Updated: 2021 IndyCar calendar and standings

The 2020 IndyCar season was a corker, with Scott Dixon crowned champion for the sixth time in the final race of the year, just 12 points ahead of two-time champ Josef Newgarden. But of course a final-race fight doesn’t paint the whole 2020 picture, as the series, like every other around the world, had to adapt quickly to pull a season together at all in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Who will take the title in 2021? Will Scott Dixon equal A.J. Foyt’s seven championships? Will a rookie win the Indy 500? We’ll keep this article updated with any calendar changes and the all-important championship standings.

Update: 2021 IndyCar calendar shortened to 16 races

Updated Tuesday 22^nd June 2021. IndyCar has announced that the 2021 season will be shortened to 16 races, as the Honda Indy Toronto has been cancelled and IndyCar will not be seeking an alternative. Scheduled for 11^th July, the race in Toronto was cancelled in May “due to restrictions in Ontario focusing on COVID-19 health-and-safety measures”. However, the organisers have stated that the “strength of the remainder of the 2021 schedule” means a replacement race is not necessary.

2021 IndyCar calendar

2021 IndyCar Drivers' Championship

How many IndyCar races are there in 2021?

There are 17 IndyCar races in 2021. Three of those races will be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, two at Texas Motor Speedway and two at Belle Isle Park, while the other races visit tracks including Laguna Seca, Road America and Streets of Long Beach.

When is the first IndyCar race of 2021?

The first IndyCar race of 2021 will be the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama held at Barber Motorsports Park. It’s a 90-lap race of a 2.38-mile track with 17 turns.

When is the last IndyCar race of 2021?

The last IndyCar race of 2021 will be the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at Streets of Long Beach. An 85-lap race of this famous street circuit, the track measures 1.968 miles long and has 12 corners.

When is the 2021 Indy 500?

The 2021 Indy 500 will be held on Sunday 30^th May. The 2020 Indy 500 was won by former F1 driver and 2017 Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato.

Who won the 2020 IndyCar championship?

Scott Dixon won the 2020 IndyCar championship, his sixth title. Two-time champion Josef Newgarden finished in second place trailing by 12 points while Carlton Herta came home in third 100 points further back from Newgarden.

How many 2021 IndyCar rookies are there?

There are three rookies entering IndyCar in 2021:

• Romain Grosjean
• Scott McLauglin
• Jimmie Johnson

The three drivers are hardly green… Anyone familiar with Formula 1 or who has seen Drive to Survive will know Romain Grosjean. Having raced in F1 10 F1 seasons, with 10 podiums to his name Grosjean has made the jump to IndyCar with Rick Ware Racing following his departure of the American-owned Haas F1 team at the end of the 2020 season. His exit from F1 was dramatic, with a fiery crash that burnt his hands and feet and meant he couldn’t compete in the two following and final races of the year. Having made a full recovery and completed a number of IndyCar tests he will be racing on street tracks and road courses only, a decision he said was made to protect his family. (Make sure you read our list of drivers who switched from F1 to IndyCar.)

Scott McLaughlin is a three-time Australian Supercars Championship winner, with consecutive titles in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Having started out in karting in his native New Zealand at the age of six he won his first touring car race at the tender age of 17, the youngest person to do so in the NZ Touring Car series. With 251 Australian Supercar starts under his belt McLaughlin has tallied up 105 podiums, 76 pole positions and 56 race wins. For his first season in IndyCar he’ll be racing with Team Penske.

Jimmie Johnson is a NASCAR legend, an 18-year veteran of the series with a record-equalling seven titles to his name, putting him alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as an all-time great. Having started racing on two wheels at the age of four he progressed onto four wheels and made his NASCAR Cup debut in 2001 at the age of 26. The only person to have won five consecutive NASCAR titles (from 2006 to 2010) he has won the Daytona 500 twice and has clocked up 686 NASCAR Cup races, 83 wins and 36 poles. He’s also competed in 93 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

How can I watch IndyCar in 2021?

To watch IndyCar in the USA you’ll need NBC and NBC Sports, included free on many US cable networks. Nine races will be shown live on NBC and the other eight on NBC Sports. To watch races online in the USA you’ll need to subscribe to Peacock Premium, which start at $49.99 per year.

The races start at various times, the earliest being the Indy 500 in May with an 11:00 EST start time, while the latest race is the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in August, at the World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois, with a 20:00 EST start time.

To watch IndyCar in the UK you’ll need Sky Sports F1, with every race broadcast live as they are in the USA. Sky Sports F1 can be added to a regular Sky TV package for £18 per month, while to get Sky TV and Sky Sports F1 together as a new customer will set you back £43 per month plus a £20 set-up fee.

For how to watch IndyCar in Europe and across the rest of the world, you can find out more on the official IndyCar website.

Alternatively, if you want to listen to IndyCar rather than watch it, you can open up IndyCar radio, also available on TuneIn. There are broadcasts on all of the time, and at the time of writing the 2006 Indy 500 was being transmitted in full.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.