I was trying not to have IndyCar in mind when NASCAR released its 2020 Cup schedule on Tuesday but it is unavoidable. Everything NASCAR does causing a reaction throughout the North American motorsports landscape and sometimes IndyCar feels those changes more than most.
NASCAR got a second Cup date at Texas and the second IndyCar race went away. NASCAR got a second Phoenix Cup date and the IndyCar race went away. IndyCar returning to Michigan, Richmond, Kentucky and Fontana all comes down to NASCAR. It is about finding time to fit in between the NASCAR races. We have to take IndyCar into consideration. One change for NASCAR can knock over the dominoes and force a change in the IndyCar landscape.
At first glance, it seemed like IndyCar was going to be forced into a difficult situation for a few races, especially late in the season, but after a second, third and fourth look, IndyCar might be in the clear and it appears NBC Sports looked out for IndyCar with some of these decisions. Of course, a lot of this is dependent on the IndyCar schedule remaining the same and there being a 100% retention rate from 2019 to 2020. For this case, we are going to keep say every race on the 2019 schedule will be back in 2020.
There were changes in the Fox portion of the NASCAR season, not nearly as seismic as the NBC portion, but it does cause an issue for St. Petersburg and Austin.
St. Petersburg will be March 15th, the weekend NASCAR will be at Atlanta. Those tracks are near to one another but I don't think that is the end of the world. The worry is when it comes to television and the last few years St. Petersburg has been a weekend when NASCAR is out west and the races have avoided head-to-head competition.
Austin could be in a pickle. If IndyCar maintains the off week between St. Petersburg and Austin that would mean Austin and the Texas Cup race would be the same weekend. Austin already has this problem with the United States Grand Prix and the second Texas Cup race. If IndyCar runs Austin the week after St. Petersburg it is likely head-to-head with the 12 Hours of Sebring, although we have not heard when the 2020 12 Hours of Sebring will be scheduled.
IndyCar did have three weeks between the first and second rounds as recent as last year. Two weeks between St. Petersburg and Austin is not a likely option because Easter is April 12th and typically when Easter is that weekend Long Beach is the first weekend of April, which would be April 5th.
We are going to lose out. Either IndyCar is going to run head-to-head with Sebring or Austin is going to run head-to-head with the NASCAR Cup race at Texas. The only way this could be avoided is if St. Petersburg moves up a week and Austin takes March 15th or Austin becomes the season opener for one season on March 8th.
Once you get to Easter it calms down. Barber can move to April 19th, you get two weeks off before the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday May 9th with the Indianapolis 500 on May 24th. Belle Isle can be May 30-31st with Texas on Saturday June 6th.
It gets a bit hairy when NBC takes over the NASCAR schedule. Chicagoland will be June 21st. If IndyCar has a week off between Texas and Road America then Road America would be June 21st. That isn't going to happen or at least it shouldn't happen and the following week is the new NASCAR doubleheader at Pocono. I think Road America could work on June 28th because that race has an early start at 12:30 p.m. ET. The IndyCar race could be at that time and the NASCAR Cup race could follow at 3:00 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.
IndyCar takes Fourth of July weekend off and Toronto could be July 12th the day after the Kentucky night race for Cup. The following weekend could be Iowa on Saturday July 18th.
And then we get to the Olympics. NASCAR is taking two weeks off. Mid-Ohio is the third of three consecutive weeks of races after Iowa this year and in 2020 that would fall the opening weekend of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. I think NBC will make sure IndyCar is off both those weekends as well and we will see Mid-Ohio move. The problem is NASCAR is at Michigan on August 9th. I think IndyCar could race that weekend at Mid-Ohio and we know that NBC will not have a problem putting IndyCar on NBC while NASCAR is on NBCSN. That is what it is doing this year with the Mid-Ohio race. Though the proximity of the race is a concern, television should not be a concern. One other thing to take into consideration is NASCAR's second division has gone to Mid-Ohio the same weekend of the second Michigan race. I wonder if this could be a dress rehearsal for a IndyCar/NASCAR doubleheader come 2021.
At first blush, August was a concern. With Bristol and Dover swapping races and Watkins Glen moving back a week it looked like the Pocono IndyCar race would be in a scenario similar to Michigan/Mid-Ohio and being the same weekend as a NASCAR Cup race in a neighboring state. However, it might not be that bad. The Gateway race could be Saturday August 22nd, the day before the NASCAR Dover race, and Pocono could move to August 29th, the day after the Daytona race. It is crisis averted with a simple flip of races.
Portland can remain Sunday September 6th, the afternoon before the NASCAR race from Darlington, and Laguna Seca can be Sunday September 20th, the day after the night race at Bristol.
There are a few issues. One is a lot of races in close proximity are within a week of each other. Belle Isle and the first Michigan Cup race will likely be a week apart. We already have Austin and the first Texas Cup race a week apart this year. We covered Mid-Ohio/Michigan but Mid-Ohio is already the same day as a Cup race at Pocono and that works fine. Watkins Glen, Dover and the Pocono IndyCar race could be a busy period in the Northeast and we will have to see how that works. The last few years we have had Barber and Talladega be a week apart and Barber has done just fine. Maybe it will not be a problem but each region is different and what works in Alabama might not work in the Northeast or Midwest. I think it is fine to raise questions but it will not necessarily be the deathblow for any of these races.
We are going to have to be patient and keep in mind that more changes to the NASCAR schedule will come in 2021 after all the track contracts are up. NASCAR made changes in a lame duck season, which is perplexing but simultaneously on-brand for this organization in the 21st century. These changes do not guarantee IndyCar will stay at Pocono and Iowa. It does not mean Michigan will be returning to the calendar in the next two years. It doesn't mean Homestead will be back.
IndyCar has been on a promising path the last four years and it has to continue doing what it has been successful at during that time period. The series cannot be to reactionary and with the leadership of Mark Miles and Jay Frye I do not think they will make rash decisions in hopes of preservation. The last few years have shown us these two will make smart choices and if something has to change it will be thoroughly thought out and explained.
Rest easy for now my friends.
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