The 2020 IndyCar series announced Monday afternoon that the season-opener has been taken off the schedule permanently. The scheduled double-header on Belle Isle May 30-31 has been canceled because of uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus crisis, with plans of returning in 2021.
IndyCar will be adding one additional race to the calendar, with the creation of two double-header weekends at Iowa and Laguna Seca, along with the addition of a third race to run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October. The race, named the IndyCar Harvest GP, will be run the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 3, on the venue’s road course and will share the stage with the Indianapolis 8 Hour – an endurance sportscar race including entries from the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the GT World Challenge America. Start times for the additional races, along with broadcast channel plans with NBC and NBC Sports, will be announced in the future.
“We’re committed to bringing fans as much on-track action as possible,” Penske Entertainment Corp. CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “The COVID-19 situation continues to be dynamic and challenging for everyone, so we have developed contingency plans, which allow us to respond to changing conditions. Our goal is to preserve as much racing competition as possible, while prioritizing the health and safety of our participants and spectators.”
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