IndyCar: Texas Race Delayed, Rescheduled For August
By Alex Herbst
In the face of persistent rain and weepers and a busy week coming, IndyCar postponed the Firestone 600 to August 27th.
After rain delayed the IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, hopes were high that the race would be run to completion. However, 72 laps into the Firestone 600, the race was red flagged once more for rain, and would not resume on Sunday. Instead, IndyCar officials in partnership with Texas Motor Speedway have delayed the completion of the race to August 27th.
The #Firestone600 has been cancelled and rescheduled for Aug. 27. The event will have a practice session and restart on lap 72. #INDYCAR
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 12, 2016
In an announcement in the early evening following another heavy thunderstorm soaking the track, IndyCar and track officials confirmed the race will be a one-day show, with practice followed by an autograph session leading into the completion of the race. The 248-lap event will resume where it left off, on Lap 72 with James Hinchcliffe in the lead.
It remains to be seen what impact this will have on those cars already out of the race, including Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden who wrecked earlier on Sunday. Newgarden was taken to the hospital for evaluation of injuries to his shoulder and hand, and will likely not be permitted to race in the completion of the event in August.
The race will come one weekend after the only previously scheduled race in August for the Verizon IndyCar Series, the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono. That large gap was intentional, as their television partner NBC Sports will be in the full swing of Summer Olympics coverage from Rio. However, with the resumption of this race coming after the world’s biggest sporting event is completed, there should be few problems with the race being televised on one of the NBC networks.
Of course, the change to the schedule is a significant assist for drivers and teams that will have to travel to Le Mans, France this week for the 24 Hours of Le Mans this coming weekend. Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Townsend Bell, and Mikhail Aleshin will likely depart Texas as soon as possible to arrive at the circuit for scrutineering. There are also a number of IndyCar teams that had planned on testing this week at both Road America and Watkins Glen.
Reminder about trying to reschedule Texas race. Tests coming up June 15 20-21 #IndyCar #Firestone600 pic.twitter.com/xoUFITUSk8
— Matt Archuleta (@indy44) June 12, 2016
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The biggest loser on this race weekend, however, are the fans who came out to Texas Motor Speedway on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. While they did get to see some racing today, and some unique interaction with the drivers on Saturday night, they did not get the race they truly deserved. Only time will tell to see how many of these fans will return to the track in August to watch the completion of the Firestone 600.
What do you think – should IndyCar have delayed the race until August, or attempted to complete the race this week? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or tweet them to us at @Beyond_The_Flag.