Fox’s Shanks sees bigger stage for INDYCAR as series expands to Barcelona

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INDIANAPOLIS -- INDYCAR is taking its expansion overseas with a new race in Barcelona beginning in 2027, the latest step in an ambitious growth strategy that Fox Sports chief executive officer Eric Shanks believes can elevate the series beyond its traditional racing audience.

The 10-year agreement in Spain follows the successful debuts of new events in Arlington, Texas, and Washington, D.C., in 2026, as INDYCAR builds a schedule around destination races designed to attract new fans, corporate partners and broader mainstream attention.

Fox, meanwhile, is entering its third season as INDYCAR’s exclusive broadcast partner and now owns one-third of the series, giving the network a financial stake in the success of a sport Shanks believes is on the verge of significant growth.

“The trajectory, as you’ve seen over the last two years, is incredibly on its way to the moon, and what that means is you have to challenge yourself more every day and look out at the next five years and say, what’s our next Arlington? How do we elevate Long Beach? How do we do another Washington D.C.?” Shanks said in an interview surrounding the Washington race.

“Honestly, we’re in the entertainment business, and racing is the core of the entertainment, but it’s also everything around it.”

That philosophy has become central to the direction of INDYCAR under Roger Penske’s ownership and Fox’s growing involvement.

The inaugural Arlington race demonstrated the potential of creating a major event around a new street circuit, while the Freedom 250 in Washington brought INDYCAR to the nation’s capital for a successful celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. The series also added a new Canadian event in Markham, Ontario, in 2026.

Unlike Arlington, which is part of INDYCAR’s ongoing schedule, the Freedom 250 was conceived as a one-time event tied to the nation’s Semiquincentennial and will not return in 2027. Its success nevertheless provided another example of how INDYCAR can use marquee events to generate attention beyond its traditional audience.

Barcelona now offers INDYCAR a long-term opportunity to bring that same approach to Europe, with a decade-long agreement that reflects the series’ ambitions beyond North America.

For Shanks, the strategy is as much about restoring INDYCAR’s past prominence as creating something new.

He pointed to the series’ popularity in the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, when recognizable stars and major events helped attract fans beyond the sport’s traditional base.

“The playbook is there,” Shanks said. “There was a showmanship. There was big stars, incredible racing, anchored by the Indy 500, and the show that was put on.”

Shanks believes the experience surrounding a race is critical to attracting and retaining fans, even when the competition itself does not produce a memorable finish.

“Whether the race actually was a great race or not? People showed up for the show, and that’s what they talked about,” he said.

The emphasis on spectacle is also part of a broader business strategy.

Shanks said companies face a constant barrage of sponsorship opportunities, making it increasingly difficult for sports properties to distinguish themselves. He believes marquee events can help INDYCAR and its teams break through that competition.

“You have to break through that noise,” Shanks said while discussing the Washington race. “I think that every team and the series is going to have a lot more success in partnership talks once everybody sees the (Washington, D.C.) spectacle.”

Fox’s investment has also put increased emphasis on television exposure. The network committed to airing INDYCAR races on broadcast television, a platform Shanks believes is essential to expanding the sport’s reach.

He said the partnership was a natural fit because Fox had the broadcast assets to help grow the series while Penske was investing in its future.

But Shanks cautioned against using television ratings alone to measure success.

“I think that the TV ratings are kind of the low-hanging fruit,” he said. “It’s what everybody can kind of look at, and it’s easy to compare year to year. I don’t look at race-to-race ratings. You look at the whole pie.”

That includes attendance, social media engagement, the financial sustainability of teams and whether increased exposure is attracting new sponsors.

Shanks said those measurements are particularly important as the series grows because larger television audiences become increasingly difficult to expand.

He believes INDYCAR must continue creating major events capable of generating significant spikes in attention while maintaining a sustainable foundation for the sport.

Another opportunity arrives in 2028 with the introduction of a new car.

Shanks believes the redesigned car can appeal to casual fans through its appearance while giving longtime followers the technological and competitive improvements they expect.

“I think that the sleekness and the sexiness of the new car, and then hearing the drivers talk about how much they like it-that’s what I mean. That’s what people buy. That’s what they put on shirts, right? That’s what they go and buy the diecast of,” he said.

The new platform also presents opportunities for Fox to improve its broadcasts through advances in cameras, data and communication technology.

“I’m incredibly excited about the new car, especially the tech for the broadcast,” Shanks said.

For Shanks, who grew up about an hour from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and regularly skipped school to attend practice and other activities at the track, the ambition is rooted in a lifelong connection to the sport.

He remembers when the Indianapolis 500 brought the world’s attention to Indiana each May and when INDYCAR’s biggest stars were household names.

Now, with Fox both broadcasting and investing in the series, Shanks believes the pieces are in place to build something much larger.

And with Barcelona joining the calendar, the next stage of INDYCAR’s growth will extend well beyond the United States.