The NTT IndyCar Series was supposed to kick off the 2020 season this weekend in St, Petersburg, Florida. The series announced today, in what was supposed to be the first day of practice, that the start of the season will now take place in May. All events, including the April 28 Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, have been canceled/postponed and further details will be provided in due time. The decision comes in response to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Here is the full statement from the series:

“After careful consideration, including regular communication with our event promoters, health officials, and the city administrations in our respective race markets regarding COVID-19, we have made the decision to cancel all NTT INDYCAR Series events through April. This begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg which was to begin today and run through Sunday, March 15 and continues through the AutoNation INDYCAR Challenge at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas which was to take place April 24-26. Although we are disappointed to delay the start to this INDYCAR season and will miss our incredible fans who support us each year in St. Petersburg, Birmingham, Long Beach, and Austin, the safety of our fans, participants, staff, partners, and media will always remain our top priority. We will continue to coordinate with public health experts and government officials as we determine the appropriate plans for resuming our schedule.”

Mark Miles said that the focus is now on the Month of May at Indianapolis. The first race of the season is tentatively set to be the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 9. The 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is still scheduled for May 24.

Miles stated during a teleconference, “We are absolutely focused on May. We’re all still in St. Petersburg, Florida right now, I’m with Doug Boles and we’re going to go home and keep doing what we do and be absolutely ready with the normal schedule. We will obviously evaluate everything every day by the hour and we’ll make any changes we have to make, but our mindset and our efforts are completely dedicated to being able to put on a great show.”