INDYCAR: Toronto In, Nashville Out in 18-Race 2009 Schedule

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Toronto In, Nashville Out in 18-Race 2009 Schedule

Season will open at St. Pete and close at Homestead; Motegi moved to September.

Kevin Krefting | Posted July 30, 2008 Indianapolis, Ind.

The '09 schedule gets 10 ovals and 8 road/street courses as Toronto replaces Nashville and Long Beach joins the party; it all starts at St. Pete (above) on April 5. (LAT Photo)

The 2009 IndyCar Series season will open and close in Florida, while two former Champ Car events will make their debut under Indy Racing League sanctioning.

In all, 10 ovals, three permanent road courses and five temporary street circuits will comprise the season, which will kick off at St. Petersburg and wrap up at Homestead. Toronto, which didn’t get a race in 2008 following the demise of Champ Car, will replace Nashville next year, while Long Beach, which was a Champ Car event that counted IRL points this season, will become a "normal" race.

"We often refer to developing the schedule as three-dimensional chess because you can't just move one (event) and expect another one to drop in at the exact right date," said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division for the IRL. "It has been a challenge, but a wonderful one to have because of the number of venues that are capable of hosting our races."

Another novelty is the expansion of the season by a month, with four consecutive weekends being the longest stretch of racing – in 2008, a six-week stretch was considered too taxing on the teams.

Other changes include the switch of Motegi to September, which offers more favorable weather (the race has been held in April since 2003). A notable absence is Surfers Paradise, which was confirmed today as a non-points event for '08 but won't return next year.

“Looking ahead to 2009, and with one season of unification under our belts, we know that the IndyCar Series continues to offer the most diverse schedule in all of motorsports,” said Brian Barnhart, president of the competition and operations division for the Indy Racing League. “As our schedule has evolved in the past few years, the race for the IndyCar Series championship has become one that demands the ability of both drivers and teams to master a variety of venues and the challenges each one brings with the end result being a true champion.

“We are also pleased to respond to our teams and offer a couple of more off-weekends during the core of the season.”

2009 IndyCar Series schedule:

Sunday, April 5, Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile street course
Sunday, April 19 Streets of Long Beach, 1.968-mile street course
Sunday, April 26, Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, May 24, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.5-mile oval
Sunday, May 31, The Milwaukee Mile, 1.0-mile oval
Saturday, June 6 *, Texas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, June 21, Iowa Speedway, .875-mile oval
Saturday, June 27 *, Richmond International Raceway, .75-mile oval
Sunday, July 5, Watkins Glen International, 3.4-mile road course
Sunday, July 12, Streets of Toronto, 1.721-mile street course
Sunday, July 26, Edmonton City Centre Airport, 1.973-mile airport course
Saturday, Aug. 1 *, Kentucky Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, Aug. 9, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 2.258-mile road course
Sunday, Aug. 23, Infineon Raceway, 2.245-mile road course
Saturday, Aug. 29*, Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, Sept. 6, The Raceway at Belle Isle Park, 2.906-mile street course
Saturday, Sept. 19, Twin Ring Motegi, 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, Oct. 11, Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval

* - night race
Schedule subject to change.