IndyCar to open 17-race schedule in February next season

By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) — IndyCar’s extended partnership with NBC Sports yielded an additional bonus for next year’s schedule, which was already earmarked to air the most races ever on network broadcast. The three-year extension announced with the network in July touted a record 13 races on main NBC. That number was actually expanded to 14 races on the 17-race schedule released Sunday. The season will start in February for the first time since 2004. The Feb. 27 opener on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, is a week after NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500 and the earliest start for the IndyCar Series since 2003.