INDIANAPOLIS — The stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will take on a new challenge in 2021, competing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the first time on Aug. 15.
NASCAR Cup Series racing will shift to the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course for the first time after 27 consecutive years of competition on the famed 2.5-mile oval.
The revamped Brickyard Weekend will also feature a new NTT IndyCar Series race Saturday, Aug. 14 on the road course, setting the stage for another history-making NASCAR-IndyCar weekend after this year’s successful collaboration at IMS.
The two premier North American motorsports series first raced at the same facility during the same event on Independence Day weekend this year at IMS, with the Cup Series on the oval Sunday, July 5 and the NTT IndyCar Series on the road course Saturday, July 4.
This year’s historic tripleheader arose due to the postponement of the GMR Grand Prix IndyCar race in early May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the IndyCar race on the 2021 August weekend will be the third NTT IndyCar Series event of the season at IMS, following the GMR Grand Prix on the road course and the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on the oval.
“Our first NASCAR-IndyCar weekend was a big success last July, with positive feedback from our loyal fans who watched the races on NBC and from the drivers, teams and participants involved,” said IMS President J. Douglas Boles. “The Xfinity Series’ debut on the IMS road course provided exactly the kind of thrilling action from the green to checkered flags that we anticipated, so we know the teams and drivers of the Cup Series will put on a great show as they turn left and right for the first time at IMS.
“We can’t wait to welcome back fans to see NASCAR and IndyCar together during this exciting weekend as we add another memorable chapter in the long, storied history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
NASCAR racing at Indianapolis began on the oval in 1994, when Jeff Gordon picked up the first of his record five Brickyard 400 victories in the inaugural event.
In all, 15 different drivers have won in NASCAR Cup Series action over the past 27 years, including Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski.
Harvick is the reigning Brickyard 400 winner, while Chase Briscoe won NASCAR’s inaugural IMS road course race this year by topping the Xfinity Series field on July 4.