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| Photo Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar |
The start of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar season was delayed three weeks due to the cancellation of the opening round in Brazil. Having planned to run the feature race on March 8th at Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, the round was withdrawn by promoters. Reportedly, government funding to the race was pulled resulting the IndyCar season having to wait until March 29th's race in St. Petersburg to open the 2015 series.
With 16 points-paying races including 'the month of May' festivities at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series tour consists of ten road courses and six ovals.
Big Easy Debut
One new race venue added to the 2015 Verizon IndyCar tour is the series' first-ever stop in the state of Louisiana. To be held on a 13-turn, 2.74-mile course at NOLA Motorsports Park, the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana is taking place at facility opened just four years ago. Located in Avondale, the race track is only 20 minutes away from downtown New Orleans. NOLA Motorsports Park has previously hosted the AMA Pro Superbike Championship and the Cooper Tires Winterfest for USF2000 cars.Big Moves
A change that will likely lead to some discourse with fans of IndyCar, the Fontana race is not going to be the final race in the season. The high-speed 500-mile event at the two-mile Auto Club Speedway has been moved to June 27th. The series will still end in California though with Sonoma Raceway hosting the 2015 IndyCar finale.The Pocono Raceway event is the second-to-last race in the season on August 23rd after being held in early July in the two previous years. While Pocono Raceway's date has been moved deeper into the season, the race date for the Honda Indy Toronto has been pressed forward to June 14th. Having been held in July since its inception in 1986, the city street course event has been moved to accommodate the Pan-Am games that will be held in Toronto during July.
Double Dropping of Double Race Format
One major change coming in 2015 is the massive regression of the double-race weekend. The experiment has been dropped for the Toronto IndyCar event. The Houston race in Reliant Park was also a double-race for 2014 but the venue has been dropped completely from the 2015 calendar after two years.
The only remaining event to function with a double race formula for 2015 will be the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit on the Belle Isle circuit.
2015 IndyCar Series Schedule
Date Event Location Track Length/Layout
March 29
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Streets of St. Petersburg
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St. Petersburg, FL
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1.8-mile street course
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April 12
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NOLA Motorsports Park
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Avondale, LA
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2.74-mile road course
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April 19
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Streets of Long Beach
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Long Beach, CA
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1.968-mile street course
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April 26
|
Barber Motorsports Park
|
Birmingham, AL
|
2.38-mile road course
| |
May 9
|
Grand Prix of Indianapolis
|
Indianapolis, IN
|
2.4346-mile road course
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May 16-17
|
Indianapolis 500 Qualifying
|
Indianapolis, IN
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2.5-mile oval
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May 22
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Carb Day
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Indianapolis, IN
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2.5-mile oval
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May 24
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Indianapolis 500
|
Indianapolis, IN
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2.5-mile oval
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May 30
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Raceway at Belle Isle Park
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Detroit, MI
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2.35-mile street course
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May 31
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Raceway at Belle Isle Park
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Detroit, MI
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2.35-mile street course
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June 6
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Texas Motor Speedway
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Fort Worth, TX
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1.5-mile oval
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June 14
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Streets of Toronto
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Toronto, Canada
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1.75-mile street course
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June 27
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Auto Club Speedway
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Fontana, CA
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2-mile oval
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July 12
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The Milwaukee Mile
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Milwaukee, WI
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1-mile oval
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July 18
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Iowa Speedway
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Newton, IA
|
.875-mile oval
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Aug. 2
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Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
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Lexington, OH
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2.258-mile road course
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Aug. 23
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Pocono Raceway
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Long Pond, PA
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2.5-mile oval
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Aug. 30
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Sonoma Raceway
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Sonoma, CA
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2.385-mile road course
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