INDYCAR adds Barcelona to 2027 schedule, drops Nashville and Washington’s Freedom 250

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INDIANAPOLIS — INDYCAR will race in Barcelona next summer as part of a 17-race schedule that drops Nashville Superspeedway and the Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C., the series announced Friday.

The July 18 race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the centerpiece of the completed 2027 calendar, taking the championship to Spain while two American events come off the schedule.

The Barcelona race will fall between the July 4 event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Aug. 1 race at Portland International Raceway, giving teams two weeks on either side of the overseas trip.

The Freedom 250 will not return after its inaugural running in August. The Washington street race was organized as part of the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order directing federal officials to help establish a route through the capital and the National Mall.

Nashville’s departure removes the Music City Grand Prix at the 1.33-mile concrete oval in Lebanon, Tennessee. Together, the Nashville and Washington omissions eliminate an oval race and a street race while Barcelona adds a permanent road course.

The revised calendar leaves five oval races: Phoenix, the Indianapolis 500, World Wide Technology Raceway and two races at Milwaukee. Seven races will be held on permanent road courses and five on temporary street circuits.

“One of the things that makes INDYCAR so special is that winning a championship requires drivers and teams to be competitive on every type of racetrack,” series President J. Douglas Boles said. 

Boles pointed to Barcelona’s addition alongside the Indianapolis 500 and returning North American venues as highlights of a season expected to feature 25 full-time entries.

The championship will open March 7 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, and conclude Sept. 5 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The 111th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 30.

Friday’s announcement completed a schedule whose opening eight races were released in August. The newly announced portion begins June 13 at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis, followed by Road America on June 27 and Mid-Ohio on July 4.

After Barcelona and Portland, the series will head to Markham, Ontario, on Aug. 15 for the second race on the Canadian street circuit that debuted in 2026.

Milwaukee will host races Aug. 28 and 29, putting three races over the final two weekends of the season. Laguna Seca will host the championship finale for the 13th time.

All 17 races are scheduled to air on Fox for the third consecutive season. The network also will carry three telecasts across the two days of Indianapolis 500 qualifying, along with Carb Day coverage.

Broadcast times and the schedule for INDYCAR’s developmental Indy NXT series will be announced later.