INDIANAPOLIS — The biggest addition to the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar was the return of the Milwaukee Mile. It’s a popular fan friendly announcement that will see the premiere series make it’s long awaited return for the first time in 9 seasons.

Before we get to the now, you have to get to what really got this ball rolling in this direction because when the series left in 2015, it looked like this place would go by the wayside. However, Track Enterprises saw the vision and kept the dream alive. They revamped the place a bit and ran Late Models here in 2019. Two years later, ARCA was back. This past year, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

But, the main goal – bring INDYCAR back.

The series got wind of this a year ago and while racing up the road in Road America, Roger Penske and his team stopped in West Allis on race day morning to take a tour.

“More than a year ago, Roger Penske and I and Michael Montri and I think maybe Bud Denker were there, and we met with the governor, and we had heard that there was interest and that they were prepared to invest in the fairgrounds and in particular in the track,” Mark Miles said on Monday afternoon.

“So in true Roger Penske fashion, we found ourselves walking the track and looking at every linear foot of wall or SAFER barrier or where there might be SAFER barrier and fencing and restrooms and all the rest of it, and honestly laid out a vision you would expect from us about the level of quality upgrades that would need to be made to make it appropriate for us.”

Penske agreed.

“We had a chance to get — almost a year ago,” he said while on site to debut the announcement. “We talked about the chance to come back here, and certainly, Shari (Black, CEO and executive director for Wisconsin State Fair Park), with you and your team, to be able to look at the track, I think there’s a huge commitment here from the state and certainly the Wisconsin Fair Board, John Yingling, the chairman, and we got together to talk about what we needed to do to bring it to the current standards to have an INDYCAR race here. The commitment from the state and certainly the Fair Board has given us that opportunity.”

With Penske’s recommendations, Black, Yingling and Governor Tony Evers worked together to make sure the updates were received and done.

“At every turn, the state was there, interested in helping make that happen,” Miles said. “There’s some state funding. At the same time, the State Fair Board welcomed the opportunity and is really embracing it, and I don’t know that that was that true last time around in Milwaukee.”

With that being worked on, Penske and his team knew that a return could be imminent.

“To me, this opportunity was really obvious,” he said. “It’s in our backyard, and we have a tremendous amount of fans in this part of the country that love INDYCAR racing.

“This is our DNA, oval racing. We love to go racing on the streets and also certainly on fixed road courses, but this opportunity for us, as we look from an INDYCAR standpoint, to create a bigger footprint within the sport, and the television coming out of these types of ovals is amazing, the passes, the competition.

“But for me from the standpoint, this is a great opportunity that we’re trying to build the INDYCAR Series. There’s lots of competition out there today, but this to me will give us a really crowning opportunity to take this series to the next level.”

With talks moving forward, to get this event truly to the next level, INDYCAR decided that if this was going to be done right, they had to take control. Just as they do in Detroit and now the doubleheader in Iowa. Why not promote their own show?

“Those two things were really key, and this time as we have the experience we have here as Penske Entertainment at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for all that we’re doing and then Detroit and then Iowa, we thought, look, we should step up, and while the promoter is actually the State Fair Board, we’re going to be heavily invested and very involved,” said Miles.

“I think we’re in a position to just make sure that it meets everybody’s expectations. The ingredients came together, and it seemed like the right time, and we’re happy to be part of it.”

Plus, the Fair is onboard after what Iowa brings to the table with musical acts and a carnival type atmosphere.

“Well, I think we understand we need a bigger footprint, so for those that are local and are familiar with our Harvest Fair, that’s sort of what we are planning to follow, kind of that footprint where it really brings out our Central Park area,” Black said. “There’s a lot of area for programming, and as I mentioned some of our local vendors that have some fun and unique offerings will be able to open.

“In the past it’s always been along Grandstand Avenue, which is right outside of the track, so we’re trying to go more inside of the fair and have more that festival feel.

“A lot of vendors bring in their own music acts, so we’re hoping they’ll do that, as well, so kind of that festival-type feeling is what we’re looking for.”

In saying that, is INDYCAR spreading themselves too thin now? That’s 7 of the 17 races if you count the pair of IMS events, that they’re promoting?

“We’re going to deploy whatever resources we need, but I think the underlying point your question makes is that of late, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s ticket office is involved to make sure Iowa was exactly the facility we wanted it to be,” Miles said. “I think probably eight people from IMS’s ground crew, our facilities people, our tradespeople were all there getting it ready in advance, our security people were there. We’re very hands on now when we can play a role in helping an event be successful.

