2016 IndyCar Schedule Announced

The Verizon IndyCar Series schedule for the 2016 season was released on Tuesday, and the schedule includes 16 races at 14 tracks with five events on ovals, five on road courses and six on street circuits. Making the announcement was Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman Motorsports, the parent of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Also joining in was 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon.

Three additions feature IndyCar returning to the Phoenix International Raceway and Road America along with a brand-new event on a street course in Boston. The series last raced at Phoenix in 2003 and at Road America in 2007. Missing from the line-up are the Milwaukee Mile, the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and the NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana.

“Overall, the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule is another key step forward in INDYCAR’s strategic vision,” said Miles. “We’re confident that the momentum that INDYCAR has experienced in fan engagement over the past two seasons will continue as a result of the tireless efforts of our event promoters and our improved scheduling on ABC and NBCSN.”

Added Dixon, who has raced on both tracks, “Road America and Phoenix are great venues and two of the best choices that we could have to add to the schedule. I’m looking forward to both race events. Road America is an old-school American track that I always look forward to. Phoenix was a fun track for me in the past. I tested there (earlier this year) and the changes that they’ve made have opened up quite a few different grooves. The racing will be very exciting; we’ll put on a great show.”

As usual, the season opener will be in St. Petersburg on March 13, which is two weeks earlier than usual due to Easter falling on March 27 and the 12 Hours of Sebring slotted in its traditional time-frame a week earlier (on March 19).

The 16-event schedule concludes on September 18 at the Sonoma Raceway and with the kickoff on March 13 and the finale in mid-September, the 2016 season will run nearly a month longer compared to that of the 2015 calendar.

Capping off the schedule will be the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29. For this major milestone, considerable pomp and circumstance is anticipated. Two weeks before the Indy 500 weekend will be the third running of the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 14.

One note of concern on the schedule is the Labor Day event along Boston’s waterfront. The event was greeted with considerable fanfare when it was announced in May, 2015, but since then, there’s been a vocal group in Boston expressing their displeasure with the city being disrupted on the holiday weekend. Time will tell how this will play out.

When queried, Miles stated, “We’ve read some of the reports that seem to be coming pretty much from one source in Boston. They just don’t square with our understanding. I just don’t believe there are local impediments to doing the race there. That’s our understanding both from the city’s administration and our promoter. Before we announced it, we had seen all the work on the track. We had been involved in meetings with folks from the Convention Center and obviously the mayor’s office.
“There’s no big city where a street race might not create objections on the part of some people. But I think care has been taken to minimize any inconveniences in this example in Boston. I believe that the city is going to embrace it and it’s going to be a very successful event.”

Regarding Milwaukee, Miles indicated that they could not find a promoter to make it all happen. “We would have liked to have continued the history in Milwaukee,” he said. “Maybe someday we can get back. I don’t think it’s fair to say it was dead when our friends in Elkhart Lake decided not to try to do both. There were other conversations with other prospective promoters. In the end it wasn’t any one, there were none. That made the decision for us.”

He went on to say they contacted local business leaders in search of leads, including the State Fair Board, which gave consideration to whether they could do it or to find a promoter. However, these efforts came up short.

ABC will broadcast five races in 2016, including the season-opener at St. Petersburg, the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Indianapolis 500 qualifications on May 21-22 and the much-anticipated Indianapolis 500 on May 29. Also, ABC will telecast the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix doubleheader on June 4 and 5.

NBCSN will telecast 11 races, starting with the return to Phoenix International Raceway on the night of April 2. The one-mile oval hosted 61 Indy car races from 1964-2005. The network will also telecast the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama from Barber Motorsports Park and following ABC’s coverage in May and early June, NBCSN returns to telecast the final eight races of the 2016 season.

The complete schedule, with television networks and times (all ET):
March 13 Streets of St. Petersburg ABC 12:30 p.m.
April 2 Phoenix International Raceway NBCSN 8 p.m.
April 17 Streets of Long Beach NBCSN 4 p.m.
April 24 Barber Motorsports Park NBCSN 3 p.m.
May 14 Grand Prix of Indianapolis ABC 3:30 p.m.
May 29 Indianapolis 500 ABC 11 a.m.
June 4 Raceway at Belle Isle Park ABC 3:30 p.m.
June 5 Raceway at Belle Isle Park ABC 3:30 p.m.
June 11 Texas Motor Speedway NBCSN 8 p.m.
June 26 Road America NBCSN 12:30 p.m.
July 10 Iowa Speedway NBCSN 5 p.m.
July 17 Streets of Toronto NBCSN 3 p.m.
July 31 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course NBCSN 2 p.m.
Aug. 21 Pocono Raceway NBCSN 3 p.m.
Sept. 4 Streets of Boston NBCSN 2 p.m.
Sept. 18 Sonoma Raceway NBCSN 7 p.m.