Photo: Chris Owens
Indy Nxt has revealed its calendar for 2027, and the number of races on ovals will reduce to two for the first time since 2023.
The championship had a 17-race schedule this year supporting IndyCar, and it raced on the Gateway, Nashville Superspeedway and Milwaukee Mile ovals.
Since IndyCar has dropped Nashville for next season, it meant Indy Nxt had to do the same. The only other change compared to this year is Indy Nxt reducing its event on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course from being a double-header to a single-race weekend.
That was last done in 2023, although there was a second trip to IMS that year. The last season to feature only one race at IMS was 2013, and that was when Indy Nxt took to the oval for the Freedom 100 race which was a mainstay of the calendar from 2003 to 2019.
After private testing at Barber Motorsports Park this week, Indy Nxt teams will return to action next year at Sebring on January 27/28 for official pre-season testing.
The first race will be on the streets of St. Petersburg (March 7), as IndyCar also gets its season underway, with round two in Arlington (March 21) also being on a street circuit.
Barber hosts a double-header round (April 3-4), then teams will test at Gateway (April 22) and Mid-Ohio (April 28/29). IMS’s race is on May 15, and the following month features races in Detroit (June 6), at Gateway (June 13) and Road America (June 26/27) which will be a double-header. Squeezed between those is a test day at Milwaukee (June 17).
The paddock heads back to Mid-Ohio for a two-race weekend on July 3/4, and at the end of the month is a race at Portland (July 31). From there, they travel to Laguna Seca for testing on August 2.
Milwaukee is location of the season’s second oval race (August 28), and the season concludes with a double-header ar Laguna Seca (September 4/5).
“As we have seen in IndyCar, Indy Nxt is in the midst of immense growth both on and off the track,” said IndyCar’s president J. Douglas Boles as the 2027 calendar was announced.
“With 10 different race-winners last season, it is clear that the competition is as fierce as ever as drivers look to move up to IndyCar. With our [broadcast] partners at Fox Sports, the exposure and value of Indy Nxt has clearly reached new heights. We know the 2027 schedule will provide another intense test for drivers and teams and produce a deserving champion to celebrate at Laguna Seca.”