Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
William Byron eventually won the Daytona 500 with only four laps led. Austin Hill eventually won again at Daytona. Formula One tested in Bahrain, and Drive to Survive was released. Red Bull is going to be hard to beat again. Shipping delays delayed the FIA World Endurance Championship prologue test in Qatar. Ferrari and BMW lost all of its points from the 24 Hours of Daytona in both GT classes for violating expected performance levels. IndyCar has a few new rules. Restarts have a new line. Drivers will not be able to repeat the weaving we have seen at the finishes of the last two Indianapolis 500s. Indianapolis Motor Speedway upgraded some barriers and fencing, except in the area where you think it is needed. Does anyone know the actual format for the exhibition race from The Thermal Club? We are a month out. Shouldn't we know that by now? Anyway, we have something else on our mind as IndyCar inches closer to its first race of the season.
Making Sense of Time
Last week, start times for the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season were announced.
A few were as expected, a few others were entirely different, and we learned the method of the madness in a few other circumstances. In February, it might not appear to be clear plans for July or August, but let's take this chance to go over the timetable we have been given, and think about the decisions that have been made, round-by-round.
St. Petersburg - March 10 - Noon Eastern (NBC)
The usual season opener. It is St. Petersburg and we are doing it early. That isn't a bad thing, especially since NASCAR is out west in Phoenix this weekend and that race will start after 3:00 p.m. Eastern. IndyCar races do better when not head-to-head against NASCAR Cup races. Whether you like it or not, people will choose NASCAR first over IndyCar. They will watch both but go with a Cup races if pressed into a decision. IndyCar can get its season opener in and out before NASCAR even starts. Good decision as always.
We should note that these start times are all for the broadcast window. Most of these green flags will likely be closer to half-hour after the stated time. A few will likely start closer or right after the TV window begins.
The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge - March 24 - 12:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
This one might be the most peculiar on paper since the exhibition race in Palms Springs, California will start at 9:30 a.m. local time, but do you really care? Most don't want this race to happen. Only 2,000 people are attending specifically as spectators. The club members might not like the early start, but we get this race over with early. The early start does mean this race will likely be over before the NASCAR race from Austin begins.
Long Beach - April 21 - 3:00 p.m. ET (USA)
This is more like it for a West Coast race. Afternoon start. The Southern California locals will be able to have fully digested their breakfast before the green flag falls in Long Beach. Unfortunately, this race will go head-to-head with NASCAR at Talladega starting at the same time. Long Beach should be over at least an hour earlier, but everyone is going to watch Talladega on network Fox instead. For Long Beach, it cannot start much earlier than that. NASCAR is starting all of its races in the middle of the afternoon. Gone are the 1:00 pm starts. It is unfortunate, but these conflicts are bound to happen.
The USA location is a different channel to catch the race. There is golf that weekend on NBC. No matter the network, they all have multiple properties. Everyone must get along.
Barber - April 28 - TBD (NBC)
Ok... the lone TBD remaining on the schedule, we do not know the Barber start time yet. It is a little strange that two months out from a race we do not know the start time. This seems important for people wishing to attend the race and a negative for ticket sales if it is not resolved quickly. Either way, it will likely step on NASCAR's toes as the Dover race is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start time, the earliest start time for a Cup race during the regular season and the only other 2:00 p.m. starts are Talladega and Charlotte in October, and Martinsville in November. Barber has historically been a mid-afternoon start because it is in the Central Time Zone.
Grand Prix of Indianapolis - May 11 - 3:00 p.m. ET (NBC)
The traditional date and time for the decade old road course race to start the month of May. No complaints here. The NASCAR Cup Series is running the next day at Darlington. Good date.
Indianapolis 500 - May 26 - 11:00 a.m. ET (NBC)
The television window is going to start at 11:00 a.m. The actual race likely will not start until closer to 12:30 p.m., based on recent years with the television broadcast. With Kyle Larson attempting The Double, Roger Penske might even have this start be closer to 12:15 p.m. just to help Larson with his travels to his day job. It is the Indianapolis 500, the Coca-Cola 600 is in the evening. It is the one Sunday afternoon that is all IndyCar's.
Detroit - June 2 - 12:00 p.m ET (USA)
Detroit has moved from its network spot the week after the Indianapolis 500 to cable the week after the “500,” and it is much earlier in the day. Detroit had been a 3:00 p.m. or a 3:30 p.m. start for almost its entire time in this race spot since 2012. One event of note that afternoon is the French Open final, and do you remember what happened in 2021? That's right! The French Open final went to five sets and the first third of the IndyCar race was shown on CNBC before joining the race in progress. We should avoid that with the USA spot, but some will not be happy. The good news is this race should be over before the NASCAR race from Gateway at 3:30 p.m.
