Wikipedia

IndyCar Classic

The IndyCar Classic was an IndyCar Series race that was held at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. The only running of the race took place on March 24, 2019, and was won by Colton Herta. In 2020, the race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was not included on the 2021 IndyCar Series schedule.

IndyCar Classic
IndyCar Series
VenueCircuit of the Americas
First race2019
Last race2019
Distance204.6 miles (329.3 km)
Laps60
Most wins (driver)Colton Herta (1)
Most wins (team)Harding Steinbrenner Racing (1)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chassis: Dallara (1)
Engine: Honda (1)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length3.426 mi (5.514 km)
Turns20
Lap recordWill Power (1:46.0177, Dallara DW12, 2019, IndyCar Series)

History

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Background

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Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, was built to Formula One (F1) specifications to host the United States Grand Prix starting in 2012.[1] Situated in the rolling hills southeast of the city, it is a 20-turn, 3.427-mile (5.515 km) road course.[2][3] In 2018, Phoenix was removed from the 2019 IndyCar Series schedule, which opened up a gap in the calendar.[1] At the same time, COTA chairman and CEO Bobby Epstein emphasized the track's desire to be fully prepared for hosting a new event after previously concentrating on its F1 and MotoGP races.[1]

Furthermore, a territorial restriction agreement that the IndyCar Series had with Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) had previously prevented the series from running races at COTA or other venues in Texas. However, negotiations between IndyCar and TMS president Eddie Gossage resulted in the series giving the track a discounted sanction fee in exchange for TMS allowing the series to schedule other races in Texas.[4][5] At the time of the negotiations in August 2018, Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star speculated that the new deal between the series and TMS would allow IndyCar to run at either COTA or a new street circuit in San Antonio.[5] Ultimately, the series scheduled a race in Austin as a replacement for its former Phoenix race.[4][6] While Gossage had previously expressed concern that Texas could not adequately support two IndyCar races, Epstein opined that TMS and COTA are far enough apart that their races will not adversely affect each other.[3]

The IndyCar Classic was one of two additions to the 2019 IndyCar Series schedule,[7] which officially revealed that COTA had obtained a race as part of a multi-year agreement when it was released on September 4, 2018.[3][8] COTA was joined on the 2019 schedule by a revived Grand Prix of Monterey on September 22, the season finale and the first IndyCar race at Laguna Seca in 15 years.[7] COTA's IndyCar Classic was the second race of the 2019 season,[9][10] following the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg two weeks earlier on March 10.[3][6][10] The placement of the Austin race, as well as the forward shift of the Grand Prix of Alabama that followed it, reduced the number of long gaps in the early portion of the season.[3][6]

 
Pit lane at Circuit of the Americas

The 2019 IndyCar Classic was also the first time that American open-wheel cars and F1 raced at the same track during the same season since 2006, when the now-defunct Champ Car World Series and F1 both raced at Montreal.[10] In September 2018, COTA was considering modifying its track layout for the IndyCar Classic, similarly to what it had previously done for the Australian-based V8 Supercars Austin 400 race, but Epstein did not speculate about what modifications might be made.[11] In its F1 layout at 3.427 miles (5.515 km) in length, COTA was the second-longest track on IndyCar's 2019 schedule, trailing only Road America at 4.048 miles (6.515 km) long.[3]

Testing

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In late October 2018, Tony Kanaan and Alexander Rossi became the first IndyCar drivers to test at COTA.[1][10] The entire field of full-season drivers tested at the track for the series-mandated IndyCar Spring Training on February 12–13, 2019.[7][12] The second day featured an open period during which each team had 11 hours to test the performance of its cars, while there was also nearly 5 hours of testing for Indy Lights teams.[10]

Rookie Colton Herta described the racing at COTA as likely to be "spectacular" because of the overtaking opportunities it offers.[1] Rossi, who finished 12th in the 2015 United States Grand Prix at COTA racing for Manor Marussia, stated he was "very happy" that the IndyCar Series is "headed to the best road course".[2] He also described COTA as "unlike any other track...by far the smoothest, widest track that we have".[10] Andretti Autosport CEO Michael Andretti added that he had "been pushing for this race for a long time".[13]

2019

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The inaugural IndyCar Classic was held at COTA on March 24, 2019.[7][9] It was a 60-lap event that was won by rookie Colton Herta of Harding Steinbrenner Racing, who became the youngest race winner in IndyCar Series history at 18 years, 11 months, and 25 days of age.[14][15]

