Words by Duncan Leahy
I was gutted to hear that the Indy 500 had been postponed. There I sat, hot-lapping on F1 2019, when my phone buzzed with an e-mail notification. Upon closer inspection (ie, taking my phone out of my pocket) I realized it was a press release sent to me by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which confirmed the inevitable, yet still depressing news that IndyCar's 'month of May' at IMS had been delayed.
To be more precise, the scheduled season-opening GMR IndyCar Grand Prix on the IMS road course, as well as all Indy 500-related events had been pushed back from their traditional May dates, to summer ones.
Obviously, this news was hard to digest for fans of the sport, but as I sat writing my mediocre article about the announcement, and thought more about the implications of the decision, I realised that this was good for a number of reasons.
For starters, the temperatures should be cooler. Taking place on August 23rd, the 'greatest spectacle in racing' will enjoy less heat than it would if it took place on its previously scheduled date of May 24th. Not only does this allow the spectators to maintain some level of hydration during the near-three hour race, but it also makes overtaking significantly easier, as was seen in the 2013 race, which had 68 lead changes, mostly due to unseasonably cold weather.
Plus, the postponement is good for more than just one race, or even two. The knock-on effect of this not only benefits the Indy Grand Prix and the Indy 500, but it also helps every race prior to the 500, and here’s why: nobody wants to jump into the hardest race in IndyCar unprepared. If they can help it, at least. It’s for this reason that some drivers run the Indy GP - to prepare. However, now that we have more races preceding the prestigious event, it's highly likely that a driver such as Alonso will want to dip his toes into racing on ovals by driving in the DXC Technologies 600 in Texas, or perhaps the race at Richmond. And, on the assumption that you have half of a brain cell, I'll let you piece together why having a two-time F1 champion and world-renowned driver Fernando Alonso in your series is helpful.
Even with these pros, though, purists will inevitably complain that the 'month of May' should take place in its rightful month... May. However, even the purest of the purists have reason to be happy about this development, as it also means that - like back in the good 'ole days - the 'jewel in the crown' of IndyCar will be followed up by a short oval. Albeit, Gateway isn't exactly the Milwaukee Mile but it's certainly not far from it, and if last year taught us anything, it's that the WWT Raceway is equally deserving of the post-Indy 500 spot, and certainly more so than Detroit's street race.
Factor in all the benefits of having the Indy GP as a double-header with NASCAR (cough cough... Jimmie Johnson) and the fact that the Indy 500 is now in the 'might actually happen' time-frame, and that depressing press release starts to look like thrilling news.