“That same approach will happen for Milwaukee.

“I’d be surprised if we don’t have one or more dedicated people and resources, but exactly that decision has not exactly been made and exactly who it would be. We’ve got a little list brewing.

“We have put together, walked into this position where we can help, and we’ll do that, and we’re going to watch it be successful.”

Penske agreed.

“I think as Penske Entertainment took over the Series and operates the Speedway, I think we’ve come in with a team of experienced people that we can partner with Shari and her team here at the fairgrounds,” he said.

“Before you had promoters coming in and coming out. But we’re committed. We’ve invested heavily in the track at Indianapolis and also certainly in the Series, and it’s important that we take the Series to places that are long-staying capabilities, which you have here. They’ve got a great track. You drive in here this morning, the place is clean.

“One of the areas we like so much is we have this wonderful convention center that the state has provided here at the park, and we’ll have all of our chalets, all of our entertainment for our sponsors and people like that can really set up there, so we see that’s going to be great entertainment, especially as we come down to the end of the series, being able to use that for what it’s built for, to bring fans into the state and certainly for tourism, and we’ll use that as a key.

“Also, we’re looking at opportunities to have entertainment. We have the opportunity here with an entertainment here at the fairgrounds, and maybe Saturday night we can have some music. We haven’t committed that yet.

“A number of sponsors we’ve touched base with are very interested to be part of this. We haven’t announced anything at this point, but I think it’s our experience — as you know we were in the speedway business for a long time with Michigan and California and all over the country here, and then to come here and put this under our control in conjunction as a partnership with the Wisconsin Fair Board, I think it works out.

“We’ve got the capital to do it, but even more important when we step back and you look at the track and the money that’s been allocated by the state funding in order to take it to the next level from a safety perspective and also for a fan, I think we’re doing that also.

“Those are all things that had to happen before we could come here and say it’s going to be sustainable.”

Which brings us to today. INDYCAR is back and doing so in a big way. Not only will they run one race, but they’ll do so twice in a doubleheader format with two races in as many days.

Wisconsin Governor Evers is ecstatic about the return.

“First of all, thanks to Penske’s great work to make this happen in such a short period of time,” he boasted. “In reality, it’s a huge win for southeast Wisconsin. It’s a huge win for our state. It’s a huge win for the State Fair Park and tourism in general.

“I am jazzed about this for a couple reasons. One is obviously I care about tourism in the state of Wisconsin, but in the executive residence there’s actually a poster from 1939. Things look a little different from the way it looks today. But anytime you have a chance to redo history and take this into a whole different level, you have to take advantage of that.

“A lot of people should be thanked for that, but the history of this organization and this track is why we’re here today.”

The question now is, can they make it work? this last?

You get the hint that this is the final straw here. One last ditch effort to make this worthwhile. Which is why this is a top takeaway from the schedule unveiling.

“There is such a great tradition and history of INDYCAR racing at the Milwaukee Mile, and we are excited to build on that legacy with a Labor Day weekend NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader beginning in 2024,” said Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Corporation. “We appreciate all the loyal and passionate INDYCAR fans in Milwaukee and across the state of Wisconsin, and thanks to our partnership with the Wisconsin State Fair Park, we can’t wait to return to the Mile next season.”

INDYCAR has done all the right things. Milwaukee has too. It’s now up to the fans if they put their money where their mouths are.

You can’t cry and scream for tracks to come and then not show. You did it to Phoenix. You did it to Watkins Glen. How many more are you going to do this to?

You’ve done it to Milwaukee in the past. After not having a race in 2010, INDYCAR came back in 2011. Michael Andretti promoted the race and tried to make it work. Fans lauded Andretti for doing this generous venture.

Then they didn’t show up to thank him in person. Now, will the fans this time around?

Let’s hope people actually show. I mean Milwaukee is an easy half days drive from many major cities and in the hotbed of INDYCAR country. You can’t blame a sporting game or birthday party or anything else. YOU HAVE TO GO. No excuses. This has to be appointment viewing.

Scarce stands = a bad look.

So, can this marriage that is now being rekindled last?

This race is essentially the replacement to the INDYCAR-NASCAR shared weekend. You’d get 50k+ in attendance that weekend. While Milwaukee won’t be close to that amount, can they top 15-20k?

The Truck Series did and INDYCAR should. They can’t afford that massive of a drop off.