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IndyCar Swaps Opening 2021 Race, Will Start Season at Barber

The NTT IndyCar Series’ 2021 season has a new opening race.

Instead of starting its season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the series will instead begin at Barber Motorsports Park in April, INDYCAR announced Jan. 6.

The Barber race will be held April 11, followed by St. Petersburg, whose event moves to April 25.

No other schedule changes for the 2021 season were announced.

“It’s not surprising that an event of this magnitude, scheduled for the first week of March, is still subject to the implications of the pandemic,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President/CEO Mark Miles said in an INDYCAR release. “We’re delighted we were able to work with Mayor Rick Kriseman’s administration and Green Savoree Racing Promotions to find a more suitable date, which helps consolidate the beginning of our schedule and allows us to stay on NBC network television.”

The move is meant to attempt to allow more spectators at the St. Petersburg race than would be possible in March.

About the author

Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.

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