IndyCar has narrowed its search for a 16th race to replace Boston on its 2016 schedule to two venues -- Watkins Glen International and Gateway Motorsports Park -- and the selection likely will be based on which is deemed better for inclusion in 2017.

IndyCar wants both for next season, but it doesn’t want to spoil a first impression. It seems Watkins Glen, which was recently repaved, is more ready to host an IndyCar event; Gateway, located near St. Louis, Missouri, is a facility on the rise but still showed some needs to address when Ed Carpenter tested on the oval last fall.

Watkins Glen president Michael Printup initially balked at the suggestion IndyCar could race in upstate New York in four months -- the hole in the schedule is Sept. 2-4 -- but he apparently is warming to the idea, especially if IndyCar can make the financials work and an agreement is worked with the Ferrari club scheduled to be there that weekend. New IndyCar president Jay Frye has shown an ability to get creative with the numbers by getting Phoenix International Raceway signed for the first time since 2005.

Frye called Printup a week ago, and they have been in regular contact since. A decision is expected next week.

There are a host of tracks that will not host IndyCar on Labor Day weekend, and they include any circuit that incorporates the use of city streets. The staff that promoted the Grand Prix of Boston sought to transfer its assets to Providence, Rhode Island, but IndyCar shot that down along with a temporary move to Suffolk Downs in East Boston, the Boston Herald reported. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh mentioned the need for a “strong local promoter” in his reaction to the Seaport District race being canceled.

The problem with street circuits is the vast amount of paperwork and assorted hurdles to clear, and GP of Boston president John Casey mentioned the financial risk his group was asked to incur as the driving force behind the cancelation. Estimates for what it takes to stage a new street race hover around $20 million, which might be too much for any group not securing part of NASCAR’s monster television package.

As for other venues considered as a Boston replacement: Each had its issues. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is in the same Northern California market with Sonoma Raceway, which will host IndyCar’s season finale just two weeks after the proposed date. Plus, the Laguna Seca road course will host the Mazda Road to Indy program Sept. 10-11.

Southern California has already shown to be too hot in the daytime to attract spectators to Auto Club Speedway during that time of the year, and a night race with a three-hour time change pushes a broadcast too late in the evening for half of the country. Plus, a big oval like that, or Michigan International Speedway, requires more from the budgets of teams in part because of potential crash damage.

Homestead-Miami Speedway was considered, too, and it might return to IndyCar’s schedule before long. But for now, it doesn’t appear to be on IndyCar’s short list.

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