Indycar Series at Texas Motor Speedway (Photo: Chris Owens)
INDYCAR schedule: Racing is set to begin
Shane Walters
The 2020 INDYCAR season is officially set to begin; New guidelines released from the sport
INDYCAR has not broke ground on their 2020 season yet.
Their season was set to begin back on March 15 via the Streets of St. Petersburg. As the Coronavirus outbreak took shape, the season opener was put on hold.
From there, more events were postponed or canceled: Barber Motor Speedway Park (April 5), Long Beach (April 19), Circuit of the Americas (April 26), Indy Road Course (May 9), Indianapolis 500 (May 24) and Belle Isle Detroit (May 30-21). There
Now, the season is set to officially open at Texas Motor Speedway. The season will open with some added guidelines and format changes.
Practice and qualifying will take place on the same day. In many cases, events have been shortened to accommodate the new event schedules.
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE
The race at Texas Motor Speedway has been reduced to 200 laps. That’s down from the 248 that were originally scheduled.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice: 1:30-3:30 p.m. (ET)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifications: 5 p.m. (ET)
Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway: 8:45 p.m. (ET)
Indycar comments as season is set to resume
“We’re excited and ready to kick off the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season at Texas Motor Speedway,” INDYCAR President Jay Frye said.
“We’ve worked closely with Eddie Gossage, the entire TMS team and public health officials on a plan of action that will ensure the safety of our event participants alongside an exciting return to competition for our drivers, teams and viewers tuning in from around the world,” Frye added.
The Texas Governor was one of many encouraging events from NASCAR. The stock car sanction has yet to schedule a race in Texas, but they’ll soon be getting the INDYCAR opener.
“America needs live sports and they are not going to believe what they see when the Genesys 300 storms into their living rooms on TV from Texas,” said Eddie Gossage, president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway.
“One of the world’s greatest sporting events, the Indy 500, has been postponed until August by coronavirus, so all of that pent-up energy, anticipation, frustrations and anxiety will be pounding through the drivers’ nervous systems. Typically, the Genesys 300 results in a 220-mph photo finish,” Gossage concluded.
Coronavirus guidelines for INDYCAR
– Strict access guidelines limiting the number of personnel on site
– A health screening system administered to all participants
– PPE equipment provided to everyone entering the facility, along with guidelines on usage
– Social distancing protocols in place and carefully maintained
– Revised competition layout to increase distancing
2020 Indycar Schedule
On March 26th, a schedule featuring 14 races was released. That has now been increased to 15.
Date | Track | Info
June 6, 2020 Texas Motor Speedway
June 21, 2020 Road America
June 27, 2020 Richmond Raceway
July 4, 2020 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Coure
July 12, 2020 Streets of Toronto
July 17, 2020 Iowa Speedway Race 1
July 18, 2020 Iowa Speedway Race 2
August 9, 2020 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
August 15-16, 2020 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indy 500 Qualifying
August 23, 2020 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indy 500
August 30, 2020 Gateway
September 13, 2020 Portland International Raceway
September 19, 2020 Leguna Seca Race 1
September 20, 2020 Leguna Seca Race 2
October 3, 2020 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course