IndyCar: One week from 2020 opener, full-time lineup not yet set

One week from the opening practice session for the 2020 IndyCar season opener, the full-time lineup has still not been confirmed.

One week from today, the NTT IndyCar Series is set to officially return with practice for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

The 110-lap race around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile (2.897-kilometer) temporary street circuit on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 15, but one week ahead of the opening practice session, the full-time lineup still isn’t set.

There are 24 confirmed full-time entries for the 2020 season; that much is known. However, one of those 24 entries does not have a confirmed driver for any of the season’s 17 races.

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The entry is the #31 Chevrolet, one of four full-time cars expected to be driven by multiple drivers throughout the season.

There were reports that Felipe Nasr and Sergio Sette Camara would share the seat throughout the season, but those reports were not confirmed by the team.

These two drivers did share the seat during Spring Training at Circuit of the Americas a few weeks ago. Nasr also tested the car at Sebring International Raceway earlier this week.

On a side note, there is a chance that the series could see a 21st full-time driver for the 2020 season, but that additional driver would be competing for two teams.

Conor Daly has a ride lined up to compete in the 12 road and street course races and the Indianapolis 500 for Ed Carpenter Racing. Max Chilton is set to compete in the same 13 races for Carlin.

Daly drove in the four non-Indy 500 oval races for Carlin last year, and there have been rumors that this will be the case again. This would give him a full 17-race schedule for the first time since he drove for A.J. Foyt Enterprises in 2017.

A total of 21 full-time drivers would be the highest in NTT IndyCar Series history and the highest at American open-wheel racing’s top level since the 2001 CART season.

While this is still a noteworthy wild card at this point, it really doesn’t matter quite yet; the first non-Indy 500 oval race is not scheduled to take place until Saturday, June 6 at Texas Motor Speedway, which is three months away.

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Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15 for the live broadcast of the 2020 IndyCar season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.