Muse played a headlining concert the night before the race, on Saturday, March 23.[1] Additional concerts (including one by local act Asleep at the Wheel) and RV camping took place during the entire race weekend, between Friday, March 22, and Sunday, March 24.[1]

2020 and cancellation

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AutoNation IndyCar Challenge race logo

The 2020 race, which would have been renamed the IndyCar Challenge and would have been sponsored by AutoNation, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16][17] The race was not included on the 2021 IndyCar Series schedule.[18]

Race results

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NTT IndyCar Series

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Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph) 		Report Ref
Laps Miles (km)
2019 March 24   Colton Herta Harding Steinbrenner Racing Dallara Honda 60 204.6 (329.3) 2:00:02 102.271 Report [19]
2020 April 26 Canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic [18]

Support events

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Indy Lights

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Season Date Winning Driver Winning Team Chassis Engine Refs
2019 March 23   Oliver Askew Andretti Autosport Dallara AER [20][21]
March 24   Oliver Askew Andretti Autosport Dallara AER [22][23]
2020 Canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic[24]

Stadium Super Trucks

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Season Date Winning Driver Ref
2019 March 23   Blade Hildebrand [25]
March 24   Matthew Brabham [26]

GT World Challenge America

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Season Date Winning Driver
2020 Canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Bils, Chris (November 14, 2018). "A long time coming, IndyCar Classic to bring American racing stars to COTA". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Olson, Jeff (September 5, 2018). "INDYCAR drivers already geared up for 2019 Austin race". IndyCar Series. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ayello, Jim (September 4, 2018). "IndyCar finalizes 2019 schedule with addition of Circuit of the Americas". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Miller, Robin (September 4, 2018). "COTA to join 17-race 2019 IndyCar schedule". Racer. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Ayello, Jim (August 17, 2018). "Upcoming TMS-IndyCar deal could allow for races at COTA, San Antonio". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c VanTryon, Matthew; Benbow, Dana Hunsinger (January 9, 2019). "New NBC partnership with IndyCar, still no live broadcast for Indianapolis". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d Wilson, Phillip B. (February 8, 2019). "Hits keep on coming: recent news highlights INDYCAR growth". IndyCar Series. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Crawford, Dakota (September 4, 2018). "INDYCAR fans going cuckoo over COTA". IndyCar Series. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Petrowski, Lauren (November 16, 2018). "IndyCar Classic at Circuit of the Americas". KTBC. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Bils, Chris (January 11, 2019). "IndyCar spring training will be open to public at COTA". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  11. ^ Medland, Chris (September 4, 2018). "COTA evaluating track modifications for IndyCar". Racer. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  12. ^ Brudenell, Mike (February 5, 2019). "Pieces in place, Rahal says team is striving for consistency in 2019". IndyCar Series. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  13. ^ Barnes, Joey (November 12, 2018). "INDYCAR hearts are racing to race at Circuit of the Americas". IndyCar Series. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  14. ^ Robinson, Mark (March 24, 2019). "Herta becomes youngest race winner in Indy car history". IndyCar Series. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  15. ^ Eubanks, Michael (March 24, 2019). "Colton Herta wins inaugural IndyCar Classic at COTA, becomes youngest winner in series history". NBCSports. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  16. ^ Martin, Bruce (March 13, 2020). "IndyCar cancels opener; all races through April also canceled". NBCSports. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  17. ^ "Circuit of the Americas Welcomes AutoNation IndyCar Challenge April 24-26, 2020". Circuit of the Americas. October 15, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Burkhart, Ross (October 1, 2020). "IndyCar Series won't stop at Circuit of the Americas in 2021". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  19. ^ "2019 IndyCar Classic". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "2019 Circuit of the Americas (1)". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "2019 Austin Indy Lights". Motor Sport. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "2019 Circuit of the Americas (2)". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  23. ^ "2019 Austin Indy Lights – Round 2". Motor Sport. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  24. ^ Ryan, Nate (June 1, 2020). "Indy Lights announces cancellation of 2020 season; will return in 2021". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  25. ^ "Round 1 – Austin, Texas – 3/23/19". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  26. ^ "Round 2 – Austin, Texas – 3/24/19". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
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