IndyCar released the 2018 series schedule today. One new event is set to replace one of last year’s events. Otherwise, all of the other races are returning.
IndyCar released the 2018 series schedule today. The 2018 season will feature universal aero kits on each of the cars for the first time since the first three seasons of the DW12 era back in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
In each of the past three seasons, Chevrolet and Honda, the two IndyCar engine manufacturers, have developed their own aero kits for their cars. That will no longer be the case in 2018.
The 2018 schedule is pretty much the same as last year’s schedule with two small changes, one of which coming as a surprise to people who haven’t been following the schedule developments as closely as others have been this offseason.
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First off, the Phoenix race will be back to its original 2016 date on the first Saturday in April. Last year, the race was moved to the final Saturday in April because of the fact that Phoenix hosted the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s Final Four and National Championship Game during the first weekend in April.
The one major change comes on Labor Day Weekend. After returning to the schedule in 2016 and hosting another IndyCar race in 2017, the Watkins Glen race is off the schedule once again. It will be replaced by a race at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon.
Besides those changes, all other race weekend dates will remain the same from the 2017 to the 2018 schedule.
Here is the full 2018 IndyCar schedule.
| Date | Race | Track Type | |
| 1 | Sunday, March 11th | Streets of St. Petersburg | Street |
| 2 | Saturday, April 7th | Phoenix International Raceway | Oval |
| 3 | Sunday, April 15th | Streets of Long Beach | Street |
| 4 | Sunday, April 22nd | Barber Motorsports Park | Road |
| 5 | Saturday, May 12th | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Road |
| 6 | Sunday, May 27th | Indianapolis 500 | Oval |
| 7 | Saturday, June 2nd | The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Street |
| 8 | Sunday, June 3rd | The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Street |
| 9 | Saturday, June 9th | Texas Motor Speedway | Oval |
| 10 | Sunday, June 24th | Road America | Road |
| 11 | Sunday, July 8th | Iowa Speedway | Oval |
| 12 | Sunday, July 15th | Streets of Toronto | Street |
| 13 | Sunday, July 29th | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Road |
| 14 | Sunday, August 19th | Pocono Raceway | Oval |
| 15 | Saturday, August 25th | Gateway Motorsports Park | Oval |
| 16 | Sunday, September 2nd | Portland International Raceway | Road |
| 17 | Sunday, September 16th | Sonoma Raceway | Road |
Next: IndyCar: Post-Season Driver Grades
The series will kick off on the second Sunday in March at the Streets of St. Petersburg, which will host the season-opener for the eighth year in a row now. Will Josef Newgarden be able to defend his IndyCar championship crown in 2018?