Indy 500 will be postponed to Aug. 23, Grand Prix to run NASCAR doubleheader July 4

Story Originally Published by Indy Star (3/26/20)

The 2020 Indianapolis 500 will not be run on its scheduled May 24 start date, IndyCar and IMS announced Thursday afternoon, which would make the 104th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing the first edition not to be completed during the month of May.

The race is scheduled for Aug. 23.

"The Month of May at IMS is my favorite time of year, and like our fans, I'm disappointed we've had to reschedule the Indy 500," Roger Penske said in a statement. "We're going to double-down on customer experience in the months ahead and I'm confident we'll greet fans with a transformed facility and a world-class spectacle when we run the world's greatest race later this year."

Penske Entertainment Corp. President Mark Miles added: "Memorial Day weekend has always provided Indianapolis 500 fans an opportunity to honor the men and women who have fought and sacrificed for our nation's freedom. This August, we'll also have a unique and powerful opportunity to honor the contributions and heroism of the doctors, nurses, first responders and National Guard members serving on the front lines of the fight against COVID-10."

IMS said tickets purchased for the original race date are automatically valid for the new scheduled race date in August.

There will be practice sessions Aug. 12 and 13, with Fast Friday then qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. The following week will start with Indy Lights practice and qualifying on Aug. 20, followed by the Indy Lights race, an expanded Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge and a final practice for Carb Day.

The Indianapolis Grand Prix, usually the first race in the month of May, has been moved to July 4, which creates a doubleheader with the NASCAR race, the first time that has happened. 

"This historic pairing will be circled on the calendar of every motorsports fans," Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles said. "We appreciate our friends at NASCAR for their flexibility and support in this matter and will work with them on a memorable, exciting weekend of racing action."

On March 13, IndyCar announced that the first four races on the schedule - St. Pete (March 15), Barber (April 5), Long Beach (April 19) and Circuit of the Americas (April 26) would either be postponed or canceled. Days later on March 15, the CDC urged event organizers to cancel or postpone events until May 10 that would include 50 or more people in one place.

Since then, Long Beach race organizers officially canceled their event for 2020, while Barber has begun issuing refunds to ticket holders and COTA was forced to lay off close to 50% of their event staff due to race and concert postponements until later in the year. IndyCar is trying to make St. Pete the season finale, with a date to be named.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will now by Aug. 9 and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway will be Aug. 30.

From 1911 to 1970, the Indy 500 was run on May 30, regardless of the day, unless it fell on a Sunday, whereas it was then scheduled for the following Monday. Since 1974, the race has been slated for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, regardless of the date, though multiple times the races has been postponed due to rain and run on a later date, including 1915 (May 31), 1967 (May 31), 1973 (May 30), 1986 (May 31) and 1997 (May 27).

Since its first running in 1911, the Indy 500 has been run every year except for 1917-18 (World War I) and 1942-45 (World War II).