Pikes Peak International Raceway Is Closing: Will iRacing Scan It Before It’s Gone?

Pikes Peak International Raceway is closing after the 2026 season. The iRacing community wants the sim to preserve it before the window closes. The 1-mile oval and road course facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, hosted NASCAR, IndyCar, and CART events throughout its history. Now an active forum thread is pushing for Pikes Peak International Raceway iRacing laser scanning before the track shuts for good.

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About Pikes Peak International Raceway

PPIR opened in 1997. It quickly became one of the most versatile motorsport venues in the American West. The facility combines a 1-mile D-shaped oval with an infield road course. That dual layout gave organizers the flexibility to host everything from short-track oval racing to technical road course events on the same property. At its peak, PPIR hosted NASCAR Busch Series races, IndyCar events, and CART championship rounds. The flat oval configuration is what makes it distinct. Most American ovals in iRacing skew either very short or superspeedway-length. PPIR sits in a rare middle ground.

As a Pikes Peak International Raceway iRacing addition, the track would bring both layouts into the sim. Most oval-road combos in iRacing are dominated by their main oval. PPIR would add a compact, flat oval option alongside a separate road course at the same facility. That combination is largely absent from the current content library.

iRacing’s Track Preservation Record

iRacing has a documented history of scanning tracks before demolition. Rockingham Speedway in the UK was scanned before closure. It remains available in the sim today. Myrtle Beach Speedway joined through a similar effort. In both cases, the scanning happened close to the final season. Further delays would have made the work impossible.

PPIR is still operating through the end of 2026. That means a scanning window still exists. iRacing’s laser scanning process runs while a track is active. The sim has added closed tracks before when community interest justified the licensing cost. The key question is whether that licensing is achievable in time.

What the Community Is Saying

The iRacing forum thread launched in mid-May in the General Banter section. It gathered over 50 votes and 40 comments within days. Community members made the case clearly. PPIR is one of the last significant flat ovals in American motorsport that iRacing has not added. Both the oval and the road course would bring variety the current catalog lacks. Several replies specifically highlighted the flat oval format as underrepresented in the sim.

There are complications. Thread participants flagged potential licensing hurdles. Concerns centered on the track’s ownership structure. Questions arose over whether scanning rights could be negotiated. iRacing has made no public announcement about PPIR. There is no confirmation the company is pursuing a deal. Track licensing negotiations are rarely public, however. Silence does not rule out interest.

Community threads like this one have contributed to content decisions before. The path from forum post to finished content takes years. However, if the licensing clears and a scanning window opens before PPIR’s final season ends, the track could join Rockingham and Myrtle Beach as preserved American motorsport history. The months ahead may represent the only real window left.