If you watched the Superbowl or the Daytona 500 at all, you probably noticed the influx of Indycar commercials. I know I sure did. Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden, and Pato O’Ward all made their “Superbowl Cameos” as Fox tries to sell the upcoming season of Indycar. With that being said, all races this season will be on Fox, along with practices and qualification on FS1 and 2. This is a change from last year, as the races were broadcast on a myriad of NBC stations, including NBC, USA, Peacock, and even CNBC!
For Indycar, Roger Penske sees this as a win to have all races on Fox. So, with that, let’s take a look at the 2025 Indycar Schedule.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The season premiere race for Indycar, Indycar started coming to St. Pete in 2003 with a CART race but it wouldn’t be until 2005 when it would switch to the Indycar series. In 2009, the series would open in St. Pete and since 2011, it’s been the staple first race of the series. The street course is 1.808 miles and features 14 turns. Josef Newgarden holds the track record with a 1:00.6795 lap.
Last year, Josef Newgarden won the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete, but the win was taken away from him as his team had exploited the “push to pass” system. He along with Scott McLaughlin and Will Power were all given penalties at the race, with Newgarden and McLaughlin receiving the stiffest penalties being disqualified. Power was given a 10-point penalty. Pato O’Ward was given the race win despite never leading a lap.
1. Pato O’Ward
2. Will Power
3. Colton Herta
This year, the race will be held on March 2nd at 12 PM ET.
The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix
Last year, the Thermal Club Indycar race was run as an exhibition “All-Star” Type Race. The brand new circuit is in Thermal, California, and the “$1 million challenge” wasn’t well received among most Indycar fans. Regardless, Alex Palou pulled the victory on the 3.067-mile road course that features a staggering 17 turns. Last year’s race saw turmoil on the opening lap of the first heat as Scott Dixon and Romain Grosjean got into it. Felix Rosenqvist would win the first heat, but Palou would dominate the rest of the way.
1. Alex Palou
2. Scott Mclaughlin
3. Felix Rosenqvist
This year the race is a full points race with laps and miles still yet to be determined. The race is set for March 23rd on the road course with a 3 PM ET start time.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Streets of Long Beach saw chaos, excitement, and thrills as Scott Dixon somehow hung on in a fuel-saving race win as Colton Herta ran into the back of Josef Newgarden, causing Newgarden’s #2 Penske Chevy to go into anti-stall. The race left many scratching their heads, trying to figure out how Dixon was able to win it, leading 42 laps.
1. Scott Dixon
2. Colton Herta
3. Alex Palou
The Grand Prix of Long Beach is the second oldest continually raced IndyCar race on the circuit, behind the Indy 500. Generally, in April, this is the only Indycar race the entire month. It is well-loved among the drivers. The track is a street circuit that is 1.968 miles long and has been run for 85 laps. This year, the race will be held on April 13th at 4:30 PM ET and will feature a change from 85 laps to 90.
Barber Motorsports Park
Ahh Barber. Home of some of the most bizarre things you could ever find at a racetrack. Scott McLaughlin won last year, but his win was overshadowed by a mannequin. Yes, a mannequin that fell from an overpass. “Georgina” was hanging and fell during lap 52, amusing some drivers and even confusing one driver who thought it was a real person. Regardless, McLaughlin would dominate for his second win in a row at Barber (he also won in 2023).
1. Scott McLaughlin
2. Will Power
3. Linus Lundqvist
The road course is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and is 2.38 miles long with 15 turns. Team Penske seems to have a grip on this track, with seven wins since the first race in 2010. Josef Newgarden has won this race three times. The race is set to take place this year on May 4th at 1:30 PM ET.
IMS Road Course
Alex Palou. That’s the sentence. Alex Palou. The man has dominated at the IMS Road course the last two years with back-to-back wins and won by a lot in both races (+6 and +16!). It’s been Palou’s race that has propelled him at the start of May and has been kind of the staple win for him when it came to his championship runs in the last two years. This last year was a dominating show as he led 39 of the 85 laps.
1. Alex Palou
2. Will Power
3. Christian Lundgaard
After holding the race twice through the COVID years, last year was the first year since 2019 where the event was only run once for the season. The track has been used since 2014 and the road course features 14 turns and is 2.439 miles long. The race is 85 laps. This year the race will be held on May 10th, 2025 at 4:30 PM ET.
