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2019 has been the best IndyCar schedule since 1995 before the infamous split. The 2020 schedule could only have improved upon that if they had added an 18th race which they didn't. IndyCar racing can be amazing on short tracks so Richmond is rather welcome. I did not follow the sport for the most part of the 00s because I did not own a TV then and streaming wasn't a thing yet but Franchitti's Indy 500 victory and reunification had my interest return. So I missed out on the races at Richmond. For now, my guess is it is a good addition.
With Indianapolis the only superspeedway remaining, one has to wonder about the future of IndyCar superspeedway racing at other venues.
Pocono should have promoted itself as the place where champions come to to win: Looking at IndyCar's history, it's almost only been Indy 500 champions and series champions who have won the Pocono 500, the lone exception to this rule being Teo Fabi. You want to see a champion win, go to see the Pocono 500.
It seems like both the track and the series do not rule out a return. The track might only be eligible to skip an increase in the sanctioning fee if they sit out a year? Who knows if title sponsor ABC Supply's downsizing of their IndyCar sponsorship has also affected the Pocono 500? It may be a bit of everything.
Here's hoping the track will improve the safety fencing in time for a return whenever that may occur. Not racing in the Northeast seems like a lamentable omission. And if they cannot find a fitting venue in the US, IndyCar should try to make a deal to run on Montreal's Ile de Notre Dame.
But the perfect opportunity that didn't materialize to run an IndyCar race in the Northeast would have been the Saturday Afternoon time slot after F1 qualifying in Bernie Ecclestone's pipe dream, the Atlantic Grand Prix of Formula 1 on New Jersey's Port Imperial street circuit which was rumored some years ago.
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