In what seemed a strange move, IndyCar announced the first half of the 2027 schedule yesterday. I don’t really see the point of announcing a partial schedule. Perhaps there are some things in the works for next July and August that need a lot of work, but I would prefer to wait and announce the full schedule at one time.

Most of the dates were already known from NASCAR and IMSA schedules which have shared dates. The date for Barber was new information as were the test dates.

IndyCar starts 2027 with he same three races which began 2026- St. Pete March 7; Phoenix March 14; and Arlington March 21. Beginning the season with three straight races is a great early momentum builder, but I don’t like the March 21 conflict with the Sebring 12 hour weekend. As much as I love IndyCar, Sebring is my first choice that weekend, and it has that weekend longer. IndyCar should leave that weekend blank and go to Arlington the following week.

I am happy to see Barber return to April, although later in the month would be better when the landscaping begins to bloom.

After Long Beach comes am nearly four week gap between races. That might be a great spot for Gateway. It won’t be too hot at that time of year, and it’s close enough to IMS for teams to move into the track for May.

Ironically, my favorite part of the new schedule is not any of the races, but the May 4-5 open oval test days. Two more days of cars on track in Ma-, early May as well- extends the month which goes to its proper and rightful date of May 30. 2027 will be the best month of May in years.

Without a World Cup or Olympics to schedule around, the rest of the summer schedule should be more evenly distributed between July and August without huge gaps of idleness. It would be nice to have two races in September, too.

I realize scheduling is difficult, and I’m anxious to see what bthe rest ofn2027 will look like. Overall, the start of next season looks promising.

The schedule, including tewt dates:

Feb. 23-24: Phoenix Test
March 5-7: St. Pete
March 12-13: Phoenix
March 19-21: Arlington
Apr. 2-4: Barber
April 16-18: Long Beach
May 4-5: Indy 500 Test
May 14-15: Sonsio GP
May 30: Indy 500
June 4-6: Detroit