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Simon Pagenaud leads the NTT IndyCar Series field at the start of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 2021. (IndyCar photo)

No New Tracks For 17-Race IndyCar Slate

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The 2023 NTT IndyCar Series schedule includes no new tracks and no events subtracted from the 2022 season.

But there are a few tweaks to the 17-race slate.

This year, the season began on Feb. 28 in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Next season, that date shifts one week to Sunday, March 5 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

That event will kick off a North American schedule that is highlighted by the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28. The season ends on Sunday, Sept. 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.

The journey to a championship includes a stretch of eight races in the final nine weeks of the season.

For just the fourth time in the last 50 years, the IndyCar Series will have 13 or more races on network television. The total appearances on broadcast television becomes 15 with the addition of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying coverage, Saturday and Sunday, May 20-21, ahead of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The first seven events will be featured on NBC, including the 500. The season also finishes with six of the final seven races on network television. The 2023 season will include three races on USA Network and for the second consecutive year one exclusive race on Peacock. 

In partnership with NBC Sports, the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series was the most-watched season in six years and the most-watched across NBC Sports on record. Powered by NBCUniversal’s popular streaming service, Peacock, the 2022 season also was the most streamed season on record.

Half of the 2022 season’s 16 races on television featured a Total Audience Delivery of more than 1 million viewers, the highest mark since 2008. Last year’s season opener, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by RP Funding was the most-watched season-opener in 11 years.

“The NTT IndyCar Series is on an impactful upward trajectory, making progress at a pace that befits our thrilling style of competition,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “The 2023 season provides an opportunity to further build on this trend, bringing our sport and its stars to more markets and households and reaching newconsumers across the globe.”

The 2023 schedule includes the diversity that has been the hallmark of the NTT IndyCar Series. Drivers will compete in seven road course races, five street circuit events and five oval races.

After the season opens for the 13th time on the palm tree-lined Streets of St.Petersburg, Sunday, March 5, North America’s premier open-wheel racing series returns to Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 2 for the series’ 36th race on the action-packed oval.

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach follows with its traditional mid-April date hosting the IndyCar Series on Sunday, April 16. It is the 39th time the IndyCar Series has been featured on the iconic streets of Southern California as the event hosts its 48th edition.

Barber Motorsports Park plays host to its 13th IndyCar race, Sunday, April 30 before the series moves into the traditional Month of May cadence at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 13, 500 qualifying weekend, May 20-21, and the Indianapolis 500 on May 28.

The traditional early June date for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear returns, but at a brand-new site. The debut of the Streets of Detroit circuit, a move to the downtown site from its previous location at Belle Isle Park, takes place Sunday, June 4.

The nine-turn, 1.7-mile street circuit will provide unprecedented access with more than half of the event’s footprint open to the public. It is also a homecoming and a connection to theevent’s heritage, which began on the downtown streets of the Motor City in 1982.

USA Network will feature the early summer swing on the classic American road courses of the Sonsio Grand Prix presented by AMR at Road America, Sunday, June 18, and The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which returns for another Fourth of July weekend celebration, July 2. Road America will feature a newly repaved 4.048-mile layout. Mid-Ohio matches Long Beach as it hosts IndyCar Series racing for the 39th year.

The season hits its stride with eight races in the final nine weeks. Peacock will, once again, provide an exclusive presentation of the Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday, July 16, forthe series’ annual appearance in Canada’s largest city.

Six of the final seven races will be featured on NBC broadcast television.

It begins with two events expected to be even bigger and better than in 2022: the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. The doubleheader at Iowa Speedway is scheduled July 22-23.

IndyCar returns to the unpredictable Streets of Nashville on Sunday, Aug. 6. Last year, the fan-favorite event, marked by concerts and entertainment, featured the closest street circuit finish in IndyCar Series history when six-time series champion Scott Dixon edged Scott McLaughlin by a margin of .1067 of a second.

With the Brickyard wWeekend returning to a traditional August date, the NASCAR-IndyCar tripleheader on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course features the NTT IndyCar Series’ Gallagher Grand Prix, Saturday, Aug. 12 on USA Network.

The series finishes the season with three races on three consecutive weekends — all on NBC — beginning with the final oval of the season at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Aug. 27.

From there, it’s the traditional two-race, West Coast swing featuring Portland Int’l Raceway and the newly repaved WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

The 29th Grand Prix of Portland is scheduled Sept. 3 while the series champion will be crowned and receive the Astor Challenge Cup at the 26th Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sept. 10.

“We have worked hard to achieve date and venue equity, which has been an ongoing goal at IndyCar,” IndyCar President Jay Frye said. “We are excited to return to downtown Detroit and the repaves at Road America and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will add new challenges for the drivers and teams. The intensity level will also be at an all-time high as we conclude the season with three weekends in a row.

“As we build off the record-breaking 2022 season, we could not be more enthusiastic to see how 2023 unfolds.”

2023 NTT IndyCar Series Schedule

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The start of the 106th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Al Steinberg photo)

Date                            Venue                                            City

March 5                        Streets of St. Petersburg         St. Petersburg, Fla.

April 2                         Texas Motor Speedway            Ft. Worth, Texas

April 16                       Streets of Long Beach              Long Beach, Calif.

April 30                       Barber Motorsports Park        Leeds, Ala.

May 13                        Indianapolis (Road Course)     Indianapolis, Ind.

May 28                        Indianapolis Motor Speedway  Indianapolis, Ind.

June 4                          Streets of Detroit                     Detroit, Mich.

June 18                        Road America                           Elkhart Lake, Wis.

July 2                           Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course   Steam Corners, Ohio

July 16                         Streets of Toronto                     Toronto, Ontario

July 22                         Iowa Speedway                        Newton, Iowa

July 23                         Iowa Speedway                        Newton, Iowa

Aug. 6                          Streets of Nashville                  Nashville, Tenn.

Aug. 12                        Indianapolis (Road Course)     Indianapolis, Ind.

Aug. 27                        WWTR Gateway                       Madison, Ill.

Sept. 3                         Portland Int’l Raceway             Portland, Ore.

Sept. 10                       WeatherTech Laguna Seca      Monterey, Calif.