We’ve long awaited for a NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader weekend on the same track. Now, we’ve got it. The NTT IndyCar Series will share the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on the Fourth of July while the Cup Series will run the traditional Brickyard 400 on Sunday.

But, with this not only being the rare doubleheader event, it’s also the first time that a NASCAR has raced on the road course. Is this something that we could see more of in the future?

It’s kind of a mixed vote in the NASCAR garage. They like the oval. The problem is, the novelty of the Brickyard 400 has worn off. The once crowds in excess of 250k+ has dwindled down to the 40k range.

Everyone agrees that the Brickyard needs spiced up a bit and one of the common things people have asked about was running the race on the road course. Yes, lights has been asked about too, but that’s not happening any time soon.

The road course? Well, it’s entirely possible. You know Saturday’s race is an experimental phase and if it works, like I have a feeling it will, does the Brickyard quickly move to the road course in the not so distant future?

“I would never vote for that because I like everything about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said defending Brickyard champion Kevin Harvick. “For me, it’s all about the oval. Racing on the traditional race track just for the fact that for me I’m old school and I think that the Cup cars belong and really started the Brickyard 400. That was what it was always meant to be was kind of a iconic one-off.”

Harvick, notes that the Brickyard was always and should have remained a Cup only event. He said that having the weekend over at IRP helped it all. While the Xfinity Series moved to the big track in 2012, their crowds were less than to be desired. There’s no way more than a couple of thousand were in the grandstands each year for that race.

So, moving them to the road course this July made sense. Now, Harvick feels like maybe pairing it with the NTT IndyCar Series, well it could fill the void of what IRP left and leave the Cup race on the oval alone as the standalone oval event of the weekend too.

“Just the Cup cars event,” Harvick continued. “I think with the Xfinity cars and the Trucks and K&N cars that used to race at IRP, it was kind of that great event.

“So hopefully the road course can take that role that IRP used to have and bring the IndyCar’s and NASCAR together. It kind of adds to that event at the Speedway. For me personally, I would never vote on the Cup cars to not run on the oval.”

Kurt Busch kind of agreed. He’d be open to a road course race at IMS for the Cup cars, but only if they ran a doubleheader of the road course one day and the oval the next. He notes that the new car coming out will be able to make that work.

 “The oval is always going to be a little more special than the road course, and I would hate to get away from that,” said Keselowski. “I would prefer to see us find the rules package that allows us put on a show that’s as compelling as the IndyCar race is to where no one really wants to see us go to the road course.”

Still, I’ve long said that while the novelty has worn off for the fan base, it hasn’t worn off in the garage. The drivers still love coming here each year, even if it keeps moving dates. A win at Indy now, even with less people in the stands than in the past, means just the same to them.

Denny Hamlin said that he thinks this is still a crown jewel and that his Brickyard trophy whenever he gets one, will be displayed just the same whether there’s no one there like there will be this weekend, or 300,000.

Erik Jones, Hamlin’s teammate, agrees saying that winning at Indy would still be nice.

“Winning at Indy is a pretty cool thing,” Jones said. “It’s a pretty cool thing, something that’s always really special.  The Victory Lane there and celebration is really special with your team, with the fans as well.

“That’s going to be a unique one.  Any marquee race you win, you don’t have the fans there, I think stings a little bit more than a normal race weekend here at Pocono.  Obviously we miss the fans.  Those marquee races you miss traditions, celebrating with the fans and the team the things you look forward to as a race winner.”

Another JGR driver in Kyle Busch has won here twice. He says the joyful feeling never goes away about winning at Indy, no matter your first or how many other times you get the chance to Kiss the Bricks.

“I think the biggest thing about the Brickyard is the prestige – the track’s history and quality of racing, all the historic finishes it’s had over the years, whether it’s been IndyCar or NASCAR,” said Busch ahead of Sunday’s race. “To me, it’s a special place to go to because of its heritage of being Indianapolis. Every guy in NASCAR, and especially every guy in IndyCar, they want to win there.

“It certainly was special winning both of the Brickyard races. I think that, for myself and the 18 team, winning there two years in a row was thrilling. It was really special as a whole team, and they treat it very special there, as well, with the whole ceremony postrace and everything that goes on there with taking the ride around the track and the owner being with you. J.D. (Gibbs) being there with us on that first Brickyard win was very special and a memory I will always have.

“That was pretty cool.

“It is a big deal. I feel like it is for us. For our team, we circle it on the calendar every year – that’s one we want to win. We always circle the Daytona 500, the Coke 600, the All-Star Race, the Brickyard 400, the Southern 500 and the Championship Race. There are probably a couple more in there that you want to win, such as any one race within each round of the playoffs. You want to win any of those to get yourself locked in and moving on to the next round just to solidify your chances of being able to win a championship. But it’s obviously a big race, and I guess it still pays pretty decent, so you might as well win it and we are going to try just that this weekend with our Skittles America Mix Camry.”

Matt DiBenedetto said it will be weird not having fans at Indy this weekend, but the Brickyard is still one of the coolest places NASCAR visits. He also was the one that got to test the NASCAR on the road course and says that he wishes a Cup race would be added to run it.

 “I’m super-jealous of those guys, extremely jealous,” DiBenedetto said. “They’re gonna have a blast.  That course is awesome.  It’s so much fun, has really good passing zones, so I’m gonna be watching really closely.

“I’ve had a lot of guys come to me for advice, too, since I was the only one that got to run that track in an XFINITY car, which was really neat.  I have no doubt it’s gonna put on a tremendous race.  I’m really jealous.  I wish the Cup cars were running that, but I’m gonna be looking at that for the future because I know it’s such a special, really good track, so I’m gonna be watching and knowing it’s gonna put on a good show, and then I’m sure I’ll be bugging everyone at NASCAR and saying, and everyone at Indy saying, ‘Let’s run the road course next year’ because it’s gonna be a cool layout.”

What’s going to be weird though is, if the Brickyard does move to the road course, say next year, the fans in the stands would have witnessed their final Brickyard on the oval in 2019.