IndyCar: Where would the 2020 season be without COVID-19 delay?

Where would the 2020 IndyCar season be heading into the upcoming race weekend had the unexpected coronavirus delay not taken place?

The coronavirus pandemic stopped the 2020 IndyCar season before it could even get started, and that led to multiple postponements or cancellations.

The season was ready to kick off on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida on Sunday, March 15, even without fans in attendance, but those plans were put on hold. The next seven races were either postponed or canceled as well.

But imagine a 2020 IndyCar season without the threat of COVID-19. Where would we be right now had the season gone according to plan thus far?

What if the eight races that were either put on hold or removed from the schedule had taken place as planned?

Here is how we think things would have played out heading into the season-opening race at Texas Motor Speedway this evening.

Streets of St. Petersburg – Sunday, March 15

Felix Rosenqvist didn’t win a race in his rookie season. He changes that right out of the gate in 2020, winning at the track where he made his impressive series debut with a fourth place effort a year ago.

Barber Motorsports Park – Sunday, April 5

After an “off” year with a fourth place finish at his “personal playground” of Barber Motorsports Park last year, Josef Newgarden ramps up his title defense with his fourth Alabama victory in the last six years and third in the last four.

Streets of Long Beach – Sunday, April 19

Entering 2020, you have to go back to 2017 to find a race on the streets of Long Beach, California that wasn’t dominated by Alexander Rossi. The same can be said entering 2021, as he puts on another clinic around the temporary circuit and secures another 20-second victory.

Circuit of the Americas – Sunday, April 26

Save for a strategy miscall and subsequent mechanical error that sent him to last place, Will Power dominated the inaugural IndyCar race at Circuit of the Americas. But he is able to finish the job this year, holding off 2019 winner Colton Herta as they leave the rest of the field well behind them in a caution-free race.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Saturday, May 9

With just two winners in the first six races at the track, this race has Simon Pagenaud and Will Power written all over it. Riding his momentum from a dominant month of May at the Brickyard a year ago, Pagenaud takes his fourth Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course win.

Indianapolis 500 – Sunday, May 24

Alexander Rossi secures his first non-fuel mileage Indy 500 win after three consecutive close calls, specifically in 2019 with his runner-up finish, following his win as a rookie in 2016. He holds off two drivers still seeking their first bottle of milk, Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter, by less than half a second, preventing the race from seeing 10 different winners in 10 seasons for what would have been the first time since 1932.

The Raceway at Belle Isle Park – Saturday, May 30

Santino Ferrucci gets revenge at the track where he should’ve had his first career IndyCar victory last year if not for an untimely caution flag period, securing his first win a year later.

The Raceway at Belle Isle Park – Sunday, May 31

For the third year in a row, after a strong start that includes several podium finishes but no wins, Scott Dixon finds victory lane for the first time by winning at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

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Let’s hope the 2020 IndyCar season can get underway as planned this evening and that no other postponements or cancellations will affect it throughout the remainder of the year. Tune in to NBC at 8:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Genesys 300 from Texas Motor Speedway.