Plans continue to push forward for IndyCar to stage an exhibition race in Argentina following the conclusion of the 2024 championship season.
Series leadership has been working out the logistics needed for the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo to host a non-points-paying event, and the arrangement seems closer than ever to being given the green light.
Argentina has a large IndyCar following that would surely sell out such an event, largely on account of Ricardo Juncos and his JHR team hiring popular national stock car champion Agustin Canapino to drive in IndyCar starting this past season.
That level of support almost guarantees that an exhibition outing in the country would be a success, as long as all the various pieces are worked out to put it all together.
While not ready to announce a final commitment to the event, Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles teased that over half of the agreements are now in place to make the event happen following the 2024 season.
“I don’t know if we’re in the red zone or just inside the 50 yard line, but I think it’s quite feasible,” said Miles, equating progress to field positions in American Football. “Even for the offseason, the post-championship part of the 2024 calendar [is feasible].
“The [Argentinian] presidential election happened, and by all indications that has not presented any new challenges to us. We have a promoter who is putting together the components to organize a great event. We’ve got a fantastic facility that’s available to us.
“I think the international expansion, that opportunity comes as we end the season pretty early in September. So we’ve got three plus months off. And I think there are important reasons we take that approach.
“I also think that opens up the possibility of some international event or events where the right conditions come together. First of all, we want to go places where we think we’ll have a really dynamite, intense, popular event. And there are places where we think we have that sort of fanbase.
“I think [Argentina] could be an example of the kind of thing that we could do. So we’ve just got to get all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed, and hopefully it can happen. It could be formalized and made public in the early part of the first quarter of next year.”
If the event goes ahead, it will be the first time since 1971 that IndyCar has completed anything more than a demonstration run in Argentina.
The 2024 IndyCar season officially wraps up on September 15, giving the series a couple months before the holidays to fit in the South American event without disrupting the championship schedule.
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