The IndyCar Series is shaking up its calendar for the 2027 season, with Motorsport.com learning that the championship will not return to the Nashville Superspeedway, nor will it stage an encore event for the wildly successful Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the streets of Washington, D.C..
However, North America’s premier open-wheel championship is simultaneously expanding its international footprint, having reached an agreement to race at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Tennessee Presence in Jeopardy
IndyCar has raced on the 1.33-mile D-shaped concrete oval in Lebanon, Tennessee, since 2024. That move followed a popular three-year stint on the downtown streets of Nashville for the Music City Grand Prix.
The shift to the superspeedway was enacted as a temporary fix driven by extensive construction surrounding the Tennessee Titans’ new NFL stadium, which stripped away vital footprint space required for team paddocks, transporters, and fan activations. While organizers and local leaders initially eyed a potential return to the downtown layout once the stadium project neared completion, the latest updates indicate IndyCar will lack a points-paying presence in the Volunteer State altogether for 2027.
D.C. Success Won’t Translate to a 2027 Return
Despite massive fanfare, the inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix – conceived as a one-off celebration around The National Mall – will not see a 2027 encore.
The unique 1.7-mile, seven-turn temporary street circuit turned heads across the sports world, drawing a staggering weekend crowd of over 215,000 spectators across the two-day show. Broadcast nationally on FOX, the race pulled in an average of 3.282 million viewers, cementing it as the most-watched non-Indy 500 IndyCar race since the open-wheel unification of 2008. Despite the blockbuster metrics, logistical realities have grounded plans for an immediate repeat.
Heading to Spain
While domestic stalwarts drop off, IndyCar is planting a major flag abroad. Motorsport.com has confirmed that Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has finalized a multi-year deal to host an IndyCar round starting in the summer of 2027.
Slated tentatively for July 18, the event brings premier North American open-wheel racing directly to the home country of five-time series champion Alex Palou.
An official announcement from series leadership, with Palou and IndyCar CEO Mark Miles in on-hand, is expected this Friday alongside the release of the remaining second-half schedule for the 2027 season.
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