There’s an old adage in auto racing that one race does not a season make.

But as things are heating up in the 2026 seasons for both NASCAR Cup and IndyCar, there are some instances that could have a tremendous impact on each racing series’ future.

Both series are obviously trying to grow their respective fan bases and bring their sports back to where they once were in their heydays: in the 1990s and early 2000s for NASCAR, and the 1980s up until 1995 when IndyCar (known as CART at the time) dominated all forms of racing in the U.S., bigger than even NASCAR.

Sure, no question, keeping some of the most legendary races on the schedule keeps current diehard fans coming back year after year. In NASCAR, we’re talking about places or tracks like the Daytona 500, Talladega, Darlington and Bristol. Meanwhile, in IndyCar, the hottest ticket of the season remains the Indianapolis 500, along with events or tracks such as the Long Beach Grand Prix, Road America and Laguna Seca.

You have to give NASCAR credit for being the first to think outside the box, hosting the first street-course event in the sport’s history with the last three years running on the streets of downtown Chicago (although it’s questionable the race will ever return, as the series goes back to its former location, Chicagoland Speedway, this summer).

And you also have to give IndyCar credit for returning to the ever-popular Milwaukee Mile in 2024 after a nine-year absence.

But neither NASCAR nor IndyCar can rest on its laurels or expect to remain stale. They have to become more innovative, be willing to take greater chances and try things or locations that they’ve perhaps never done before.

That’s why this year is so important because both series are really pushing the envelope, you might say, with new events or collaborations that could result in attracting desired new fans or re-attracting old fans that may have fallen away from either series.

Things are always bigger in Texas and this weekend should be another great example

This weekend’s IndyCar inaugural event in Arlington, Texas, the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, is one of three key events on the open-wheel series’ schedule that will hopefully resonate in a big way. If Sunday’s race proves to be what the series hopes for – a sold-out celebration of great racing, great off-track attractions and entertainment, great weather and the promise of even greater things to come in the following years, this race has the chance to quickly join Indy, Long Beach, Road America and Laguna Seca as one of the must-see events each and every year.

But that’s not all for the open-wheelers.

IndyCar and The White House will play host to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on August 22-23, which will not only celebrate this country’s 250 birthday, it will feature something we’ve never seen before in ANY form of major league racing in the U.S.: it will be a completely FREE race for anyone and everyone to attend.

IndyCar and U.S. President Donald J. Trump are so keen on the potential for this race, not to mention the incredible zero-dollar price tag for tickets, that there is a strong possibility it could set an all-time attendance world record for auto racing — let alone any sport or sporting event — even surpassing the nearly 400,000 fans that come out each Memorial Day weekend to Indianapolis for the 500.

Let’s face it, if you’re a parent with kids, would you pass up going to a race for free in our nation’s capital — not to mention all the museums and other sightseeing you can also do — when under most other circumstances, ticket prices would be too cost-prohibitive, running at least several hundreds of dollars, not to mention purchasing at-track food, souvenirs, parking, etc? Regardless of their political persuasion, cash-strapped families could easily save a thousand or more dollars attending the free race.

But wait, there’s more

We’ve already seen two other things take place in the previous past two weekends that not only drew rave reviews, but are also likely precursors of even more such events to come: the crossover IndyCar season-opening weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida, with the IndyCar race as the main event, preceded one day earlier by the first-ever NASCAR Truck race on a street course, then was followed up last week in Phoenix, when NASCAR Cup was the main event and IndyCar was the warm-up undercard act one day earlier.

In addition to the crossover weekends, NASCAR once again will make history on June 21 when it competes for the first time on a military base, holding a temporary street course race on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego. From all the buzz already surrounding the event – and there’s still three more months to go before the green flag drops – enlisting with the U.S. Navy could be one of the most popular debut events ANY sport (and we’re not just talking racing) has ever seen in this country.

The question, though, remains whether NASCAR in San Diego or IndyCar in D.C. will be one-and-done events and not return for next year and beyond. Or will they prove to be so wildly popular and prove to be such a financial success that either series would be foolish not to come back for more.

But we’ll worry about that after June 21 and August 23.

Rumors are already going around that the drag racers of NHRA are trying to find a way to hold a crossover event with either IndyCar or NASCAR at facilities that accommodate both forms of racing like Bristol, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Chicagoland and several others.

And if the synergy between NASCAR and IndyCar continues and even expands further, don’t be surprised if Formula One – particularly with the new American F1 Cadillac team (as well as the other U.S.-based Haas F1 Team) – will be paying close attention to potentially want to join the party and also become part of a crossover weekend or two with its American cousins (or perhaps import NASCAR or IndyCar overseas to one of F1’s “home” events).

I don’t know about you, but how this whole racing season plays out with its new marquis events could see U.S. stock car and open-wheel racing earn some of the greatest returns on their investment that the four-wheeled game has ever seen.

But for now, let’s just enjoy what we’ve already had thus far and look forward with great anticipation for the events still to come in both series.