The IZOD IndyCar Series has announced its 2013 schedule highlighted by an expanded slate with three doubleheaders – including one in Toronto – and a new Triple Crown feature.
The 2013 season also includes the return of Indy car racing to Pocono Raceway, which last hosted an IndyCar race in 1989, as well as the streets of Houston.
In addition to Toronto, the all-new Saturday-Sunday doubleheaders are scheduled for the street courses at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park and Houston’s Reliant Park course. There is an implementation of standing starts at the three courses.
Edmonton will not have an open-wheel race for the first time in nine years after Octane Motorsports dropped out as promoter and the city decided not to pursue a replacement.
With the addition of the 400-mile race at Pocono Raceway, the IZOD IndyCar Series will institute a Triple Crown award which will pay a $1 million bonus to a driver that wins at Pocono, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Auto Club Speedway. A driver that wins two of the three races will be awarded a $250,000 bonus.
“We are proud of the on-track product we provided in 2012,” said Randy Bernard, CEO, INDYCAR in a press release.
“From the drivers to the new car, we demonstrated that the IZOD IndyCar Series is showcasing the best racing in the world.
“It is important to provide opportunities to generate additional exposure for our sport by expanding our racing schedule, and we feel that our 2013 schedule will certainly challenge the fastest, most versatile drivers in the world with a strong mix of ovals and road and street courses, cumulating in 19 races.”
Canada’s James Hinchcliffe shined in his first season at Andretti Autosport. The Oakville, Ont., native cracked the podium twice and finished within the top 10 a total of eight times in 2012.
“Our new events provide the right mix of strategically-located markets and historic tradition to our schedule. Houston gives us exposure in another top-10 U.S. market. Pocono is deep in open-wheel, oval racing tradition and has produced some of the most memorable races in Indy car history. The addition of Pocono allows us to bring back a version of the Triple Crown, restoring a popular legacy of our sport to reward the champion of our three longest races of the season,” Bernard added.
All IZOD IndyCar Series races will air live on Sportsnet with broadcast times to be determined.
2013 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE |
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| Date | Race | Location | |
| March 24 | Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Fla. | |
| April 7 | Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama | Birmingham, Ala. | |
| April 21 | 39th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | Long Beach, Calif. | |
| May 5 | Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 | Sao Paulo, Brazil | |
| May 26 | 97th Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis, Ind. | |
| June 1-2 | Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix | Detroit, Mich. | |
| June 8 | Firestone 550 | Forth Worth, Texas | |
| June 15 | Milwaukee IndyFest | Milwaukee, Wisc. | |
| June 23 | Iowa Corn Indy 250 | Newton, Iowa | |
| July 7 | 400-mile race at Pocono Raceway | Long Pond, Pa. | |
| July 13-14 | Honda Indy Toronto | Toronto, Ont. | |
| Aug. 4 | Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio | Lexington, Ohio | |
| Aug. 25 | GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma | Sonoma, Calif. | |
| Sept. 1 | Grand Prix of Baltimore | Baltimore, Maryland | |
| Oct. 5-6 | Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston | Houston, Texas | |
| Oct. 12 | IndyCar World Championships* | Fontana, Calif. | |
*Denotes night race
Schedule subject to change