| Country: | USA |
| Race: | Genesys 300 |
| Date: | June 6 |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Official Name: | Genesys 300 |
| Round No: | 1 |
| Series: | IndyCar Series |
| Location: | Texas Motor Speedway |
| Course: | Oval |
| Course Mi: | 1.5 |
| Course Km: | 2.4 |
| Distance Laps: | 200 |
| Distance Mi: | 300 |
| Distance Km: | 482.803 |
| Pole Team: | Team Penske |
| Pole Time: | 24.0227 + 24.0351 = 48.0578 |
| Pole Country: | United States |
| Fast Driver: | Felix Rosenqvist |
| Fast Team: | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| Fast Time: | 24.1088 |
| Fast Lap: | 189 |
| Fast Country: | Sweden |
| First Driver: | Scott Dixon |
| First Team: | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| First Country: | New Zealand |
| Second Driver: | Simon Pagenaud |
| Second Team: | Team Penske |
| Second Country: | France |
| Third Driver: | Josef Newgarden |
| Third Team: | Team Penske |
| Third Country: | United States |
The 2020 Genesys 300 was an IndyCar Series event that was held on June 6, 2020 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It was the opening event of the 2020 IndyCar Series, due to race cancellations and postponements tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 7, 2020, it was announced that the season would commence with a condensed, one-day event format at Texas Motor Speedway. Although intended to be run without spectators, Sonic Automotive (which owns the circuit under their Speedway Motorsports subsidiary) followed protocol in use at their NASCAR weekend at Charlotte by allowing owners and tenants of the Turn 2 Lone Star Towers office and condominium complex to have tickets and parking passes to watch the event from their units. Drivers and crew members were subject to social distancing and health screening protocols, and use of face coverings was mandated. Practice, qualifying and the race took place on the same day,[1] requiring it to be shortened from 248 laps or around 600 kilometres (370 miles), to 200 laps (300 miles).[2]
As the pandemic prevented Firestone from manufacturing new tire compounds for the race, existing compounds were used instead. The right-hand tires had originally been manufactured for tests at the track in 2019, simulating the effects of the new aeroscreen introduced to all vehicles for the 2020 season. The left-hand tires were originally manufactured for the 2019 Indianapolis 500. Due to these tire variances, Firestone and IndyCar required that these tires be replaced after 35 laps of use, with each car provided with nine sets of tires to use across the day.[3] [4]
In May 2020, DragonSpeed revealed that it planned to prioritize an entry for the rescheduled Indianapolis 500, so that it could initially focus on its core European Le Mans Series operations.[5] On June 2, Carlin withdrew its entry for the race in the #31, citing economic impacts of the pandemic in Europe.[6]
Dallara safety tub utilizing the IndyCar mandated Universal Aero Kit 18. All cars also utilized Firestone tires.| Car No. | Driver Name | Owner/Team | Engine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Unnamed | Carlin | Chevrolet | |
| 81 | DragonSpeed | Chevrolet |
| Key | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| R | Rookie | |
| W | Past winner |
| Key | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| R | Rookie | |
| W | Past winner |
Practice ran on race day from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CT
| Pos | No. | Name | Lap Time | Avg. Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 |  Scott Dixon | 24.0006 | 215.995mph | |
| 2 | 88 |  Colton Herta | 24.1689 | 214.491mph | |
| 3 | 5 |  Patricio O'Ward | 24.1875 | 214.326mph | |
| 4 | 26 | Zach Veach | 24.1906 | 214.298mph | |
| 5 | 98 | Marco Andretti | 24.1945 | 214.264mph | |
| 6 | 30 |  Takuma Sato | 24.2437 | 213.826mph | |
| 7 | 1 | Josef Newgarden | 24.3029 | 213.308mph | |
| 8 | 22 |  Simon Pagenaud | 24.3128 | 213.221mph | |
| 9 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 24.3179 | 213.176mph | |
| 10 | 10 |  Felix Rosenqvist | 24.3974 | 212.482mph | |
| 11 | 4 | Charlie Kimball | 24.4184 | 212.299mph | |
| 12 | 12 |  Will Power | 24.4281 | 212.215mph | |
| 13 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 24.4408 | 212.104mph | |
| 14 | 55 | Alex Palou | 24.4446 | 212.071mph | |
| 15 | 7 | Oliver Askew | 24.4842 | 211.728mph | |
| 16 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 24.4853 | 211.719mph | |
| 17 | 29 |  James Hinchcliffe | 24.4979 | 211.61mph | |
| 18 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | 24.5508 | 211.154mph | |
| 19 | 14 |  Tony Kanaan | 24.5521 | 211.143mph | |
| 20 | 59 | Conor Daly | 24.5561 | 211.108mph | |
| 21 | 28 | nowrap | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 24.6094 | 210.617mph |
| 22 | 18 | Santino Ferrucci | 24.6094 | 210.617mph | |
| 23 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 25.0564 | 209.893mph | |
| 24 | 60 |  Jack Harvey | 25.2599 | 205.226mph | |
| Source:[8] | |||||
Qualifying was run on race day starting at 5 p.m. (ET)
| Pos | No. | Name | Lap 1 Time | Lap 2 Time | Total Time | