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Texas cites date clash in being dropped from 2024 IndyCar schedule

The Texas Motor Speedway has cited a date clash for being absent from the 2024 IndyCar Series schedule released on Monday.

Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet

The 1.5-mile superspeedway has played host to North America's premier open-wheel championship every year since 1997, including two events per year from 1998-2004 that also featured season finales.

A visit in June was traditionally held for the majority of the tenure, including when TMS was called upon to help jump-start the IndyCar season in 2020.

In 2021, the date shifted to a double-header in May. Then, the target moved 20 March in 2022 before settling on April 2 earlier this season.

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Texas Motor Speedway Executive Vice President & General Manager Mark Faber provided a statement on not hosting an IndyCar Series race next season.

"Despite the best efforts by both Texas Motor Speedway and IndyCar, we have been unable to reach agreement on a date that works for both parties for 2024," Faber said.

"We know this is as disappointing to our open-wheel race fans as it is to us, but we have a great working relationship with IndyCar and look forward to further discussions about the future."

The track is still expected to host one points-paying NASCAR Cup race in the 2024 season, although the date has not been finalized. 

There have been rumblings of NASCAR looking to move its recent September date back to April, which potentially provided the issues in scheduling and was further compounded with the Summer Olympics pushing motorsports on an extended break from late July to mid-August next year.

For its part, TMS hosted two NASCAR rounds from 2005 to 2022, only recently returning to hosting a single event for the stock car series this year. It has hosted a NASCAR event every year since 1997.

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet

Photo by: Brett Farmer / Motorsport Images

Among some of the issues that have plagued the track was, under the previous layout, it battled weepers on a routine basis and led to a repave, reconstruction and reconfiguration in 2017.

There was an expansive French drainage system added on the front stretch and backstretch and a 4-degree reduction of banking in Turns 1 and 2. There was 24-degree banking in all four turns.

Turns 3 and 4 remained unchanged, the banking of Turns 1 and 2 was decreased to 20 degrees with the racing surface width expanding from 60 feet to 80 feet in that section of the track.

Those adjustments came after one of the closest races in IndyCar history, with Graham Rahal besting James Hinchcliffe by 0.0080 of a second in the 2016 race that started on June 11, postponed and finally ended on Aug. 27.

Scott Dixon's mark of five wins is the most all-time for IndyCar at TMS.

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