Indy 500: Back Home Again in Indiana...in August?

For the first time since 1945, the Indy 500 did not take place in May. For the first time ever, it is set to take place, but outside of May.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, March 26, Roger Penske made a decision that had never before been made in IndyCar history.

The Indianapolis 500 had been postponed.

Of course, over the years, rain in Speedway, Indiana has caused the race to be run on a date other than Memorial Day Sunday around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

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But never in the race’s history had this sort of a decision been made.

Additionally, Penske was put in a position to make it in his first year as the owner of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, before even one race had been contested under the new ownership.

This year’s running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, which has been contested since 1911, had initially been scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 24. Because of the pandemic, that date was not feasible, much less with fans in attendance for what is traditionally the most attended single-day sporting event in the world with over 300,000 spectators.

Instead, the race was bumped back 13 weeks — nearly three months — to the end of August.

2020 is the first year since 1945 that did not feature the Indy 500 contested in May. In 1945, World War II caused the race to be canceled altogether.

The same was the case in 1942, 1943 and 1944. Prior to the 1940s, the race had been canceled twice, both times due to World War I. It did not take place in 1917 or 1918.

But this year, it is still on the schedule.

This year, it is scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 23.

Unfortunately, there will still be no fans in attendance for Sunday’s race.

But for the first time in 110 years of the Indy 500 at the Brickyard, we are Back Home Again in Indiana in a month other than May.

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Tune in to NBC at 1:00 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 from the Racing Capital of the World. The green flag is set to fly at roughly 2:30 p.m. ET.

The 105th running of the race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 30, 2021. Should that take place, the time between the 104th and 105th Indy 500 races would be the shortest between two races in Indy 500 history (40 weeks/280 days).

Indy 500: Back Home Again in Indiana…in August?

By Asher Fair | Aug 23, 2020

For the first time since 1945, the Indy 500 did not take place in May. For the first time ever, it is set to take place, but outside of May.