2020 Indianapolis 500

The 2020 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) is an IndyCar Series event scheduled for Sunday, August 23, 2020, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.[1] The race is the premier event of the 2020 IndyCar Series, with 500 miles and a total of 200 laps. Simon Pagenaud is the defending race winner. The 2020 running will be the first time the race is not held in May.[2]

104th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyIndyCar
Season2020 IndyCar Season
DateAugust 23, 2020
TV in the United States
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersLap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey
Driver analyst: Townsend Bell
Driver analyst: Paul Tracy
Chronology
Previous Next
2019 2021

Race background
The Pagoda, the control tower which houses officials, broadcasting, and hospitality suites, is an icon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sponsorship

On January 31, 2019, it was announced that the online financial services company Gainbridge would become the new presenting sponsor of the 500 under a four-year deal. This will be the second year under the current deal.[3]

Safety changes

On May 24, 2019, it was announced that IndyCar Series will introduce cockpit protection combining an aeroscreen and Halo from 2020 season onward. The cockpit protection will be built by Red Bull Advanced Technologies. The combination of aeroscreen and halo is designed to improve safety standards by deflecting debris away from a driver's head and was originally developed for use in Formula One and IndyCar before its application was expanded to other open-wheel championships.[4]

Ownership changes

On November 3, 2019, it was announced that Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of the Penske Corporation, owned by Roger Penske, had purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the IndyCar Series, and IMS Productions. Penske, owner of Team Penske will step down as full time-race strategist and focus on the new ownership roles.[5] The sale was finalized in January 2020.

Qualifying changes
  • The Last Row Shootout will be expanded to a 75-minute session in order to allow multiple qualifying attempts for each participant. In the previous year participants in the shootout were permitted only one attempt.[6]
  • For practice on Fast Friday (August 14) and during time trials (August 15–16), turbocharger boost settings will be increased to allow an additional 45 horsepower. Engines will be permitted 150 kPa of turbocharger "boost". Engines are allowed 130 kPa of "boost" on race day and during all other practice sessions.[7]

Rule changes
  • Teams will be permitted seven crew members over-the-wall servicing the car during pit stops. This is up from six utilized from 1988 to 2019. The sole purpose of the seventh member is to clean or remove tear-offs from the new aeroscreen. Teams will be allowed four tire changers, one fueler, one pnuematic jack operator, and one aeroscreen attendant. The aeroscreen attendant is not permitted to service any other part of the car.[8]
  • Grid penalties for unapproved engine changes have been reinstated for the 2020 season. However, no penalties will be served at the Indianapolis 500. Penalties from Mid-Ohio, or penalties incurred at the 500 will be enforced at Gateway.[9]

Schedule

On March 12, 2020, the Speedway announced that the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic had not yet caused any changes to the proposed schedule.[10] One day later on March 13, IndyCar officials announced that the first four races of the 2020 IndyCar season would be cancelled, along with the open test at Indianapolis scheduled for April 30.[11] On March 18, it was announced that the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon scheduled for May 2 would not be held.[12]

On March 26, the series announced the delay of the 2020 Indianapolis 500 to Sunday, August 23. The GMR Grand Prix will be held Saturday, July 4, as part of the Brickyard 400 weekend.[13] On May 31, it was announced that the 2020 Indy Lights season had been cancelled, and therefore the Freedom 100, traditionally run on Carb Day, would not be held although the Speedway has not announced if the cars could be run in an exhibition event.[14] Furthermore, it was later decided that the aforementioned Brickyard 400/GMR Grand Prix weekend would be held without spectators.[15]

Although the first two IndyCar events have been held mostly behind closed doors since the series' first race in June, Roger Penske stated on June 8 that "we will run [the 500] only with fans", and that the race could be delayed further if they are unable to admit spectators.[16][17] The weekend of October 3, tentatively scheduled for the Harvest Auto Racing Classic meeting featuring the NTT IndyCar Series and Intercontinental GT endurance race, was under consideration.[18]

On June 26, 2020, Penske announced the track will be limited to 50% capacity, cancelling the Snake Pit party section of the track and restricting grandstands.

