, NBC, Peacock

May 18-19 - Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Weekend, NBC, Peacock

May 26 - Indianapolis 500, NBC, Peacock

June 2 - Streets of Detroit, USA, Peacock

June 9 - Road America, NBC, Peacock

June 23 - WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, USA, Peacock

July 7 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, NBC, Peacock

July 13 - Iowa Speedway Race 1, NBC, Peacock

July 14 - Iowa Speedway Race 2, NBC, Peacock

July 21 - Streets of Toronto, Peacock

Aug. 17 - World Wide Technology Raceway, USA, Peacock

Aug. 25 - Portland International Raceway, USA, Peacock

Aug. 31 - Milwaukee Mile Race 1, Peacock

Sept. 1 - Milwaukee Mile Race 2, USA, Peacock

Sept. 15 - Streets of Nashville, NBC, Peacock

*- Non-points exhibition race.