The 109th Running Of The Indianapolis 500
The absolute pinnacle of Indycar racing and one of the finest races in all of motorsports, the Indy 500 packs a powerful punch with almost 3 weeks of preparation. Josef Newgarden has won back-to-back at Indy and is looking for rarified air if he can pick up his third win in a row. Many drivers are throwing it all on the line for this year’s race (as they do every year) but there are so many interesting storylines to follow in this race it would be impossible to get to all of them here in this story. Will Scott Dixon win another before he inevitably retires? Will Alex Palou or Pato O’Ward finally get their milk? 200 miles. 500 laps. Etch your name into history. The story writes itself. This last year, Newgarden charged hard on the outside past a leading O’Ward for the victory. O’Ward was seen very shaken up, given how emotional this race can be.
1. Josef Newgarden
2. Pato O’ Ward
3. Scott Dixon
This year’s race is on May 25th with prerace festivities starting at 10 AM ET.
Streets Of Detroit
For the second straight year, Indycar was back on the streets of Detroit, a fairly different race than what was run at Belle Isle. This last year saw much of the same as the inaugural race, with a “fight to survive” mentality as yellows filled the air and teams played bumper cars together. Scott Dixon picked up the win last year in a race that saw only nine drivers finish on the lead lap.
1. Scott Dixon
2 . Pato O’ Ward
3. Josef Newgarden
This year, the race will be held on June 1st at 12:30 PM ET. The race is 1.645 miles and features nine turns and will be broadcast on Fox.
WWT Raceway
It’s our second oval track on the season and the first real big change from last year as this race gets moved from its August slot to June. The track features two very distinct curves and four distinct corners. Last year, Josef Newgarden continued his domination of ovals (Seriously, JoNew just has this thing about oval track racing). The race was held in the late afternoon evening, and while many have been pushing for this race to be a “pure evening race” it won’t happen this year, the race is slated to start at 3 PM Eastern.
1. Josef Newgarden
2. Scott McLaughlin
3. Linus Lundqvist
The track is 1.25 miles long and will be a 260-lap race. Josef Newgarden has won at WWT 5 times.
Road America
Road America was first established in 1955. With 14 turns and four miles in length, Road America is one of the longer circuits that the Indycar field will race at. Since 2019, there have been six different winners at this track and it proves a challenge for even the most skilled drivers. Josef Newgarden would be involved in a huge wreck during qualifying but would finish the actual race quite well, as Penske found speed during the race itself, claiming all three top spots. Linus Lundqvist took the pole, but a first-turn crash took out teammates, as Marcus Armstrong and Lundqvist got collected up in the wreck. Will Power would pull away at the end of the race for a big statement win for his first in two years.
1. Will Power
2. Josef Newgarden
3. Scott McLaughlin
This year the race will be held on June 22nd at 3:30 PM ET. The race will be 55 laps for 220.77 miles.
Mid Ohio Sports Course
Indycar describes Mid Ohio as “a 2.258-mile, 13-turn natural-terrain road course that offers a little of everything — elevation changes, high-speed corners, flowing corners, tight corners, a narrow (40 feet) racing ribbon and a challenging entry to pit lane.” It’s so much more than that, though. This road course takes a life of its own every race an,d in the last 12 years, has only had two repeat drivers: Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden. Last year, Pato O’Ward would win his second race of the season and first outright (Josef Newgarden’s win was taken away at St. Pete). This was the first race of the Indycar era that featured hybrid engines.
1. Pato O’Ward
2. Alex Palou
3. Scott McLaughlin
This race will jump from 80 laps for 180 miles to 90 laps to 202 miles. It will take place on July 6th at 2 PM ET.
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway will hold two dual races on Saturday and Sunday. “The world’s fastest short track” delivers hard, strong racing where laps can be done in 18 seconds. Hy-Vee has done a fantastic job sponsoring this race, bringing in massive musical acts (usually four of them) to cap off each race, and the racing delivers. Another track that Josef Newgarden loves (5x winner), Scott McLaughlin and Will Power won the races here last year.
