IndyCar: Will DragonSpeed actually fulfill 2020 commitment?

After committing to five races in the 2019 IndyCar season, DragonSpeed ended up competing in three. With a commitment to six in 2020, will they actually fulfill it?

DragonSpeed confirmed earlier this week that they are set to return to IndyCar in 2020 after making their debut in America’s premier open-wheel racing series last year.

The Elton Julian-owned team confirmed that they are set to enter the #81 Chevrolet in six races on the 17-race schedule next year, starting with the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida in mid-March.

They are also set to compete on the streets of Long Beach, California, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500, at Texas Motor Speedway, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

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They have not yet confirmed which driver or drivers will be behind the wheel of the #81 Chevrolet at any point throughout the year.

However, this news comes after they were originally slated to compete in five races last year; they only ended up competing in three.

Set to compete on the streets of St. Petersburg, at Barber Motorsports Park, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500, at Road America and at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, DragonSpeed’s season ended after the Indy 500. After confirming that they would miss the race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, they then stated that it was their plan to compete in the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

That ultimately didn’t happen either.

So will they actually fulfill their commitment in 2020?

Despite six races being twice as many as three and even more than the commitment that they couldn’t reach last year, there is every reason to believe that yes, they will, and it goes back to well before they confirmed their 2020 plans.

Back in August, here is what Julian had to say, according to RACER.

"“I think increasing to 10 races is fair. I think we can say right now we’re going to do more races, but I’m comfortable saying 10 races now.”"

After several months passed, they confirmed only six, an illustration of going into 2020 with a more realistic outlook.

It is also important to remember that the Jupiter, Florida-based team, which compete all around the world, were faced with visa issues in 2019, and that is ultimately what resulted in them missing the two races they missed and being unable to add a trip to the season finale to their schedule.

Now they have withdrawn from the FIA World Endurance Championship and have shifted a majority of their motorsports focus to North America, and they have still only confirmed six races, a seemingly doable total with everything considered, especially considering the fact that it is reduced from their initial plan of 10 even amid this increased IndyCar focus.

Earlier this week when confirming this schedule, here is what Julian had to say, according to RACER.

"“We’ve quietly strengthened our overall package since our three races last year…Between our continued sports car commitments and the added expense of the retrofit and other updates to our practically-new Dallara, we have decided that six races is the right amount of events for us to take Step 2 in our IndyCar transition.”"

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How much of DragonSpeed will we see throughout the 2020 IndyCar season? Will they compete in each of the six races on their initial schedule after missing out on two of their five planned events last season? They are set to make their first start in 2020 in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in roughly two and a half months on Sunday, March 15. Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of this race.