2009 IndyCar Schedule Released
By Andrew Cutler
July 31 2008
As the 2008 IndyCar season begins to wind down, it is time to think about what could come with next season. With nearly all of the contracts signed, sealed & delivered, the Indy Racing League has decided to go ahead and release the 2009 IndyCar schedule.
Included therein are a few notable changes from this year's version. Here it is at a glance:
| Date | Track | Layout |
| Sun 5-Apr | Streets of St. Petersburg | 1.8-mile street course |
| Sun 19-Apr | Streets of Long Beach | 1.968-mile street course |
| Sun 26-Apr | Kansas Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 24-May | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 2.5-mile oval |
| Sun 31-May | The Milwaukee Mile | 1.0-mile oval |
| Sat 6-Jun * | Texas Motor Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 21-Jun | Iowa Speedway | .875-mile oval |
| Sat 27-Jun * | Richmond International Raceway | .75-mile oval |
| Sun 5-Jul | Watkins Glen International | 3.4-mile road course |
| Sun 12-Jul | Streets of Toronto | 1.721-mile street course |
| Sun 26-Jul | Edmonton City Centre Airport | 1.973-mile airport course |
| Sat 1-Aug * | Kentucky Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 9-Aug | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | 2.258-mile road course |
| Sun 23-Aug | Infineon Raceway | 2.245-mile road course |
| Sat 29-Aug * | Chicagoland Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 6-Sep | The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | 2.906-mile street course |
| Sat 19-Sep | Twin Ring Motegi | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 11-Oct | Homestead-Miami Speedway | 1.5-mil oval |
As you can see, there are tentatively 18 races, with the Surfers Paradise event still under negotiation for a possible Sept '09 date. Homestead-Miami will move from being the season opener to the finale, and Motegi will also move back several months. 2009 will see Long Beach become a "full" (as opposed to a former CCWS only) event on the list, and a race through the downtown streets of Toronto, a long-time staple of the old CART/CCWS schedule, will make a return appearance.
Nashville Speedway, which has hosted IndyCar events since 2001, has been axed from the roster of venues for next year. "A combination of stuff led to the change," said John Griffin, IRL vice president of public relations. "It's a reflection of unification and the opportunities of the league moving forward."
"We don't think it's a perfect schedule, but we think it's progress towards a much improved schedule," Terry Angstadt, president of the IRL's commercial division.
With no F1 in the states, I was really hoping for that track to make it on the schedule. I will have to think about a trip to Mid-Ohio, I guess.
I love Indy car Racing I have been a fan since I was 8 years old.
My cousin would bring me to the races and she would know all of the drivers back in the late 50's 60's 70's like Loyd Ruby
Bobby Unser, Ale Unser ,Aj Foyt , Jc Aggi the car bilder I also New Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Wally Dal Senior we went to all of the tracks in the north east trenton Langhorn
Pocano she was going with Bobby Marshman when he got killed testing tires for Firestone !! I have a million stories and Pictures as well I would love to go to the drivers banquet after the race it was a blast. I just loved all of those great experiances I will never forgret them
))
Hope to see you around as the season unfolds. I ran a Pick 3 contest for each race last year, & will probably do so again in '09.
Looking forward to April - and hopefully a few more high-profile driver announcements before then.
It would make for an excellent race and would challange the drivers, while still having passing that many of the other road courses do not afford the room for--especially street circuits.
Please advise if this is even on your staff's "radar screen."
Thanks.
I have not heard anything about a road race at IMS. My guess is that the IRL won't consider it out of concern that it might somehow detract from the allure of the Indy 500.