Race 1
1. Scott McLaughlin
2. Pato O’ Ward
3. Josef Newgarden
Race 2
1. Will Power
2. Alex Palou
3. Scott McLaughlin
This year race 1 and 2 were set to be 250 laps for 223.5 Miles but have been updated to 275 laps for 481 miles total. Race 1 will start at 5 PM on July 12th. Race 2 will start at 2 PM on July 13th.
Streets Of Toronto
From the short track to the streets North of the Border. The Toronto race is an 11-turn, 1.786-mile lap that features breathtaking views, sharp twisting turns, and narrow spaces. A track that Scott Dixon absolutely loves (He’s won there 4 times), it would be Colton Herta crossing the finish line first in 2024. The race was another accident-heavy race for the drivers as only 12 drivers of the 27 finished on the lead lap, and only 15 actually finished the race.
1. Colton Herta
2. Kyle Kirkwood
3. Scott Dixon
The Toronto Race will take place on July 20th at 2 PM ET. The race was set to feature 85 laps for 151 miles but will now be 90 laps for 160 miles.
Laguna Seca
The corkscrew. The track (which looks like Bart Simpson’s head) is a winding 2.238 mile road course that features 11 turns. The track was built in 1957 and has undergone several changes over the last 50 years into the track that we know and love today. One of Colton Herta’s favorite tracks to race on, the Indycar Grand Prix of Monterey has been a part of the Indycar circuit off and on since 1983 but has been a staple of the series since 2019. This last year, Alex Palou won the race in dominating fashion. He led 48 of the 95 laps, won pole, and won by 2 1/2 seconds over Herta. Other than a few incidents, it was a relatively clean race, with 19 of the 27 drivers finishing on the lead lap.
1. Alex Palou
2. Colton Herta
3. Alexander Rossi
This year’s race will be 95 laps for 212.61 miles. The race will start at 3 PM ET on July 27th.
Portland International Raceway
Opening in 1961 in the city of Vanport, Oregon, before flooding destroyed it, Portland International Raceway features 12 turns and is 1.964 miles. The biggest part of this race is a hard chicane right off the start, coming off the long straightaway that drivers must navigate. Take it to far outside and lose a bunch of time. Take it too far inside and you’re in the wall. The series came back after a hiatus in 2018. The race has had four different winners since then, with Will Power winning twice and Alex Palou winning twice. This last season, Will Power won with little challenge, leading 101 laps of the 110 and finishing nearly ten seconds ahead of Alex Palou.
1. Will Power
2. Alex Palou
3. Josef Newgarden
This year’s race will take place on August 10th, run for 110 laps, and start at 3 PM ET.
Milwaukee Mile
Indycar triumphantly returned to the Milwaukee Mile last year after a long hiatus. The last time the Indycar circuit raced at the oval was in 2015, when Sebastien Bourdais picked up a win. Poor attendance ended Indycar’s involvement in 2016. The series also didn’t run in Milwaukee in 2010. The speedway is the oldest operating motor speedway in the world and has hosted at least one auto race every year from 1903 until now, other than WW2. In 2024, two races were held, with Pato O Ward winning the first and Scott McLaughlin winning the second.
Race 1
1. Pato O’ Ward
2. Will Power
3. Conor Daly
Race 2
1. Scott Mclaughlin
2. Scott Dixon
3. Colton Herta
This year, there will only be one race taking place on August 24th at 2 PM ET.
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville changed from the road course to the speedway last year after some conflicts popped up. The last race of the season, while it has changed locations several times, has determined the winner of the series nearly every year. First ran in 2021 after a hiatus since 2008, the race has seen a different winner each year. This year, Colton Herta snuck in a win in a big way defeating hard-charging Pato O’Ward for the victory and while the focus was on Alex Palou, Indycar fans were left wondering was the win a sign of things to come for 2025 for Herta.
1. Colton Herta
2. Pato O’Ward
3. Josef Newgarden
Of course, the big winner was Alex Palou, who solidified yet another championship. The Spaniard has now won 3 championships (2021, 2023, 2024). This year’s race will be held on August 31st at 2:30 PM and will feature 225 laps for 300 miles.
Image Credit: Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
