Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) has stirred up quite the storm this week, among the NASCAR fanbase and industry.

There have been countless discussion points over the last four days, including whether NASCAR Cup Series events are too long, whether the stage cautions are too long – or even necessary, and then, a burnout on the bricks by Carson Kvapil (a mistake, by the way) had people on the internet totally distraught.

Then, to finish the weekend with a bang, we had Sunday’s Brickyard 400, where the on-track product was… lackluster. The restarts were exciting and produced some two-and-three-wide racing for a couple of laps, but once the field got strung out and single-file, there wasn’t a lot of position shuffling to be had.

In the last 30 laps of the race, there were three passes for position: Carson Hocevar drove from 11th to ninth, and Erik Jones passed Bubba Wallace for 27th. That’s it.

So, there’s definitely something to work on before the NASCAR Cup Series comes back in 2027. Yes, you read that correctly. I do still think the NASCAR Cup Series should return in 2027.

The Brickyard 400 is a crown jewel event. Full stop.

The NASCAR Cup Series has been contesting the race for more than three decades, and while it doesn’t have the same laundry list of winners as the DAYTONA 500, Coca-Cola 600, or Southern 500, it’s still a race at the one and only Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Indianapolis is probably the most historic racetrack in the world, so throwing it away like yesterday’s used candy wrappers is certainly not the answer. Hell, NASCAR has already tried that once – using the race date to run the Grand Prix circuit, instead – and the result was fans clamoring to bring back the Brickyard 400.

Why? Because it’s a crown jewel, and watching any vehicle race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is badass. Why do you think the Weenie 500 is so popular? Yeah, sure, giant hot dogs driving around a racetrack is hilarious, but giant hot dogs driving around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hilarious and badass.

NASCAR’s decision to vacate Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s oval, in favor of the road course, already did damage to the prestige of the Brickyard 400… to the point where we spent the lead-in to this year’s race discussing whether it’s even a crown jewel.

(It is a crown jewel, and I won’t hear any argument against that point.)

Plus, there’s lots that can be done to fix the racing product.

Look at the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

When the second-tier division first joined the Cup Series at Indianapolis in 2012, NASCAR was having the same exact issue: the on-track product was lackluster and produced very few passing opportunities. So, NASCAR pivoted and elected to put the superspeedway package on the cars, instead of the intermediate package, and the result has been a net positive.

Now, that might not be the *exact* solution for the NASCAR Cup Series – the NextGen car is a completely different race car than the O’Reilly Series car – but NASCAR at least deserves the opportunity to brainstorm and come up with something better before tossing IMS aside.

The answer lies in fixing the on-track product, or even the car, but absolutely does not lie in casting aside a racetrack that means so much, not only to NASCAR, but the motorsports landscape both nationally and globally.

So, maybe we just, I don’t know, pump the brakes on the narrative that NASCAR shouldn’t be coming back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There’s so much history here, and there’s still so much that can be done about the on-track product – and much to the credit of NASCAR’s new CEO, Steve O’Donnell, he’s shown that he’s willing to make changes at a bit quicker pace.

Let’s allow NASCAR to fix the on-track product, and more importantly, let’s give one of the most historic racetracks in the world another opportunity to put on a fantastic show, because, at the end of the day, you know we’re all going to miss it when it’s gone.