Race schedules — August 2020
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
9
Honda Indy 200
Mid-Ohio		 10 11 12
Practice
 13
Practice
 14
Practice
Fast Friday		 15
Time Trials
16
Fast 9 Shootout
Last Row
Shootout		 17

 18

 19

 20
Practice
 21
Carb Day
22
Legends Day
Parade
23
Indianapolis
500		 24

 25

 26

 27

 28

 29
Gateway qualifying
30
Gateway		 31            
Color Notes
Green Practice
Dark Blue Time trials
Silver Race day
Red Rained out*
Blank No track activity

* Includes days where track
activity was significantly limited due to rain

Original schedule

The original schedule for the 2020 Indianapolis 500 was released in early 2020.[19]

Date Event
April 30Open test
May 2500 Festival Mini-Marathon
May 8–9GMR Grand Prix
May 12–15Practice
May 16–17Time Trials
May 18Post-qualifying practice
May 22Carb Day / Freedom 100
May 23Legends Day / Parade
May 24Race day

Testing

Aeroscreen test – October 2019

The series conducted an official evaluation test on October 2, 2019, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two teams tested the new aeroscreen developed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies. The cockpit safety device is scheduled to be implemented for the 2020 season. Scott Dixon and Will Power collectively drove more than 600 miles' worth of laps, and the test yielded mostly positive results.[20][21]

Testing — Participants
DriverTeamEngine
Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet

Oval rookie test — February 14

Four IndyCar rookies took part in an oval acclimation test at Texas Motor Speedway on February 14. Oliver Askew, Álex Palou, Rinus VeeKay, and Scott McLaughlin took part in the test, which was conducted by IndyCar officials. The test provided the drivers with high-speed oval experience prior to the start of the Rookie Orientation Program. Veterans Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter also took laps, doing further evaluations of the new aeroscreens. Cold temperatures delayed the start of the test, but a total of five hours of track time was available. No incidents were reported.[22]

Open test

A full field open test was scheduled for Thursday April 30.[23] However, the test was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] When the Indianapolis 500 was later rescheduled for August 23, series officials did not initially announce if an open test would be made available before practice begins on August 12. The original date of the race would have made it the first oval track event of the 2020 season. With the rescheduled date, the race would now be the fourth of five oval races, as well as the second superspeedway race. Since drivers will have raced at Texas prior to arriving at Indy, the need for an oval acclimation test and rookie orientation may be modified. This is the first time since 2010 (Kansas) that there will be a superspeedway race held prior to the Indianapolis 500.

Broadcasting

Television

The race is scheduled to be televised on NBC in the United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the originally scheduled race day (May 24), a special titled "Back Home Again" aired on NBC. Mike Tirico was joined by Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi for an enhanced encore presentation of the 2019 race.[24]

Radio

The race is scheduled to be carried by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

References
  1. "2020 Indianapolis 500 Event Schedule". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  2. ""IMS historian calls race postponement unprecedented"". wishtv.com. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  3. "Gainbridge becomes new sponsor for Indy 500". ESPN.com. 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  4. "INDYCAR Announces Plan For Cockpit Protection Innovation". IndyCar.com. IndyCar Series. May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  5. "INDYCAR, IMS acquired by Penske Corporation". IndyCar.com. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  6. "Indy 500 to feature record purse, increased speeds". IndyCar.com. February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  7. Pruett, Marshall (February 14, 2020). "Power boost raises the bar for Indy qualifying speeds". Racer.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  8. Pruett, Marshall (February 28, 2020). "Aeroscreen adding to IndyCar pit stop workload". Racer.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  9. Pruett, Marshall (February 26, 2020). "IndyCar engine grid penalties set to return". Racer.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  10. "IMS expecting to still hold Indy 500 despite Coronavirus concerns". WIBC. Emmis Communications. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  11. Pruett, Marshall (March 13, 2020). "IndyCar cancels St Pete, first four races". Racer.com. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  12. "500 Festival suspends Mini-Marathon due to coronavirus pandemic". WTHR. Tegna, Inc. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  13. "MONTH OF MAY SCHEDULE UPDATE". INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020. Later in the season, IndyCar added a third race at the Speedway, to be held in October as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
  14. Barnes, Joey (June 1, 2020). "Indy Lights Race Series Will Not Race in 2020". AutoWeek. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  15. "Indianapolis Motor Speedway to run Brickyard 400 without fans". ESPN.com. June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  16. "Indy 500 will only happen if fans are in the stands, Roger Penske says". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  17. Brown, Nathan. "Insider: What attending the Indianapolis 500 is expected to be like for fans". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  18. Barnes, Joey (May 7, 2020). "IndyCar CEO Says Indianapolis 500 Could Run as Late as October". AutoWeek. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  19. Eubanks, Michael (March 2, 2020). "Here's how to watch the 2020 IndyCar season on NBC Sports". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  20. Pruett, Marshall (October 1, 2019). "IndyCar to test aeroscreen at IMS on Wednesday". Racer.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  21. Glendenning, Mark (October 2, 2019). "Power, Dixon say IndyCar's aeroscreen is ready to race now". Racer.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  22. Pruett, Marshall (February 15, 2020). "Four rookies earn their oval spurs at Texas test". Racer.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  23. Watkins, Tanner (February 24, 2020). "Open test at IMS scheduled for Thursday April 30". Open-Wheels. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  24. "'Back Home Again' to give inside look at 2019 Indy 500 May 24 on NBC Sports". IndyCar.com. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
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