Indy 500 rescheduled for August 23

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is waving the caution flag on this year’s Indy 500. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 104th 500-mile race won’t be held as scheduled on May 24, the Sunday before Memorial Day, in keeping with tradition. “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” has been postponed until Sunday, August 23.

The new GMR Grand Prix at Indy has also been moved from May 9 to July 4. The race will be held on the IMS road course as part of a historic doubleheader featuring the NTT IndyCar Series and NASCAR. All Indianapolis racing will be televised live on NBC.

“The month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is my favorite time of year, and like our fans, I am disappointed that we have had to reschedule the Indianapolis 500,” said IMS owner Roger Penske. “However, the health and safety of our event participants and spectators is our top priority, and we believe that postponing the event is the responsible decision with the conditions and restrictions we are facing. We will continue to focus on ways we can enhance the customer experience in the months ahead, and I’m confident we will welcome fans with a transformed facility and a global spectacle when we run the world’s greatest race.”

According to a press release from IMS, on-track action will begin with practice sessions August 12–13, followed by Fast Friday on August 14, and Indianapolis 500 qualifications August 15–16.

The following week’s schedule will begin with pit-stop practice sessions on August 20 and include Indy Lights practice and qualifying. The Indy Lights Freedom 100 race, a significantly expanded Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge, and final Indianapolis 500 practice will be held August 21 as part of Miller Lite Carb Day, followed by the public drivers’ meeting and full-field autograph session on August 22.

As a result of the schedule changes at IMS, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is now scheduled for August 9, and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is now scheduled for August 30.

An updated 2020 NTT IndyCar Series calendar is available here.

After being held on May 30 for decades, since 1974 the race has been slated for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. It has been postponed five times due to rain, most recently in 1997, when it was pushed until May 27.