Indianapolis 500 Postponed Until August

The Indianapolis 500 has joined the ranks of sporting events postponed due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic. Roger Penske, the auto racing titan who now owns both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Racing, announced the postponement on March 26th. The annual Memorial Day weekend event, which was slated for May 24th this year, is now scheduled for Sunday, August 23rd, with qualifying on August 15th-16th.

The first Indianapolis 500 was in 1911. The event was not held in 1917-18 or 1942-45 because of the two World Wars. In all the years that the race has been run, it has always been scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, and even if there were weather delays, the race has always been completed by May 31st, and has never been run in any other month.

Here’s a highlight reel from the 2019 Indianapolis 500, won by French driver–and a member of Team Penske–Simon Pagenaud: