Penske Executive Says IndyCar Barcelona Round Set for Summer 2027

Penske Corporation executive Jonathan Gibson said IndyCar's international expansion is backed by years of promoter interest, and Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has agreed to host a round starting in summer 2027, with an official announcement expected Friday, according to Yahoo. Penske Corporation is a closely-held transportation services conglomerate whose motorsports arm owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Gibson Details IndyCar's Global Push

Speaking at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York, Gibson, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Penske Corporation, pointed to IndyCar's international driver lineup and global television reach. "IndyCar historically has had a significant presence, you know, throughout South America, obviously Canada," Gibson said. "And there's been some international races overall. If you think about it, our grid, we represent 13 countries amongst our drivers. And so from a driver standpoint and then our TV packages that we have around the world are obviously quite strong."

Gibson said interest from international promoters has marked the first sustained push to take IndyCar outside North America since its 2013 visit to São Paulo, Brazil, and its last European fixture in 2007. "Over the last four or five years, we've had certain tracks and markets reach out to us," Gibson said. "And, you know, we've had some serious dialogue as of late."

Inbound interest has come from Argentina, where Juncos Hollinger Racing led promotional demonstrations in November 2022 and August 2023 with driver Agustín Canapino, and from Mexico, where Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was in serious contention to host a round during the 2026 season before the project was scrapped due to scheduling conflicts with the FIFA World Cup and other factors. Brazil has remained in the mix, while Colombia emerged more recently after Barranquilla Mayor Alejandro Char publicly claimed the city had secured an event for April 2028, though IndyCar officials subsequently poured cold water on those assertions. Outreach has also centered on Japan, anchored by corporate partners including Bridgestone, Honda, and series title sponsor NTT Data.

Penske's Motorsports Scale

Penske Corporation was founded in 1966 as a diversified, closely-held transportation services company that has grown into a $43+ billion revenue conglomerate with 73,000+ employees across five operating segments, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show the company acquired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and established Penske Entertainment Corp., consolidating ownership of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and IMS Productions under the corporate umbrella. Penske Corporation operates in over 3,300 locations worldwide.

Earlier Penske Developments

In October 2026, Penske Transportation Solutions' Sherry Sanger discussed AI's role in fleet and maintenance operations, citing Catalyst AI for fleet benchmarking, and noted successful AI adoption requires clear purpose, data quality, and early customer involvement, Transport Topics reported. In August 2026, Kaskela Law announced a probe into the adequacy of a proposed $210 per share buyout price for Penske Automotive on behalf of shareholders, regarding an offer from Penske Corp. and Mitsui & Co., which collectively own over 72% of the company, Business Wire Blog reported.

Barcelona Announcement Expected Friday

Gibson said an official deal is imminent. "I think we're pretty close," he said. "You have to stay tuned." When pushed on a specific timetable for formal confirmation, Gibson said: "Pretty soon."