By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
INDYCAR is moving to FOX Sports in 2025 with a 17-race schedule that, for the second consecutive season, does not include Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
FOX Sports is poised to become the exclusive home of the NTT IndyCar Series, including the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. As announced Thursday, the new media rights deal will provide an unprecedented increase in exposure for North America’s premier open-wheel series, with every 2025 race airing on FOX and available on the FOX Sports app. Additionally, FOX Deportes will carry exclusive Spanish-language television coverage via a schedule to be announced.
FOX also will provide coverage of Indy 500 qualifications on both Saturday and Sunday leading into “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” bringing the total number of broadcast network windows to a series-record 19. INDYCAR will become the only premier motorsport in the United States with exclusive major broadcast network coverage for all its races.
“This represents unrivaled exposure and provides an unparalleled growth opportunity for the most competitive and entertaining motorsport on the planet,” INDYCAR CEO Mark Miles said in a news release from Indianapolis. “FOX Sports is a fully-committed partner, ready to bring engaging and technically innovative coverage to millions of fans across the country while also promoting INDYCAR thoroughly across all its platforms.”
The new contract replaces the current deal with NBC Sports and its platforms, which has televised and streamed INDYCAR events since 2019.
“Adding the iconic Indianapolis 500 and delivering the entire NTT IndyCar Series to the FOX Sports roster fits perfectly within our model of teaming with sports’ largest events and best-in-class brands,” FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks said. “We’re honored to be the new broadcast home to ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’ an incredibly special event to everyone at FOX Sports.”
The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season will begin with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg street race in Florida on Sunday, March 2, and conclude with the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 31, in Nashville.
The 109th Indianapolis 500 is booked for Sunday, May 25, on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
Release of the 2025 schedule in June is among the earliest on record and, as noted, does not include Texas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval for a second consecutive year. The late March/early April spring slot TMS most recently occupied now is filled by a race at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, Calif., on Sunday, March 23. Run as a $1-million, non-point exhibition this year, Thermal Club will be a points-paying event in 2025.
Until this year, TMS had played host to at least one INDYCAR event since the track’s initial season in 1997. Under the guidance of Eddie Gossage, TMS’ first president/general manager, the series raced under the lights at “The Great American Speedway” for the first time in open-wheel history in June 1997. TMS’ 2024 schedule featured a NASCAR tripleheader weekend in April as its lone major racing event, a trend that appears likely to repeat in 2025.
In recent years, TMS had served as the NTT IndyCar Series’ only oval-track race leading into the Indy 500 and “Month of May” activity. As the sanctioning body continues to move away from superspeedways _ with the exception of IMS _ the 2025 schedule lists only six oval-track events including a double-header on the 7/8ths-mile Iowa Speedway in Newton.
Race Day coverage of the 109th Indy 500 will be extensive, with a five-hour window planned on FOX. The Indy 500 is the world’s largest single-day spectator sporting event, attracting a crowd of more than 300,000 to the famed IMS oval.
FOX Sports’ coverage package will see all practice and qualifying sessions for the NTT IndyCar Series telecast on cable on FOX Sports 1 and FS2. NBC currently offers those sessions on its Peacock streaming service at an additional cost for fans. The majority of INDY NXT by Firestone races also will air on FS1, with FS2 providing supplemental event coverage.
Additional announcements, including on-air talent, will be made at a later date.
2025 NTT IndyCar Series Schedule
(All races are points-paying events; all event weekends include NTT IndyCar Series and INDY NXT by Firestone races unless otherwise noted.)
Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (FOX)
Sunday, March 23 _ The Thermal Club, Palm Springs, Calif.* (FOX)
Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach* (FOX)
Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (FOX)
Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course^ (FOX)
Sunday, May 25 _ 109th Indianapolis 500 (FOX)
Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (FOX)
Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (FOX)
Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX)
Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (FOX)
Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway Race 1, Newton (FOX)
Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway Race 2*, Newton (FOX)
Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto* (FOX)
Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Calif.+ (FOX)
Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX)
Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX)
Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway (FOX)
* _ No INDY NXT by Firestone race
^ _ INDY NXT by Firestone double-header May 9-10
+ _ INDY NXT by Firestone double-header July 26-27
2024 NTT IndyCar Series point standings _ 1, Will Power, Team Penske, 236; 2, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 231; 3, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 225; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 184; 5, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 179; 6, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 179; 7, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 176; 8, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 169; 9, Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren, 162; 10, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 157;
11, Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 141; 12, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 132; 13, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 130; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Chip Ganassi Racing, 121; 15, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 121; 16, Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 112; 17, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing, 109; 18, Linus Lundqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing, 100; 19, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 81; 20, Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 81;
21, Theo Pourchaire, Arrow McLaren, 75; 22, Augustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 74; 23, Sting Ray Robb, A.J. Foyt Racing, 68; 24, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 65; 25, Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing, 65; 26, Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 46; 27, Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren, 39; 28, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 26; 29, Luca Ghiotto, Dale Coyne Racing, 22; 30, Conor Daly, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 21;
31, Kyle Larson, Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren, 21; 32, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 19; 33, Nolan Siegel, Dale Coyne Racing, 17; 34, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 14; 35, Tristan Vautier, Dale Coyne Racing, 12; 36, Colin Braun, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 37, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 6; 38, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb Agajanian, 5; 39, Katherine Legge, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, 5.
