2020 IndyCar Series
2020 IndyCar season | |
---|---|
Honda | |
Rookie of the Year | Rinus VeeKay |
Indianapolis 500 winner | Takuma Sato |
The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series was the 25th season of the
Series news
- On May 24, 2019, it was announced that the IndyCar Series would introduce cockpit protection, combining an Aeroscreen and the Halo used in Formula One, from the 2020 season onwards. The cockpit protection was built by Red Bull Advanced Technologies in a collaborative effort with Dallara. The combination of aeroscreen and halo is designed to improve safety standards by deflecting debris away from a driver's head and was originally developed for use in Formula One and IndyCar before its application was expanded to other open-wheel championships.[1]
- On November 3, 2019, it was announced the Team Penske owner Roger Penske had purchased IndyCar, LLC and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Penske also announced he will step down as full-time race strategist.[2] On January 6, 2020, IndyCar announced the transactions were formally complete. Penske officially becomes just the fourth owner in Indianapolis Motor Speedway's history and marks the first time since 1945 where ownership of the Speedway has changed hands.[3]
Confirmed entries
The following teams, entries, and drivers have been announced to compete in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams will use a
tires.Team changes
- Formula One team
- On September 21, 2019 it was announced that Harding Steinbrenner Racing.[51]
- On November 8, 2019, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.[52]
- On December 19, 2019, Dale Coyne Racing announced a partnership with 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Team Goh to run Álex Palou for the full season.[24]
- On December 24, 2019, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship commitments.[55]
- On January 7, 2020, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing revealed to RACER that they would be expanding to a 4-race program in 2020. Team owner Dennis Reinbold revealed that Sage Karam would be back with the team in 2020, but did not specify how many rounds, or which rounds, Karam would be entering.[28] On January 10, 2020, in an interview with IndyStar, Reinbold clarified that Karam would be driving their car in the rounds at St. Petersburg, Indianapolis, and Toronto.[30]
- On February 21, 2020, Citrone/Buhl Autosport, a partnership between Nick and Robert Citrone and Tom and Robbie Buhl, announced their intentions to partner with an existing team to enter the IndyCar Series at the GMR Grand Prix and attempt to qualify for the 2020 Indianapolis 500. On February 27, 2020, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced a partnership with Citrone/Buhl Autosport and Spencer Pigot will drive their entry in the GMR Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500.[56]
- On June 2, 2020, Carlin announced that its No. 31 entry would not race at Texas due to funding issues.[57]
Driver changes
- On October 8, 2019 Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Marcus Ericsson would join the team, leaving Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to drive the revived No. 8 car in 2020.[58]
- On October 28, 2019
- On November 15, 2019, Ed Carpenter Racing announced that Spencer Pigot would not be returning to the team in 2020.[59] On November 20, ECR announced Rinus VeeKay had been signed to drive the No. 21 full-time.[60]
- On November 22, 2019, it was announced that 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.[62] On January 23, 2020, the team announced that Santino Ferrucci, who drove the No. 19 car for Dale Coyne Racing in 2019, would switch to the Vasser-Sullivan-supported No. 18 entry to replace Bourdais.[25]
- On December 9, 2019, Carlin's No. 59, replacing Max Chilton who quit racing ovals in 2019.[64]
- On January 22, 2020, Carlin in 2019.[4]
- On January 29, 2020, A. J. Foyt Enterprises confirmed that driving duties for the No. 14 on the road and street tracks would be split between Sébastien Bourdais and Dalton Kellett. Kellett will also drive the team's third entry in the Indianapolis 500.[65]
- On February 5, 2020, Supercars team Penske co-owned at the time) would make his IndyCar debut at the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis road course. Hélio Castroneves, who drove a fourth Penske car at both Indianapolis races in 2018 and 2019, will only race in the 2020 Indianapolis 500 for Penske.[66] On March 27, 2020, it was revealed that McLaughlin would no longer be making his IndyCar debut at the GMR Grand Prix due to the rescheduling of the race.[67] On September 17, it was confirmed that McLaughlin would make his debut in the final race of the season in St. Petersburg.[47]
- On February 19, 2020, Genesys 600.[12]
- On February 25, 2020, Fernando Alonso, who attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with McLaren Racing in 2019, announced that he would be driving for Arrow McLaren SP at the 2020 Indianapolis 500.[18]
- On March 10, 2020, 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, would make his IndyCar debut in St. Petersburg.[68]
- On September 23, 2020, Andretti Autosport announced that Zach Veach would leave the team ahead of the Harvest Grand Prix.[8] On September 25, the team announced that James Hinchcliffe would take over the No. 26 entry for the remainder of the season.[9]
- On September 24, 2020, Arrow McLaren SP announced that Oliver Askew has not been medically cleared to drive the Harvest Grand Prix after Askew reported balance and coordination issues after the round at Mid-Ohio. The team subsequently announced that Hélio Castroneves would fill in for Askew at the Harvest Grand Prix.[17]
Schedule
The 17-race 2020 schedule was initially announced on September 1, 2019; there was one change from the 2019 IndyCar Series calendar with Pocono Raceway being replaced by Richmond Raceway, the latter track returning to the series for the first time since 2009.[69] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ten races were cancelled (including the Detroit doubleheader), five rescheduled, and five replacement races added.
