Tony Stewart wants to see an Indycar / NASCAR double-header

Stewart says that would be a “kick-ass weekend”

Two weeks ago, NASCAR visited their newest race track. It was the second running of the ROVAL. The track is a 17 turn road course that utilizes an infield road course in additional to the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval.

This time, INDYCAR was also on hand. Pennzoil brought in the INYDCAR championship driver, Josef Newgarden.

He ran exhibition laps by himself. After, Newgarden said there’s no reason IndyCar couldn’t run the ROVAL.

Additionally, INDYCAR president Jay Frye stepped in to express interest in running INDYCAR on The ROVAL.

That test has sparked talk of a double-header race weekend between NASCAR and INDYCAR. 2020 schedules are set for both series.

However, 2021 is a shakeup year for NASCAR that’s expected to see a new car, new tracks and a new schedule. Could an INDYCAR double header be a part of that?

Tony Stewart has driven in both series throughout his career. When he hears the idea of a double-header, “kick-ass weekend” is what he thinks.

Simon Pagenaud and Ed Carpenter lead in the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indycar Series
Simon Pagenaud and Ed Carpenter lead in the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo: John Cote)

Tony Stewart on Indycar / NASCAR double-header

“I think it would be awesome,” Stewart said. “(Texas Motor Speedway) would be a perfect place to do it, too. I think it would be really cool.”

“It would be a weekend on my calendar that I would make sure I was at the Cup race that weekend for sure. It’s just never been done.”

“The hardest part for both series is going to be how different the racetrack is. When you’d go to Pocono or anywhere that ARCA would run with the Cup Series and you’d have different rubber (tires), it definitely made a difference.”

“I remember when we did the first demo run the night of the (NASCAR) All-Star race (at Charlotte Motor Speedway) in ’97, I remember how sketchy it was because the Goodyear rubber was down and we were on Firestone with IndyCar. And the rubbers really weren’t compatible.”

“So that’s the only challenge they’ll have doing it. Aside from that, man, I think that’s about as big of a kick ass weekend as you could ever ask for in motorsports, is to have two major series like that here at the same time.”

There’s already some overlap between Indycar and NASCAR. Both series already visit Richmond Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

More overlap is included for the NASCAR Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. Those series visit Iowa Speedway, World Wide Technology Speedway at Gateway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America.

But, Stewart wants to see it happen at Texas Motor Speedway.

“And it’s not because we’re sitting here right now,” Stewart said. “This is the place I would pick if you were going to do that kind of a weekend.”

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Charlotte Motor Speedway | Josef Newgarden | Indycar | Texas Motor Speedway | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Tony Stewart Racing | NASCAR

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