One question was asked more than any other throughout the paddock last weekend at Milwaukee: When will the 2026 IndyCar schedule be released?

There’s no specific answer on when it will land, but when it does, there might be a surprise or two in store for the series’ growing fan base.

Pacing of the early races has been an area of improvement to address in previous years, as the curtain-raiser each season at St. Petersburg has often been met with weeks of inactivity. In response, the start to next year’s IndyCar championship should keep teams in constant motion.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg has already been confirmed for a March 1 race date, and for the first time, the event welcomes NASCAR’s Craftsman Trucks to race on Saturday, February 28. Provided it holds its traditional place as the first IndyCar event of the season, teams will finish the Floridian street race and sprint west to Phoenix Raceway for the second event of the year.

Multiple sources have told RACER the trip to Arizona is for a brand-new combo weekend where IndyCar will join NASCAR on the reconfigured one-mile oval. IndyCar is said to be slated for a Saturday race on March 7, with NASCAR’s Cup series closing the weekend in the headlining slot on Sunday, March 8.

Before it fell off the calendar in the mid-2000s, Phoenix was an IndyCar staple dating back to the 1960s; it returned for three years from 2016-2018, and also hosted IndyCar’s pre-season Spring Training.

RACER understands the facility, which underwent a massive renovation and alteration after the last IndyCar race, is also strong candidate to resume its Spring Training role prior to St. Petersburg.

With FOX serving as the yearlong broadcaster for IndyCar and the exclusive home for NASCAR during the opening months of its season, the packaging of IndyCar and NASCAR together at events like St. Petersburg and Phoenix is a first-time packaging initiative by FOX with its two top North American racing series, and could be a growing trend to follow in the years ahead.

Phoenix could also serve as the oval replacement for Iowa Speedway if it’s dropped from the championship after an unfortunately low turnout in July.

The World Cup could squeeze IndyCar out of its regular Toronto home for 2026, but a new destination beckons a little further north. Joe Skibinski/IMS

After Florida and Arizona, the series heads east to Texas – making for a trio of consecutive IndyCar races – for the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington, scheduled for March 15 at a temporary circuit built around the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers stadiums.

The next confirmed race is the 51st running of the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 19, leaving a month-long window to potentially fill between Arlington and the Southern Californian venue with one or more races. Before it was moved to later April or early May, Barber Motorsports Park was a familiar presence in late March or early April as a lead-in for Long Beach.

The only other verified calendar dates are the May 9 Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, the May 24 Indy 500, and the May 31 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.The majority of the remaining races, including Barber, World Wide Technology Raceway, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Toronto, Laguna Seca, Portland, Milwaukee, and Nashville are longstanding staples or recent additions that await public confirmation or placement on the calendar.

A recent interview with IndyCar president Doug Boles covered many bases, including the fate of Toronto, Laguna Seca, and Portland, which had been subject to questions of whether they would be lost from the schedule. In the interview, Boles said he expected all three to be in place for 2026.

Toronto is the greatest question mark in terms of when and where the race will be held since the World Cup is set to take over Toronto next summer, and in particular, Exhibition Place where the IndyCar race is held.

Although the date is unknown, RACER has learned the leading location for IndyCar’s lone trip to Canada is the town of Markham, located approximately 45 minutes north of the current course. A downtown street race in Markham, which has more than 300,000 residents and rates as Canada’s 16th-largest city, has been proposed.

The former site of Buttonville Airport has also been rumored, but with the airport currently undergoing demolition as part of a planned redevelopment, downtown Markham is said to be the primary focus for holding the event. Markham, which put in a bid to have an NHL team of its own, is well-populated and positioned to keep IndyCar in Canada while the World Cup takes over the greater Toronto region in 2026.

The last race of interest is Mexico City and a trip to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Despite increasing concerns over the event’s addition to the calendar, an IndyCar spokesperson told RACER last week that planning for the event continues to happen and negotiations are in an encouraging place.

Most of the calendar slots for the next season are believed to be completed, with only a few slots awaiting final confirmation.The end of the current season arrives on Sunday with the 225-lap Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Speedway.