2020 IndyCar Series


The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series is the 25th season of the IndyCar Series and the 99th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event is the 2020 Indianapolis 500. Josef Newgarden enters the season as the defending National Champion. Honda enter as defending Manufacturers' Cup champion for the second consecutive season. It is the first year under Penske management after they took over in late 2019.

Series news

The following teams and drivers have been announced to compete in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams use a spec Dallara IR18 chassis with and Firestone tires. This information is still subject to change based on the fluid status of the coronavirus pandemic.
TeamEngineNo.DriverRound
A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet4 Charlie KimballAll
A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet14 Tony Kanaan1, 5–6, 9–11
A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet14 Sébastien Bourdais14
A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet14 Dalton Kellett 2–4, 7–8, 12–13
A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevroletTBA Dalton Kellett 9
Andretti AutosportHonda26 Zach VeachAll
Andretti AutosportHonda27 Alexander RossiAll
Andretti AutosportHonda28 Ryan Hunter-ReayAll
Andretti AutosportHonda29 James Hinchcliffe1–2, 9
Andretti Harding Steinbrenner AutosportHonda88 Colton HertaAll
Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-AgajanianHonda98 Marco AndrettiAll
Arrow McLaren SPChevrolet5 Patricio O'WardAll
Arrow McLaren SPChevrolet7 Oliver Askew All
Arrow McLaren SPChevrolet66 Fernando Alonso 9
CarlinChevrolet59 Conor Daly1, 5–6, 10–11
CarlinChevrolet59 Max Chilton2–4, 7–9, 12–14
Chip Ganassi RacingHonda8 Marcus EricssonAll
Chip Ganassi RacingHonda9 Scott DixonAll
Chip Ganassi RacingHonda10 Felix RosenqvistAll
Dale Coyne Racing with Team GohHonda55 Álex Palou All
Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-SullivanHonda18 Santino FerrucciAll
DragonSpeedChevrolet81 TBA9
Dreyer & Reinbold RacingChevrolet24 Sage Karam2, 9
Dreyer & Reinbold RacingChevroletTBA J. R. Hildebrand9
Ed Carpenter RacingChevrolet20 Ed Carpenter1, 5–6, 9–11
Ed Carpenter RacingChevrolet20 Conor Daly2–4, 7–8, 12–14
Ed Carpenter RacingChevrolet21 Rinus VeeKay All
Ed Carpenter RacingChevrolet47 Conor Daly9
Meyer Shank RacingHonda60 Jack HarveyAll
Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda15 Graham RahalAll
Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda30 Takuma SatoAll
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Citrone/Buhl AutosportHonda45 Spencer Pigot2, 9
Team PenskeChevrolet1 Josef NewgardenAll
Team PenskeChevrolet3 Hélio Castroneves9
Team PenskeChevrolet12 Will PowerAll
Team PenskeChevrolet22 Simon PagenaudAll

Team changes

The 17-race 2020 schedule was initially announced on September 1, 2019; there was one change from the 2019 IndyCar Series calendar with Pocono Raceway being replaced by Richmond Raceway, the latter track returning to the series for the first time since 2009. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ten races have been cancelled, five rescheduled, and five replacement races added. Due to the fluid nature of the outbreak this information is subject to change.
During the delay to start the season, many of the IndyCar series drivers participated in the IndyCar iRacing Challenge.

Schedule changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, and subsequent restrictions on public gatherings and non-essential business, have led to the postponement of the IndyCar Series season to at least June, and the cancellation of several races.
On March 12, 2020, IndyCar announced that the opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg would be held with no spectators and essential personnel only. However, the next day, IndyCar announced that the event, as well as all races through April, would be cancelled, citing widening closures and health risks of gatherings. The series announced an intent to begin with the two "Month of May" races in Indianapolis which would have been the first time since the 1957 season that IMS would begin the season.
On March 26, IndyCar announced that it would postpone the GMR Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 to July 4 and August 23 respectively, marking the first time either event would be held outside of May. The Detroit Grand Prix was to serve as season opener, while plans were announced for the St. Petersburg race to possibly be reinstated.
On April 6, IndyCar announced the cancellation of the Detroit Grand Prix, with organizers citing Michigan's stay-at-home order and other scheduled events at Belle Isle making it impossible to prepare for or reschedule the event. To compensate for other cancelled races, IndyCar also announced the conversion of the Iowa 300 and Monterey Grand Prix races to double-header weekends, and added a third Indianapolis Motor Speedway race on October 3 as part of the USAC-sanctioned Intercontinental GT Challenge endurance race meeting on the road course.
On May 7, it was announced that the season would commence with a condensed, one-day event format at Texas Motor Speedway, with no spectators in attendance. The race, initially scheduled for 248 laps or around, was shortened to 200 laps or around. As well as this, extensive social distancing protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic were announced for team personnel, as well as provisions for the use of personal protective equipment. On May 27, it was announced that tire stints during the Genesys 300 would be limited to a maximum of 35 laps, as unused tires from the 2019 DXC Technology 600 were utilized for the race weekend. This had occurred previously, during the final third of the 2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600, where a 30-lap maximum was implemented with competition cautions.
On May 13, IndyCar announced that the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be held as the season finale on October 25. This makes the race the only street course race in 2020 for IndyCar
On May 15, the promoters of the Honda Indy Toronto announced that the race scheduled for July 12 would be postponed.
On May 21, IndyCar announced further changes to the schedule. The round at Road America was moved to July and became a doubleheader weekend, the previously postponed Toronto race was cancelled, and the Richmond round was cancelled.
On June 4, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that all events during the Big Machine Vodka 400 NASCAR weekend, including the GMR Grand Prix, would be held behind closed doors.
On July 15, IndyCar announced a new qualifying format for the Iowa IndyCar 250s where the first lap would set the drivers starting spot for race 1 and the second lap would set the drivers starting spot for race 2.
On July 22, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that the fan capacity would be reduced further from 50% overall to 25% overall. They also announced a strict policy for fans regarding wearing masks.
On July 27, the round at Portland and double-header rounds at Laguna Seca were canceled. To fill the gaps in the schedule, the rounds at Mid-Ohio, Gateway, and the Harvest GP at the Indianapolis road course were converted into double-header rounds. The double-header road course qualifying format was announced to be utilized once more at Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis, while the double-header oval qualifying format used at Iowa will also be used at Gateway.

Cancelled events

Results

Points standings