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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

Scheduled IndyCar race on streets of Boston canceled

FILE - In this May 21, 2015, file photo, City of Boston chief of economic development John Barros, right, and tourism, sports and entertainment director Ken Brissette, left, examine an IndyCar mockup following a news conference in Boston announcing the inaugural Grand Prix of Boston scheduled for 2016. Organizers of the race, which had been planned for Labor Day weekend this year and again each year through 2020, told the open wheel circuit Friday, April 29, 2016, that they have scratched plans to bring a race to the city. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
FILE - In this May 21, 2015, file photo, City of Boston chief of economic development John Barros, right, and tourism, sports and entertainment director Ken Brissette, left, examine an IndyCar mockup following a news conference in Boston announcing the inaugural Grand Prix of Boston scheduled for 2016. Organizers of the race, which had been planned for Labor Day weekend this year and again each year through 2020, told the open wheel circuit Friday, April 29, 2016, that they have scratched plans to bring a race to the city. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

BOSTON (AP) – First the 2024 Olympics. Now an IndyCar race is pulling out of Boston before it even began.

Organizers of the Grand Prix of Boston, which had been planned for Labor Day weekend this year and again each year through 2020, told the open wheel circuit Friday that they have scratched plans to bring a race to the city. Like the Olympics before it, the IndyCar race ran into public opposition and a wavering commitment from local leaders.

Mark Miles, the president and CEO of Hulman & Company, which owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar circuit, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the promoter “is throwing in the towel.”

“It’s very disappointing if that’s the result,” Miles said. “It certainly will be a black eye for the city. I don’t blame it on the people of Boston. If it doesn’t happen, it will have to do with promoters of sports events being able to make arrangements and rely on assurances given to them.”

A spokeswoman for the Grand Prix of Boston did not immediately respond to an email or phone message seeking comment.