Delayed 2021 IndyCar season looming?
By Asher Fair
After pushing back the Long Beach race, IndyCar is reportedly exploring pushing back the first two races on the updated 2021 schedule.
It is very possible that IndyCar will not open its 2021 season on Sunday, March 7. In fact, like last year, it is very possible that America’s premier open-wheel racing series will not open up its season in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Despite the fact that the streets of St. Petersburg just successfully closed out the 2020 season in late October, IndyCar is reportedly exploring the possibility of pushing back the scheduled season opener to late April due to coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions, according to RACER.
This would move the St. Petersburg race back seven weeks, from Sunday, March 7 to Sunday, April 25.
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The series is also reportedly exploring the possibility of pushing back the race that would become the season opener if this change were to take place. That race is scheduled to take place at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday, April 11.
Barber Motorsports Park, which was one of the several casualties on the 2020 schedule as a result of the pandemic, would still be slated to serve as the site of the season opener, but on Sunday, April 18. This date is six weeks after the season would have originally been scheduled to begin in St. Petersburg.
This development comes after the series already postponed what had been the third race on the initial 17-race 2021 schedule.
The race on the streets of Long Beach, California has been pushed back from Sunday, April 18 to Sunday, September 26, making it the provisional season finale.
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Should these changes take place, IndyCar would have four races in a 15-day span to open up the season instead of a break of more than one month between its first two races, as Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled to host a doubleheader on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2. Let’s hope there are no Pittsburgh Steelers fans listening.