A beloved name has returned to Indianapolis. On Wednesday, track officials announced the Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis will be renamed to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park beginning 2022.
From its opening in 1960 to 2005, the facility was known as Indianapolis Raceway Park before O’Reilly Auto Parts assumed naming rights, rebranding it to O’Reilly Raceway Park. Lucas Oil took over title sponsorship in 2011 to dub it Lucas Oil Raceway. Despite this, fans affectionately continued to use the IRP name.
“Everyone at Lucas Oil is excited for the new name change,” said Lucas Oil Director of Partnership Marketing Brandon Bernstein. “It brings back the old school oval logo and feeling of the IRP name, with added Lucas Oil of course. We are pleased to be associated with NHRA and the track for many years to come.”
IRP was an original track for the NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series, being on the calendars for their inaugural seasons. However, both series departed after 2011 as Xfinity switched to the larger Indianapolis Motor Speedway while the Trucks left the Indianapolis market entirely. The Trucks will return to IRP in 2022, and many fans have also lobbied for the main Cup Series to follow suit.
Other series that race at IRP include the NHRA, ARCA Menards Series, and Superstar Racing Experience.
“We are excited to bring back the IRP name with the continued support of our long-time partner Lucas Oil,” said NHRA Vice President of Track Operations and Management Kasey Coler. “We just wrapped up our sixtieth anniversary of the facility and the timing couldn’t be better to celebrate a bit of our history with the new moniker.”
