Officials with the Indianapolis 500 announced Thursday the annual race will not take place May 24 as planned and instead has been postponed to August 23 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Month of May update from @INDYCAR and @IMS: The Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge has been rescheduled for Sunday, Aug. 23 and the GMR Grand Prix will move to Saturday, July 4,” a tweet from the NTT Indy Car Series read, along with a link for further details. The post was noted by Fox News. (RELATED: Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns)
Month of May update from @INDYCAR and @IMS:
The Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge has been rescheduled for Sunday, Aug. 23 and the GMR Grand Prix will move to Saturday, July 4.
Full details: https://t.co/WDCpllAZZO pic.twitter.com/p69KMYvD1K
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 26, 2020
The Indy 500 race has always run in the month of May since its inception in 1911 and has only been cancelled six times, which happened during World War I and World War II. (RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
“The Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is my favorite time of year, and like our fans, I am disappointed that we have had to reschedule the Indianapolis 500,” NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske said in a press release.
“However, the health and safety of our event participants and spectators is our top priority, and we believe that postponing the event is the responsible decision with the conditions and restrictions we are facing,” the statement added.
The start of the larger Indy series is still set to take place, at this point, May 30 in Detroit. The specific Indy 500 race has been delayed, as have other races in the series, due to the pandemic. There have also been cancellations because there are 13 races now scheduled instead of 17.