INDIANAPOLIS — What will the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule look like? An awful lot like the 2017 schedule. IndyCar officials told IndyStar recently that save for the possible addition of one more race — rumors have centered on Portland, Mexico or Canada later in the season — the schedule will be nearly identical to the 2016 and 2017 calendars.

Schedule stability has long been the goal of Hulman & Company CEO Mark Miles, and he appears to have found it.

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Here’s a race-by-race breakdown of what we know about the (for now) 17-race schedule in 2018:

March 11: Streets of St. Petersburg (street race)

April 7: Phoenix International Raceway (oval)

April 15: Streets of Long Beach (street race)

April 22: Barber Motorsports Park (road course)

Let’s stop here to note that the return of the Phoenix race to early April is a huge plus for IndyCar teams. This year, because the Final Four was in Phoenix, the race was moved to the end of April and was not only a major inconvenience but costly to teams who had to drive west for the race at Long Beach, then cross country to Alabama, then back for Phoenix.

During this part of the schedule next year, teams will be able to make plans for IndyCar's West Coast swing, which will save them time and money. It’s also important to note that the race will take place on the second weekend in April rather than the first — as it did in 2016 — because Easter falls on the first Sunday in April next year.

May 12: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course)

May 27: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval)

June 2: The Raceway at Belle Isle Park (street circuit)

June 3: The Raceway at Belle Isle Park (street circuit)

June 9: Texas Motor Speedway (oval)

Last year, Miles confirmed that every promoter on the 2016 schedule has contracts through 2018, so that means the remaining races — at Road America (road course), Iowa Speedway (oval), Toronto (street circuit), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (road course), Pocono Raceway (oval), Gateway Motorsports Park (oval), Watkins Glen International (road course) and Sonoma (road course) — will be on the schedule although their specific dates have yet to be announced. IndyCar officials have said their spots on the 2018 calendar will be very similar to their dates this year, with the season starting in mid-March and ending in mid-September.

Beyond 2018, there have been plenty of rumors about the possible addition of international races to the IndyCar calendar, beginning perhaps as early as 2019.

In a recent conversation with IndyStar, Miles said that the goal has always been to start the season earlier to make room for at least one or, better yet, two international races.

“Our strategy is to start our championship year earlier, and try to use that period between the Super Bowl and St. Pete,” Miles said. “We think there could be room for a couple of — some people call them fly-away races — for that slot. They would be points races. Now we’re still fundamentally a U.S. championship, but we could start overseas, but once we’re in North America, we’ll stay in North America."

Where might IndyCar be headed? Nothing is set in stone, but Miles said there are three areas where interest is highest.

“We are keeping active conversations going on in the Australia/New Zealand region, in China, in the Middle East and even to some extent, even though their economies might be too bad, South America and Africa" Miles said. "But there’s interest, whether or not there are the right conditions, the right promoter, the right economics can come together, you don’t know until you know.”

Miles reinforced that his primary goal is to add those international races in the time before the March race in St. Petersburg. He said that while IndyCar historically cleared out space on its calendar for whenever international promoters wanted them — he cited recent championship races in Japan and Brazil — he intends to keep the North American series in North America once racing here begins.

He did, however, mention the outside possibility of scheduling non-championship IndyCar races in the offseason.

“One of the things that some have suggested to us, when we’ve said the window is February is, ‘What if we did something that is not championship in the offseason?’ So whether that’s one place or one country or region, two or three (races), who knows? It’s an idea. It’s not been our priority. Our priority is to complete the championship by having it extend earlier.”

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.