IndyCar releases schedule for 2023 season

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.

Here’s the 2023 IndyCar schedule:

Date	Race/Track	Network/Platform	Time (ET)
Sun., March 5	Streets of St. Petersburg	NBC, Peacock	Noon
Sun., April 2	Texas Motor Speedway	NBC, Peacock	Noon
Sun., April 16	Streets of Long Beach	NBC, Peacock	3 p.m.
Sun., April 30	Barber Motorsports Park	NBC, Peacock	3 p.m.
Sat., May 13	Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course)	NBC, Peacock	3:30 p.m.
Sat., May 20	Indianapolis 500 Qualifying	NBC, Peacock	3 p.m.
Sun., May 21	Indianapolis 500 Qualifying	NBC, Peacock	2 p.m.
Sun., May 28	The 107^th Indianapolis 500	NBC, Peacock	11 a.m.
Sun., June 4	Streets of Detroit	NBC, Peacock	3 p.m.
Sun., June 18	Road America	USA Network, Peacock	1 p.m.
Sun., July 2	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	USA Network, Peacock	1:30 p.m.
Sun., July 16	Streets of Toronto	Peacock	1:30 p.m.
Sat., July 22	Iowa Speedway – Race 1	NBC, Peacock	3 p.m.
Sun., July 23	Iowa Speedway – Race 2	NBC, Peacock	2 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 6	Streets of Nashville	NBC, Peacock	Noon
Sat., Aug. 12	Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course)	USA Network, Peacock	2 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 27	World Wide Technology Raceway	NBC, Peacock	3:30 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 3	Portland International Raceway	NBC, Peacock	3 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 10	WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca	NBC, Peacock	2:30 p.m.

*dates and networks/platforms are subject to change

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”