According to comments made by Thermal Club founder and owner Tim Rogers, the NTT IndyCar Series may not be returning to the privately-owned California track next season.
IndyCar has taken a trip to the exclusive motor club for each of the past three years, including a $1 million exhibition event in 2024 and a full points paying race in March of this season.
The event was a bit of an outlier due to the private nature of the track, which only allowed a few thousand fans to attend in person.
Rogers spoke with Blake Arthur of CBS affiliate KESQ on Wednesday, stating that he believed a race at the track next season was not going to happen.
“Not next year,” Rogers told KESQ. “Hopefully the following year. Their schedule is pretty well set. Also, I need to make sure we get a title sponsor and be prepared ahead of time.
“The main thing is we need to get a title sponsor and I need to get the infrastructure. It was great working with Indy. It is a great job that FOX Sports is doing on the Indy events. Our members loved it. The Coachella Valley loved it. We just need to make sure it works for all parties.
“It’s been our third year of losing money, but it was a points race and it was exciting. The Indy teams loved being here and all the members like them being here a lot.”
According to KESQ, IndyCar reached out to Rogers after the comments were made and said that next year’s schedule is not finalized yet.
That statement would seem to indicate that Thermal could still be a fallback option for an early season race should the still unconfirmed race in Mexico City not come through.
Rogers also mentioned that he would be willing to invest in more grandstands and hospitality suites if he could have a multi-year deal with IndyCar, but such a deal has not been made at this point.
IndyCar typically releases its schedule for the following year late the season, meaning it could be a couple more months before a full picture of the 2026 season is known.
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