Excitement drew Archie Bradley, fans to Phoenix Raceway IndyCar Test

AVONDALE – April 7, 2018. That was the last time the NTT IndyCar Series raced at Phoenix Raceway. Eight years later, IndyCar returns to the desert oval this weekend, giving fans in the Valley their first chance to see action on the one-mile circuit in a long time.

One of those fans is former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley, who is often at sporting events around the Phoenix area.

Bradley caught the racing bug over the past few years by watching NASCAR races at Phoenix Raceway, getting the full experience, including driving and riding in a car, as well as going up in the Goodyear Blimp.

He wanted to come to the IndyCar test to learn about the drivers and the racing.

“I don’t enjoy sitting on the couch at home; I like to be out and enjoy experiences,” Bradley said. “What racing is trying to do is to bring fans together. I think it’s an exciting deal to get to see these cars going this fast, and then to follow it up with NASCAR the next day.”

Bradley and the rest of the fans got a taste of the action at the track on Feb. 18, the second day of the Unser IndyCar Open Test, where the teams and drivers go to learn the track in preparation for the race. Even though it was a cold, dreary day, several hundreds of fans turned out to watch the test, and there was some excitement in the air about IndyCar’s return.

The first 300 fans who showed up received wristbands that allowed them to get their favorite driver’s autograph. The wristbands were distributed within the first hour after the gates opened.

“The first question that I was getting from all our fans when I started was ‘When are you bringing IndyCar back?’” Phoenix Raceway Track President Latasha Causey said. “I’m super excited for our fans to be able to access this because (it’s) the first time we’re matching up with a NASCAR race weekend.”

The race will be a part of a doubleheader weekend with NASCAR, with the IndyCar race and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NASCAR’s second-tier series) races on Saturday and the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday.

The idea behind the doubleheader weekend is that both series want to get fresh eyes on their respective series by getting fans from the other series to watch both races and the series throughout the season.

“What we know is that it shows that fans are excited about IndyCar coming back,” Causey said. “We didn’t know that they would go that fast.” 

Hundreds of fans came to the track to watch the festivities. The fans viewed the morning session, which ran uninterrupted, before watching the afternoon session, which was hampered by two different rainstorms.

The test was free for fans to attend, making it easily accessible. It allowed fans to get familiar with the drivers and cars, as well as how they drive the race track.

It also allowed Valley race fan Chris Parks to see the IndyCar series race cars for the first time. He was impressed by the IndyCars’ speed.

“It was free, it’s a test day,” Parks said. “Tickets (for the race) are pretty expensive, so I can’t really afford that, but at least I get to see this.”

IndyCar drivers said they are looking forward to the race. They were surprised by how many people showed up; so many that they could not get to all of the autographs.  A majority of fans were wearing NASCAR merchandise. Since IndyCar was last at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR has had two races in Phoenix every year, allowing NASCAR to cement foothold in the market.  

“I think it’s good to combine the two series as well,” IndyCar series driver Felix Rosenqvist said. “Historically, they have pretty different fans, but if the racing is good, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t have watched both.”

This is not the first time the two series have run a doubleheader weekend. They ran at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s grand prix layout from 2021-2023. NASCAR sent its third-tier series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to St. Petersburg, Florida with IndyCar earlier this year.

“Saturday will look just as good as Sunday,” Causey said.

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