QOTD: Did The Desert Double Work For You?

by Tim Healey

Published: March 13th, 2026

NASCAR is about to head to Vegas, yet I am still thinking about last week's race at Phoenix.

More specifically, I am thinking about how the NASCAR Cup race followed IndyCar, which was on the same track a day earlier.

Fox, unsurprisingly, made a big deal about the weekend. Of course it did -- the company wanted as many viewers to watch both races as possible.

For me, as a fan of cars that race one another, regardless of series, I liked it. It was cool watching IndyCar and NASCAR on the same track just about a day apart. Usually, when both series run at the same track in the same year, months or weeks separate the events.

It was also nice not having the two series going up against each and having to burn up the "back" button on my remote, or having to consider recording one for later viewing.

Finally, I do wonder if some NASCAR die-hards who've maybe dismissed IndyCar racing as too "wine-and-cheese" came around to understanding how fast those cars are -- and how fun it can be when Alex Palou isn't lapping everyone.

Similarly, I hope some IndyCar fans who dismissed NASCAR as a sport for the crimsoned of neck who speak with a drawl saw how intense and unpredictable stock-car racing can be -- and how the big, hulking closed-wheel cars are almost as fast as the upside-down aircraft that Indy runs.

Anyway, that's my take. If you follow racing, what's yours? Should IndyCar and NASCAR double up in the same place on the same weekend more often?

Sound off below.

[Image: NASCAR]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#QuestionOfTheDay #QOTD #Nascar #Racing #Indycar

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments

Join the conversation

4 of 25 comments

Slavuta on Mar 16, 2026

Is this car news or motorsports news?

Like Reply
- Luke42 on Mar 16, 2026
  
  Motorsports are a thing some people do with cars.
  
  Despite being turned off to NASCAR specifically because of the “let’s go Brandon” stuff, I find racing interesting from an engineering perspective. I’d watch more if I had the opportunity.
  
  Like
Luke42 on Mar 16, 2026

What I want to know is how I’m supposed to stream motorsports events.

Cable TV is a waste of money and has been a poor value proposition in my house for over 20 years now.
How are motorsports leagues reaching out to those of us who cut the cord decades ago?

1 Reply
- Grandmaster T on Mar 16, 2026
  
  I'm still amazed that you can change the battery in a key fob in 30 seconds, including watching the relevant YouTube video...
  (I don't watch videos to learn how to change a key fob battery, but it takes me a lot longer than 30 seconds to retrieve the correct battery. The spouse's 2013 Highlander fob is behaving a lot better after I 'cleaned' the tiny little weird single-point contacts with a scalpel blade. Thanks Toyota engineers! Or was that outsourced...)
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Andarris Here in the Toronto area I haven't seen a 2006-2012 with intact rocker pannels for over two years now. I presume everywhere around the Great Lakes is the same ? They were super cheap dhring the first two years of the pandemic - could get one with less than 85K for around $6500 certified or a little higher mileage for $5000. Glad I skipped it, even in 2021 some of the 10's &11's were displaying corosion like you'd see on a 7 year older Impala, Camry or Accord. Also the mid-model switch to EPS made me balk at the few clean ones I found.
Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh I do not ever have delays. I only fly out of PDX or EUG to LAS or OAK and OGG then back .. have never been delayed in the last ?30-ish? trips to vegas/disneyland/maui/cruise ship vacations.... EUG has contract tsa so we never have any TSA delays. unsure which airports have PRIVATE contract TSA that is UNAFFECTED by the deadlock that i HOPE NEVER EVER END.
Big Al from Oz gidday mites how are yall feelin today? Want to have a barbie? We are right here gettin dee fire ready
Michael S6 The 3 Amigos better hope that the oil spike is short lived as 4-5 dollar a gallon gas would put a damper on their cash cows especially "Ford's strategic shift" of killing off the escape/Lincoln cousin. Most other automakers have a full line of vehicles with much better full economy. GM is sucking air and its Cadillac devision is mostly EV and geriatric line up of ICE cars and SUV's that were supposed to be phased out this year. The expensive gas may push shoppers toward EV but GM's horrible EV reliability is a barrier.
Tane94 I read the GM press release about first quarter sales 2026 vs 2025 and Buick is getting its butt kicked:Buick Total* 41,654 61,822 -32.6 The future is bleak for Buick.