Road America - June 9 - 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
This is the strangest one to me, because ever since Road America returned to the schedule all we have heard is Road America likes an early start time because it ensures people who are coming from the Chicago-area can get home before sunset. That is why it has been a noon or 1:00 p.m. ET start almost exclusively. This is a 2:30 p.m. local start, probably closer to 3:00 p.m. local start. The NASCAR Cup race from Sonoma begins at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, which will be on Fox, and this is Canadian Grand Prix weekend, which means the Montreal race will start at 2:00 p.m. Eastern and be on ABC in the United States.
This is one where I scratch my head a little. It is at a time the track is not fond of and against the two biggest series in the United States, both of which will be on other network stations.
I cannot recall another time in U.S. television history when three different network stations showed three different major series all at once and live! I am sure it must have happened once before, but it has been a long time since it has happened.
No matter how great IndyCar is from Road America, this feels like it is up for a beating in the ratings. This is the one year where IndyCar really needs that noon start time! The crazy thing is IndyCar is last to announce its start times. It knew when Formula One and NASCAR would be starting.
Maybe it was push come to shove and Road America could have had a noon start, but that meant it would have been on USA. The NBC window was dependent on the later start, which is better for sponsors, but now it is against the biggest two series in the United States, and it really doesn't matter how great the IndyCar race is because no one is accidentally going to turn it on.
I do wish IndyCar would do something nuts for Road America just to try and attract viewers. Pay to have Sebastian Vettel compete as a one-off entry for Penske, bring Mario Andretti out of retirement, something crazy that would make waves!
Laguna Seca - June 23 - 6:00 p.m. ET (USA)
When Laguna Seca was moved to the middle of the season I was worried we would have one of those clunky weekends where IndyCar has a 3:00 p.m. race on NBC and NASCAR has a 3:00 p.m. race on USA and we are wondering why two NBC properties are going head-to-head. That felt inevitable. I like the solution that was found.
With a 6:00 p.m. start, Laguna Seca will take place after the NASCAR Cup race from Loudon on USA. This is smart. It is an afternoon full of racing. You get the Cup race leading into the IndyCar race. It is on USA, but if you want to watch racing all day, USA is the place for you.
This is how it should work. The series should play off of one another and the networks were smart for this. I know people bemoan cable races for IndyCar, but this is better than being on NBC and head-to-head against NASCAR. You trade a network race for this.
What does it do to race attendance? This is middle of the afternoon in California. For a number of years when it was a noon local start, nobody showed up. Maybe it helps. I don't know. Maybe we just have to accept Laguna Seca isn't going to attract 30,000 people no matter when the race takes place.
Mid-Ohio - July 7 - 1:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Remember what I said earlier about the networks and series working with one another? Mid-Ohio is 1:30 p.m. The NASCAR Cup race from Chicago is at 4:30 p.m. on NBC. Same thing as the Loudon/Laguna Seca weekend, except IndyCar leads off this weekend and both races are on NBC. Applause to everyone.
Iowa - July 13 - 8:00 p.m. ET (NBC) & July 14 - 12:00 p.m. ET (NBC)
This is a case of where you cannot have your cake and eat it too.
Everyone wanted a night race at Iowa. Great! You got it! And on NBC to boot! But this is a doubleheader weekend. The Sunday race was never going to be a night race, but that means a tight turnaround for the teams. It is even tighter as the Sunday race will start at noon Eastern, 11:00 a.m. local! It does mean the Sunday race is not directly against the NASCAR Cup race from Pocono race. The Pocono race will be at 2:30 p.m. ET.
This is what you have to accept. If the IndyCar race was at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, it is directly against the NASCAR race and everyone is upset. Now, it will be at 11:00 a.m. local time, and likely everyone will be upset about it.
You cannot have both. You could not have a night Iowa race and a second Iowa race with a perfect start time with no competition. This is as good as it gets.
Toronto - July 21 - 1:00 p.m. ET (Peacock)
The first of two Peacock exclusive streaming races for IndyCar, Toronto can start whenever it wants. It is streaming. It isn't going to be stepped on coming on air. It isn't going to be rushed off air. It has its own window. Obviously, start time matters, and this weekend is the return of the Brickyard 400. The races will mostly not overlap. The Brickyard 400 is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start. The Toronto finish and the Brickyard start will likely clash. With this race only being on streaming, it is for IndyCar fans. Nobody is accidentally going to stumble upon the Toronto race. That is how it has been for the previous two years.
Gateway - August 17 - 6:00 p.m. ET (USA)
IndyCar returns from its Olympic break with a Saturday evening race from Gateway. It isn't a night race. It will be a 5:00 p.m. local start on the shores of the Mississippi River. For everyone upset with the non-nighttime start, well, it goes back to series working together. The Gateway race will directly follow the NASCAR Grand National Series race from Michigan. As much as you want to wait until 8:00 p.m. Saturday night, this race will get better viewership directly following the NASCAR race than having two hours of Law & Order: SVU between the two races.
You give the audience a moment to breathe, it will go somewhere else. Put these races bam-bam right next to each other, those watching the first one will most likely stay around the second. It isn't a night race, which could be a concern for Gateway. This race hasn't really kept up what we saw in 2017 and 2018. It is still a good crowd but not as stunning as it once was. The St. Louis Cardinals is scheduled to be hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 6:15 p.m. local first pitch. That doesn't necessarily help attract locals across the river to Madison, Illinois.
