IndyCar moves 2024 season finale to Nashville; Laguna Seca race moved to June.

The 2024 IndyCar season finale has a new host—one capable of throwing a big celebration.

Since the series returned to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2019, the famed road course has presided over the championship clincher three times. Next year, however, the season will end on the streets of Nashville, with the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey moved up a few months.

On Monday, IndyCar released the 2024 calendar. The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is set for June 23.

A schedule shake up had been in the works for some time. Even before Scott Dixon won a wild race at the newly repaved 2.2-mile course on Sept. 10 to wrap up the 2023 schedule, Nashville had been tagged as Laguna Seca’s replacement.

Nashville’s street layout will be changed to include views of the city’s iconic country music locations. IndyCar plans a massive downtown party, as well as a season awards ceremony at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center—the kind of pomp that is more difficult to drum up at Laguna Seca.

“The upward trajectory of the IndyCar series is reflected through the 2024 schedule,” Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. “With stops at premier and global entertainment districts, classic American road courses and thrilling, high-speed ovals, the 2024 season will be exhilarating.”

The Laguna Seca race will take place on June 23, 2024, following visits to Detroit and Road America. The 17-race schedule opens March 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida and concludes in Nashville.

Perhaps the most classic of American road courses, Laguna Seca has hosted a September or October IndyCar date on 24 occasions. Only twice—from 2002-2003—did the cars race during a different month.

On June 9, 2002, Cristiano da Matta outpaced his Newman Haas teammate Christian Fittipaldi to take the checkered flag on what was the fifth race on the schedule. A year later, Patrick Carpentier claimed the first of back-to-back wins in his Forsyth Team Player’s car.

The event returned to September for 2004, after which Laguna Seca was dropped from the calendar when what was then known as CART Indy Car was rebranded as Champ Car. Sonoma Raceway took Laguna’s spot on the schedule.

That changed in 2019. After years of “lackluster” attendance at Sonoma, IndyCar returned to Laguna Seca. Colton Herta won the finale, with Josef Newgarden crowned season champion.

With Covid-19 rampant, there was no race in 2020. The next year, with the schedule rejiggered in the wake of the pandemic, the track played host to the penultimate event.

In 2022 the final round again played out at Laguna Seca, with Alex Palou taking the checkered flag and Will Power claiming the season crown.

The 2024 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will be the eighth race on the calendar.