Flagging race to shake things up
2018 Brickyard will be moved to September
Doug Boles isn’t I NDIANAPOLIS hiding from the truth. The Brickyard 400 is floundering, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway president knows it.
In recent years, excitement over a race many still consider one of NASCAR’s crown jewels has evaporated. A race that used to draw 200,000-plus fans has seen its numbers dwindle to a fraction of that once lofty figure.
That’s why it was time to try something new, something bold. “A complete reset,” Boles told
The Indianapolis Star on Wednesday. “Now to think we’re going to sell out the Brickyard 400 really is a fiction. I don’t think any of us really believe that’s what we’re trying to do.
“What we are trying to do is to make sure we have a healthy Brickyard 400 that can go into the future. We’ve tried things off and on for the past several years to stem the tide of the declining attendance, and we’ve struggled to make that happen.”
That’s why NASCAR and the Speedway are throwing away a quarter-century’s worth of builtup date equity and moving the Brickyard from its usual spot on the calendar — mid-July — to the second weekend in September, beginning next year.
There was little hope of reinvigorating the race in July, Boles said, but in September the track can promote the race in a whole new way.
What most appealed to Boles about moving the race is that it likely will make for a much cooler weekend than traditionally has been associated with the Brickyard.
“The biggest complaint we hear from fans is that it’s just too hot in July,” Boles said. “Even in the years it’s not really hot, the perception is that it is. ... So to be able to get folks out of the heat will be big.”
The other key to the race moving to September is that it will serve as the final race on the NASCAR calendar before the playoffs.
Drivers, for one, are on board with the changes. Austin Dillon, the 27-year-old Coca-Cola 600 winner, said Indianapolis deserves a more prestigious spot on the calendar.
Veteran driver and 2011 Brickyard 400 pole sitter David Ragan agreed, saying that while racing at IMS always has been special for him, he thinks cooler temperatures and a little added drama will be good for the health of the event.
“I get excited thinking about this race being about 10 degrees cooler,” Ragan said. “This race is tough on the drivers and the pit crews. It’s just so warm and humid here. ... That September date will be cooler for everyone to have some fun. And it will have a lot of drama.”
Of course, there is one big problem with having a race on the second Sunday of September: It collides with Week 1 of the NFL season.
Boles said IMS and NASCAR were aware of this conflict when agreeing to move the race, but they decided to take the risk anyway. He added that IMS already has engaged the Indianapolis Colts about requesting the NFL schedule an away game for Week 1 next season. There’s no guaran-