Portland - August 25 - 3:00 p.m. ET (USA)
The plus here is the NASCAR Cup Series is racing the night before at Daytona. IndyCar has this Sunday afternoon (barring rain in Daytona). It is a cable race on USA. It might be the price to pay for a Saturday night Iowa race on NBC. Considering NASCAR is not running this Sunday, it would be nice to have a cable window. The bright side is the IMSA race from Virginia International Raceway will lead into the IndyCar race from Portland this afternoon. Again, series working off one another. If you want an afternoon full of racing, USA is the place for you.
Milwaukee - August 31 - 6:00 p.m. ET (Peacock) & September 1 - 2:30 p.m. ET (USA)
A second Peacock exclusive race, the first Milwaukee race will be another Saturday evening race, which is a little odd because Milwaukee does not have lights and from the sounds of it they are not bringing in temporary lights. I would read into this as IndyCar is doing this in a two-day show. There is will be a Saturday morning practice, a Saturday afternoon qualifying session before the Saturday evening race.
NASCAR's second division will be running at 3:30 p.m. ET that Saturday afternoon, so there is no competition, but Milwaukee is on Peacock. Will people turn on Peacock once that is over and close out their Saturday night? We will have to wait and see.
As for the Sunday race, again, series working with series. IndyCar is on USA, but the second Milwaukee race will lead into the Southern 500 from Darlington. You get an entire day of racing on USA. This is a good thing. This is what we want. It is glorious.
Nashville - September 15 - 3:00 p.m. ET (NBC)
No longer a downtown street race, the Nashville season finale will be on the 1.333-mile oval in Lebanon, Tennessee. The television time has not changed, which means it does not change the fact the season is ending head-to-head against the NASCAR Cup race from Watkins Glen. That bummer was always going to happen.
However, this is the price IndyCar pays ending on the second weekend of the NFL season. It is not only going against NASCAR but football when football is loved the most. There are 32 fanbases that still believe their team can win the Super Bowl, and most are occupied with their teams during the time of the finale.
If IndyCar is going to end its season on one of the first two or three weeks of the NFL season, it should just jam its season in before Labor Day. With the Nashville street race dead until 2027 at the earliest, there is no reason why the Nashville Superspeedway should host the finale in 2025 and beyond. Move this race into the Olympic vacancy that will need to be filled, put it under the lights in early August to shut up the fans and give them another night race, and end the season at Milwaukee, which isn't as sexy as Nashville but is a hell of a lot sexier than Lebanon, Tennessee.
End with a doubleheader for all I care, and if it is too weird to have a doubleheader as the finale, give Nashville Superspeedway two August races and make that a pair of Saturday/Sunday races, maybe both could be night races.
IndyCar ending by Labor Day isn't some Herculean task. It is moving one race weekend to an open weekend between February and August. With no Olympic break in 2025, at least three weekends are open. There is plenty of room.
If we look at the 2024 IndyCar season as a scorecard, we have 13 races that will not be directly head-to-head with NASCAR Cup races, two that absolutely will be head-to-head and two races that will be overlapping a little with Cup races. That is as good as you can ask for. There are always going to be a few conflicts. IndyCar has mostly avoided all of them, though has one glaring one that is kind of unfathomable.
Ten races will still be on NBC. That might be fewer than some recent seasons but that is still over half the scheduled and it wasn't long ago IndyCar didn't even get a third of its races on network television. A 20% increase is still a good thing.
Even the races that are not on network television are strategically placed to provide a full afternoon of racing on cable. These races are either leading into a NASCAR Cup race or following a NASCAR Cup race, or in one case following IMSA. It is a raising tide lifting all boats. You cannot be upset with it.
There is no perfect schedule. There is no way IndyCar is going to find the time to have all 17 of its races be on network television at an hour is best for the racetracks to draw a crowd and not have any conflicts with the other major motorsports series in the United States. It isn't going to happen. The best IndyCar can do is avoid the conflicts and take television windows that fit the series into network windows while also strategically placing the series so it can be a part of a larger marathon window of races on one network.
The 2024 schedule does that. There might be a few flaws, but damn does it do its hardest.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about William Byron and Austin Hill, but did you know...
Daniel Suárez won the NASCAR Cup race from Atlanta. Austin Hill won the Grand National Series race, his second consecutive victory. Kyle Busch won the Truck race.
Broc Feeney and Will Brown split the Supercars races from Bathurst.
Nicoló Bulega (race one) and Alex Lowes (SuperPole and race two) split the World Superbike races from Phillip Island. Yari Montella swept the World Supersport races.
Cooper Webb won the Supercross race from Arlington, his second victory of the season. Haiden Deegan won the 250cc race.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula One starts on Saturday in Bahrain.
The FIA WEC season starts on Saturday in Qatar.
Supercross opens Daytona Bike Week.
NASCAR visits Las Vegas.
