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| - IndyCar announced plans Thursday for a 17-race campaign in 2021, highlighted by the Indianapolis 500 on May 30, after coronavirus shortened this year's season to only 14 events. The US-based open-wheel series will stage races Friday and Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and a season finale on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 25. Next year's lineup sees the return of such classic courses as Long Beach, Alabama, Detroit, Toronto, Portland and Laguna Seca, where the 2021 finale is scheduled on September 19. All of those courses had races that were called off this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 season will open March 7 at St. Petersburg with races following in April at Alabama and Long Beach and a May 1-2 doubleheader on the Texas Motor Speedway oval. "To have not just one oval race, but two, before racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May is strategically very important," Penske Entertainment Corporation president Mark Miles said. An Indy road course race will be staged May 15 ahead of the 500 with a June 12-13 double-header in Detroit, a June 20 race at Road America and July events at Mid-Ohio, Toronto and a new street event August 8 at Nashville, Tennessee. "We couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to race on the streets of Nashville," Miles said. Another Indy road course race follows on August 14 followed a week later by an event in suburban St. Louis, then a September 12 race at Portland, Oregon, and the finale in California a week later. js/bsp
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