"If I’m NASCAR, I’m doing nothing to help IndyCar": Insider makes blunt comment on potential return of a double-header

IndyCar and NASCAR are the top leagues of racing in the United States. With the two series often competing with each other for viewership, motorsport reporter Marshall Pruett revealed how the two championships will always try to benefit off each other's success and take the spotlight away.

The two championships joined hands for the first time in 2021. At the Brickyard 400-Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend, the two series traded times for the scheduling of the races.

The open-wheel race was held on Saturday, while NASCAR raced on Sunday. This new tradition was short-lived as the two championships soon moved away. While many thought this was a great collaboration between two racing leagues, some questioned the open-wheel racing scene getting the worse end of the deal.

This led the two championships to move away from a doubleheader weekend at the same venue. Nonetheless, chatter regarding the two championships possibly getting back suggested that a doubleheader might be in the cards.

However, Pruett claimed that IndyCar does not benefit from NASCAR's viewership and plays second fiddle, as he said (via RACER):

"The IndyCar and NASCAR thing is tricky, since both want top billing. I know IndyCar played the undercard at the second Indy GP/Brickyard 400 event where nobody cared about the IndyCar part, and if I’m NASCAR, I’m doing nothing to help IndyCar to gain more fans and challenge its supremacy. That’s just bad for business. But if there’s anyone who could get both sides to consider it, it’s FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks."

Last year, the two series' collaborated differently with the aid of Kyle Larson, who attempted the double duty.

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Kyle Larson is aiming to get back on the IndyCar grid for the Indy 500

Kyle Larson at the LVMS NASCAR Weekend Press Luncheon - Source: Getty

Larson became the first driver in a decade to compete at both the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indy 500 on the same day. While his attempt was ruined by the rain shower, he went on to finish 18th in the race.

Despite the subpar result, after winning the Brickyard 400 last year, he stated how he would love to attempt the Indy 500 next year and teased about the potential of joining the grid on May 25, as he said (via FOX Sports):

"It sounds good, I'll say, so far, but things could change. We'll see. I would obviously love to do it. I think everybody knows I would love to do it because in my mind I did not get to do it this year. I didn't get to at least do the double. I hope that the pieces can fall into place, and we can hopefully get things put together and announce something, get excited about doing the double next year."

The second round of the premier open-wheel racing championship will be held at the Thermal Club on March 23.