Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hopes of becoming a Sprint Cup champion took a major hit out of the gate last night at Chicagoland Speedway, where things turned bad for him and then got much worse.
The NTT IndyCar Series’ 2023 schedule will feature the same number of races and tracks as this season with some minor reshuffling of dates.
IndyCar will open the 2023 season March 5 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, and will conclude Sept. 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The 107th Indy 500 will take place May 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 17-race schedule will conclude with a stretch of eight races in the final nine weeks.
“The NTT IndyCar Series is on an impactful upward trajectory, making progress at a pace that befits our thrilling style of competition,” Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “The 2023 season provides an opportunity to further build on this trend, bringing our sport and its stars to more markets and households and reaching new consumers across the globe.”
There will be 15 events on NBC: 13 races (including six of the final seven) plus Indy 500 qualifying May 20-21. There also are three races on USA Network and the Toronto race exclusively on Peacock. All races on NBC and USA also will have live simulstreams on Peacock.
In partnership with NBC Sports, the 2022 IndyCar season was the most-watched in six years and the most-watched across NBC Sports on record. The 2022 season also was the most streamed season on record.
“We’re very excited for our 2023 NTT IndyCar Series schedule and to build on this past season’s viewership milestones,” NBC Sports vice president of programming Mike Perman said in a release. “In providing comprehensive coverage across NBC, Peacock and USA Network, NBC Sports is once again looking forward to telling the stories of these world-class drivers and this compelling series.”
Notable elements on the 2023 schedule:
–There will be the same balance of seven road course races, five street courses and five ovals.
–St. Pete will be the season opener for the 13th time.
–The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix will move from Belle Isle to the streets of downtown.
–The NASCAR doubleheader weekend at the IMS road course will shift to mid-August.
–The World Wide Technology Raceway event will move from Saturday to Sunday.
Start times for the 2023 events will be announced at a later date.
Here’s the 2023 IndyCar schedule:
| Date | Race/Track | Network/Platform |
| Sun., March 5 | Streets of St. Petersburg | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., April 2 | Texas Motor Speedway | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., April 16 | Streets of Long Beach | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., April 30 | Barber Motorsports Park | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat., May 13 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course) | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., May 28 | The 107th Indianapolis 500 | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., June 4 | Streets of Detroit | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., June 18 | Road America | USA Network, Peacock |
| Sun., July 2 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | USA Network, Peacock |
| Sun., July 16 | Streets of Toronto | Peacock |
| Sat., July 22 | Iowa Speedway – Race 1 | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., July 23 | Iowa Speedway – Race 2 | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., Aug. 6 | Streets of Nashville | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat., Aug. 12 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course) | USA Network, Peacock |
| Sun., Aug. 27 | World Wide Technology Raceway | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., Sept. 3 | Portland International Raceway | NBC, Peacock |
| Sun., Sept. 10 | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca | NBC, Peacock |
*dates and networks/platforms are subject to change