The Indianapolis 500 scheduled for May 24th has been postponed until August because of the coronavirus pandemic and won't run on Memorial Day weekend for the first time since 1946.
The race will instead be held on Sunday August 23rd.
IndyCar initially said it would resume racing May 9th on the road course at Indianapolis.
That race will now be run on July 4th, a day before NASCAR races at The Brickyard.
“The month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is my favorite time of year, and like our fans, I am disappointed that we have had to reschedule the Indianapolis 500,” said motorsports giant Roger Penske, who finalized his purchase of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier this year.
“However, the health and safety of our event participants and spectators is our top priority, and we believe that postponing the event is the responsible decision with the conditions and restrictions we are facing," he said Thursday. "We will continue to focus on ways we can enhance the customer experience in the months ahead, and I’m confident we will welcome fans with a transformed facility and a global spectacle when we run the world’s greatest race.”
The Indianapolis 500 began in 1911 but did not run in 1917, 1918, and from 1941-45 because of World Wars I and II.
Tony Hulman bought the neglected speedway after the second war and the Indy 500 returned on Memorial Day weekend in 1946 and has been scheduled for that weekend every year since.