IndyCar has announced a 15-round, 18-race calendar which includes the previously announced Indianapolis road course event.
The calendar has few surprises although IndyCar has moved to close up some gaps in the scheduling to shape a more uniform and consistent program.
IndyCar has dumped the Sao Paulo street race in Brazil while Baltimore has also been axed with the Indy road course event set for May 10, two weeks before the showcase Indy 500.
Organisers have retained the popular double-header meetings at Detroit, Houston and Toronto.
The schedule will open with the St Petersburg street race in Florida on March 30 and finish much earlier at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California on August 30, meaning a hectic end to the season with four events scheduled for that month.
“The 2014 schedule reflects a more condensed North American calendar to increase the consistency with our race weekends,” said Mark Miles, CEO, Hulman & Co., the parent of IndyCar.
Miles hinted that the Sao Paulo event however could make a return in 2015.
The current IndyCar series will be decided at the final round at Fontana this weekend with Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon holding a 25-point lead over Penske’s Helio Castroneves.
Both Dixon and Castroneves will serve 10-place grid penalties for engine changes.
The 250 lap championship decider is scheduled for Sunday.
2014 IndyCar calendar
| Mar 30 | Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Apr 13 | Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California |
| Apr 26 | Barber Motorsports Park | Birmingham, Alabama |
| May 10 | Grand Prix of Indianapolis | Indianapolis |
| May 25 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis |
| May 31/Jun 1 | *Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Detroit |
| Jun 7 | Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jun 28/29 | *Reliant Park | Houston |
| Jul 6 | Pocono Raceway | Pennsylvania |
| Jul 12 | Iowa Speedway | Newton, Iowa |
| Jul 19/20 | *Streets of Toronto | Toronto |
| Aug 3 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohiio |
| Aug 17 | The Milwaukee Mile | Milwaukee |
| Aug 24 | Sonoma Raceway | Sonoma, California |
| Aug 30 | Auto Club Speedway | Fontona, California |
*Double-header events