During the delay to start the season, many of the IndyCar series drivers participated in the
Rd. | Date | Race name | Track | City |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | June 6 | Genesys 300
|
O Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas |
2 | July 4 | GMR Grand Prix | R Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course | Speedway, Indiana |
3 | July 11 | REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR Doubleheader
|
R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
4 | July 12 | |||
5 | July 17 | Iowa INDYCAR 250s
|
O Iowa Speedway | Newton, Iowa |
6 | July 18 | |||
7 | August 23 | 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge | O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana |
8 | August 29 | Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline | O World Wide Technology Raceway
|
Madison, Illinois |
9 | August 30 | |||
10 | September 12 | Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
|
R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
11 | September 13 | |||
12 | October 2 | INDYCAR Harvest GP | R Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course | Speedway, Indiana |
13 | October 3 | |||
14 | October 25 | Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
|
R Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Florida |
References:[70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82] |
O Oval/Speedway
R Road/Street course
Schedule changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The onset of the
On March 12, 2020, IndyCar announced that the opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg would be held with no spectators and essential personnel only.[83] However, the next day (March 13), IndyCar announced that the event, as well as all races through April, would be cancelled, citing widening closures and health risks of gatherings. The series announced an intent to begin with the two "Month of May" races in Indianapolis which would have been the first time since the 1957 season that IMS would begin the season.[84]
That did not occur however, because on March 26, IndyCar announced that it would postpone the
On April 6, IndyCar announced the cancellation of the Detroit Grand Prix, with organizers citing Michigan's
On May 7, it was announced that the season would commence with a condensed, one-day event format at Texas Motor Speedway, with no spectators in attendance.[91] The race, initially scheduled for 248 laps or around 600 kilometres (370 miles), was shortened to 200 laps or around 300 miles (480 kilometres). As well as this, extensive social distancing protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic were announced for team personnel, as well as provisions for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).[70] On May 27, it was announced that tire stints during the Genesys 300 would be limited to a maximum of 35 laps, as unused tires from the 2019 DXC Technology 600 were utilized for the race weekend.[92] This had occurred previously, during the final third of the 2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600, where a 30-lap maximum was implemented with competition cautions.[93]
On May 13, IndyCar announced that the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg would be held as the season finale on October 25, being the only street course race on the schedule.[94]
On May 15, the promoters of the
On May 21, IndyCar announced further changes to the schedule. The round at Road America was moved to July and became a doubleheader weekend, the previously postponed Toronto race was cancelled, and the Richmond round was cancelled.[96]
On June 4, IMS announced that all events during the Brickyard 400 weekend, including the GMR Grand Prix, would be held with no spectators.[97]
On July 15, IndyCar announced a new qualifying format for the Iowa IndyCar 250s where the first lap would set the drivers starting spot for race 1 and the second lap would set the drivers starting spot for race 2.[98]
On July 22, it was announced that the Indianapolis 500 would be further capped at 25% capacity.[99][100]
On July 27, the round at Portland and double-header rounds at Laguna Seca were canceled. To fill the gaps in the schedule, the rounds at Mid-Ohio, Gateway, and the Harvest GP at the Indianapolis road course were converted into double-header rounds. The double-header road course qualifying format was announced to be utilized once more at Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis, while the double-header oval qualifying format used at Iowa would also be used at Gateway.[101]
On August 1, IndyCar officials, Mid-Ohio track officials, and the promoter of the race at Mid-Ohio announced that the doubleheader at Mid-Ohio would be postponed to later in the season due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in Ohio.[102] On September 5, the series announced the race would go ahead as a doubleheader event on September 12–13.[82]
On August 4, citing increases in COVID-19 cases in Marion County, Indiana, it was announced that the Indianapolis 500 would be closed to the public.[103]
Cancelled events
Original date |
Race name | Track | City | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 5 | Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
|
R Barber Motorsports Park | Birmingham, Alabama | ||||
April 19 | Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | R Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California | ||||
April 26 | AutoNation IndyCar Challenge
|
R Circuit of the Americas | Austin, Texas | ||||
May 30 | Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear Corporation | R The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan | ||||
May 31 | |||||||
June 27 | Indy Richmond 300 | O Richmond Raceway | Richmond, Virginia | ||||
July 12 | Honda Indy Toronto
|
R Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario
| ||||
September 13 | Grand Prix of Portland | R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | ||||
September 19 | Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey | R WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
|
Monterey, California | ||||
September 20 | |||||||
References:[104][105][75][95][77][106] |
Results
Points standings
- Ties are broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc.; then by finishing position in the previous race; then by random draw.[107]
Driver standings
- At all races except the Indy 500, the pole position qualifier earned 1 point. The top nine Indy 500 qualifiers received points, descending from 9 points for the pole position. At double header races, the fastest qualifier of each qualifying group earned 1 point.
- Drivers who lead at least one race lap were awarded 1 point. The driver who leads the most laps during a race scored an additional 2 points.
- Entrant-initiated engine change-outs before the engine reaches their required distance run resulted in the loss of 10 points.
- The usual double points for the season finale were suspended for this season.
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Entrant standings
- Based on the entrant, used for oval qualifications order, and starting grids when qualifying is cancelled.
- Only full-time entrants, and at-large part-time entrants shown.
Manufacturer standings
See alsoFootnotes
References
External links |