NBC and the NTT IndyCar Series have released the starting times for all 17 races of the upcoming 2023 season.
The scheduled times focus heavily on the early afternoon timeslot, which has been identified in the past as the best time for television viewership.
Notably absent from the schedule is any night, or even evening races. Despite running on a few tracks that have full lighting capabilities, nearly every event takes place in the early afternoon.
Consistent scheduling does help fans know when they should be looking for a race to tune into, but the lack of any racing under the lights will be disappointing to some.
Last season there was only one race at World Wide Technology Raceway scheduled for the evening, and that race was further delayed into a full night event when a rain shower moved through the area.
Some of the biggest time changes are Barber Motorsports Park, which moves 2.5 hours earlier in the day, and Nashville, which moves a full three hours earlier.
The Nashville race has suffered from lengthy caution periods both of the times it has been run in the past, and the extra time will give more flexibility to get the race completed before darkness has a chance to put an early end to the event.
Also confirmed in the release is the network availability of each race, with 13 of the 17 events being broadcast on over-the-air NBC, with US viewers having a free option for most of the season’s races.
This is one less than last season, but still represents a significant investment from NBC to put the series in prime television slots for a majority of the season.
Three races will be broadcast on cable channel USA, leaving only the Toronto race to be shown exclusively on the network’s streaming service Peacock.
Fans will be able to stream every race with a Peacock subscription, as well as every practice and qualifying session throughout the year.
The full schedule with networks and green flag times can be found below.
| Date | Event | Network (US) | Broadcast Time (Eastern) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., March 5 | Streets of St. Petersburg | NBC, Peacock | Noon |
| Sun., April 2 | Texas Motor Speedway | NBC, Peacock | Noon |
| Sun., April 16 | Streets of Long Beach | NBC, Peacock | 3:00 PM |
| Sun., April 30 | Barber Motorsports Park | NBC, Peacock | 3:00 PM |
| Sat., May 13 | IMS Road Course | NBC, Peacock | 3:30 PM |
| Sun., May 28 | The 107th Indianapolis 500 | NBC, Peacock | 11:00 AM |
| Sun., June 4 | Streets of Detroit | NBC, Peacock | 3:00 PM |
| Sun., June 18 | Road America | USA, Peacock | 1:00 PM |
| Sun., July 2 | Mid-Ohio | USA, Peacock | 1:30 PM |
| Sun., July 16 | Streets of Toronto | Peacock | 1:30 PM |
| Sat., July 22 | Iowa Speedway – Race 1 | NBC, Peacock | 3:00 PM |
| Sun., July 23 | Iowa Speedway – Race 2 | NBC, Peacock | 2:00 PM |
| Sun., Aug. 6 | Streets of Nashville | NBC, Peacock | Noon |
| Sat., Aug. 12 | IMS Road Course | USA, Peacock | 2:00 PM |
| Sun., Aug. 27 | World Wide Technology Raceway | NBC, Peacock | 3:30 PM |
| Sun., Sept. 3 | Portland | NBC, Peacock | 3:00 PM |
| Sun., Sept. 10 | Laguna Seca | NBC, Peacock | 2:30 PM |
