IndyCar weekend schedule Mid-Ohio races Saturday Sunday

The NTT IndyCar Series’ 2020 season will begin its stretch run with a doubleheader weekend schedule at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The Saturday-Sunday race weekend doubleheader will be the beginning of five consecutive races on road and street courses to close the season.

After Mid-Ohio, the circuit will race Oct. 2-3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and then close the season Oct. 25 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Mid-Ohio will be open to a limited crowd because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Points leader Scott Dixon won IndyCar’s race last year at Mid-Ohio, leading 38 of the final 45 laps and fending off a strong charge by Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist to win by 0.093 seconds.

IndyCar weekend schedule Mid-Ohio — *Scott Dixon celebrates his 2019 victory at Mid-Ohio with teammate Felix Rosenqvist, who finished second (Joe Skibinski/IndyCar).*

IndyCar will be on track only Saturday and Sunday, but its USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 ladder series will be on track starting Friday and also racing multiple times during the weekend.

Here’s the IndyCar weekend schedule for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

(All times are Eastern)

IndyCar weekend schedule: Friday, Sept. 11

8:30 a.m. — USF2000 practice
10:30 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice
11:30 a.m. — USF2000 qualifying 1
1:30 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 qualifying 1
2:30 p.m. — USF2000 qualifying 2
4:10 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying 2

IndyCar weekend schedule: Saturday, Sept. 12

8:30 a.m. — USF2000 Race 1
10:45 a.m.-noon — NTT IndyCar Series practice (NBC Sports Gold)
12:15 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 Race 1
1:05 p.m. — USF2000 Race 2
2 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series qualifying 1 (NBC Sports Gold)
5 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series Race 1 on NBCSN

IndyCar weekend schedule: Sunday, Sept. 13

9 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 Race 2
10:15 a.m. — IndyCar qualifying 2 (NBC Sports Gold)
11:15 a.m. — USF2000 Race 3
1 p.m. — NTT IndyCar Series Race 2 on NBC

In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

IndyCar weekend doubleheader schedule at Mid-Ohio

Here’s the IndyCar weekend schedule for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

IndyCar weekend schedule: Friday, Sept. 11

IndyCar weekend schedule: Saturday, Sept. 12

IndyCar weekend schedule: Sunday, Sept. 13

SuperMotocross set to introduce Leader Lights beginning with the World Championship finals

Here’s the IndyCar weekend schedule for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

IndyCar weekend schedule: Friday, Sept. 11

IndyCar weekend schedule: Saturday, Sept. 12

IndyCar weekend schedule: Sunday, Sept. 13

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