IndyCar Series organisers have revealed a radically overhauled calendar for the 2013 season, unveiling a 19-race schedule that includes three double-header events. The series also returns to Houston and Pocono Raceway.
The new calendar features a more even mix of road, street and oval circuits, with the addition of two events, and the loss of the race at Edmonton Airport.
Three of next year’s events – at the Detroit, Toronto and Houston street circuit rounds – will have races on Saturday and Sunday. These three rounds will also see the introduction of a concept truly foreign to IndyCar fans: the standing start…
Detroit will also revert to the 2.3-mile track layout formerly used between 1998-2001 after this year’s return event was marred by a major track break-up during the race.
Houston’s Reliant Park street circuit layout will host its first open-wheel race since the Champ Car Series last raced there in 2007, while Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway has spent even longer on the sidelines – it hasn’t hosted a round of the IndyCar Series since 1989!
The 400-mile race at Pocono will be one of three long-distance oval races – the others being the traditional Indianapolis 500 and the season-ending Fontana 500 – that will form part of the reinstated ‘Triple Crown’. Should a driver win all three races, they will pocket a $1 million bonus; if they win two, then they’ll earn $250,000.
The addition of these extra races means that next year’s season will finish a month later than the now-finished 2012 campaign.
The 2013 IndyCar Series calendar reads as follows:
| Date | Event | Venue | |
| 24 MAR |  |
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg | Streets of St Petersburg, Florida |
| 07 APR | |
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama | Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama |
| 21 APR | |
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | Long Beach, California |
| 05 MAY |  |
Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 | Streets of São Paulo, Brazil |
| 26 MAY | |
97th Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana |
| 01 JUN | |
Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (Race 1) | Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan |
| 02 JUN | |
Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (Race 2) | Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan |
| 08 JUN | |
Firestone 550 | Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas |
| 15 JUN | |
Milwaukee IndyFest | Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 23 JUN | |
Iowa Corn Indy 250 | Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa |
| 07 JUL | |
Pocono 400 | Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania |
| 13 JUL |  |
Honda Indy Toronto (Race 1) | Streets of Toronto, Canada |
| 14 JUL | |
Honda Indy Toronto (Race 2) | Streets of Toronto, Canada |
| 04 AUG | |
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Ohio |
| 25 AUG | |
Go-Pro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma | Sonoma Raceway, California |
| 01 SEP | |
Grand Prix of Baltimore | Streets of Baltimore, Maryland |
| 05 OCT | |
Shell Grand Prix of Houston (Race 1) | Reliant Park, Houston, Texas |
| 06 OCT | |
Shell Grand Prix of Houston (Race 2) | Reliant Park, Houston, Texas |
| 19 OCT | |
American REALTV 500 | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California |
The calendar could expand further to include a possible street circuit event in the Rhode Island town of Providence – which is reportedly still under negotiations – while rumours continue to swirl that the championship could make a return to its traditional Australian home at Surfers Paradise.
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Richard Bailey
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