The 2020 Harvest Grand Prix was IndyCar Series event scheduled October 2-3, 2020. It made up the twelfth and thirteenth and penultimate rounds of the series' 2020 season. Rinus VeeKay won pole for the first race with Josef Newgarden taking victory. Will Power led every lap from pole position to take victory in the second race.
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| 12th and 13th round of the 2020 IndyCar Series season | |
 | |
| Date | October 2 and 3, 2020 |
| Official name | Indycar Harvest Grand Prix |
| Location | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana, United States |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.439 mi / 3.925 km |
| Distance | 85 laps 207.315 mi / 333.641 km |
| Weather | 60 °F (16 °C), mostly cloudy [1] |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |  Rinus Veekay (Ed Carpenter Racing) |
| Time | 01:09.6903 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) |
| Time | 1:10.5582 (on lap 21 of 85) |
| Podium | |
| First |  Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) |
| Second | Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport) |
| Third | Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) |
| Weather | 64 °F (18 °C), mostly cloudy [2] |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |  Will Power (Team Penske) |
| Time | 1:08.9767 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver |  Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) |
| Time | 1:11.3775 (on lap 53 of 75) |
| Podium | |
| First | Will Power (Team Penske) |
| Second | Colton Herta (Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport) |
| Third | Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport) |
Background
editAs a result of races cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the IndyCar Series announced on April 6, 2020 that a third trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be added to the 2020 season as a support race for the Intercontinental GT Challenge's Indianapolis 8 Hours.[3] The Harvest name paid tribute to the Harvest Auto Racing Classic, the only event held outside the Month of May at the Speedway between 1911 and 1993. Following further race cancellations, on July 27, 2020, the IndyCar Series changed the weekend from a single race to a doubleheader weekend.[4]
The Speedway opened the gates to spectators for the first time in 2020 after being behind closed doors for much of the season, with a limit of 10,000 spectators for practice day, and the three race days (including the Intercontinental GT Challenge event that was the feature).
Entrants
editA. J. Foyt Enterprises announce the signing of Sébastien Bourdais for the remainder of the 2020 season starting with the Harvest Grand Prix.[5] Locally based Dreyer & Reinbold Racing made their third race weekend appearance with Sage Karam, making 2020 the most appearances by the team since the 2013 season.[6] A week before the race, Indycar's medical team declared rookie Oliver Askew as not fit to drive. Arrow McLaren SP replaced Askew with vetern Hélio Castroneves.[7] It would be Castroneves' first open-wheel start away from Team Penske since the 1999 Marlboro 500. A day later, James Hinchcliffe was announced as taking over Andretti Autosport's #26 entry for Zach Veach.[8]
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
Practice
editA single practice session was held over the weekend. The session was held October 1 at 2:15 PM ET[9]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 |  Álex Palou R
|
Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh | Honda | 01:10.1777 |
| 2 | 60 |  Jack Harvey
|
Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 01:10.2773 |
| 3 | 88 | Colton Herta
|
Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 01:10.3857 |
| Source:[10] | |||||
Race 1 – October 1-2
editQualifying
editQualifying was held the day before the race at 6:20 PM ET.[9] As the event was doubleheader, series rules meant qualifying was a single round (instead of two rounds as normal), split into two groups. Drivers from the group with the fastest driver having the better time started in the odd number positions, while the group whose fastest time was worse than the other group took even number positions.
Qualifying classification
editRace
editThe first race was held October 2 at 3:30 PM ET.[9]
Race classification
editRace 2 – October 3
editQualifying
editQualifying at 10:20 AM ET.[13]
Qualifying classification
editRace
editThe second race of the weekend was held October 3 at 2:30 PM ET.[13]
Race classification
editReferences
edit- ^ "Indianapolis, IN Weather History".
- ^ "Indianapolis, IN Weather History".
- ^ Brown, Nathan. "IndyCar's latest schedule change: three races added, including one at IMS; Detroit canceled". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "INDYCAR Harvest GP". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Sebastien Bourdais Signed to Drive the No. 14 Chevrolet in 2021; He Will Debut in the Harvest Grand". September 15, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "Karam rejoins D&R Racing for IndyCar Harvest GP". Racer.com. September 22, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "Askew withdraws from IndyCar Harvest GP". Arrow McLaren SP. September 24, 2020. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ Pruett, Marshall (September 25, 2020). "Hinchcliffe takes Veach's Andretti seat". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ a b c "INDYCAR HARVEST GP RACE 1". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). indycar.com. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Qualifications - Results (Road Course Split Sessions)" (PDF). IndyCar Series. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Race - Results (11inch) - Final" (PDF). IndyCar Series. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ a b "INDYCAR Harvest GP Race 2". IndyCar Series. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Qualifications - Results (Road Course Split Sessions)" (PDF). IndyCar Series. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Race - Results (11inch) - Final" (PDF). IndyCar Series. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2022.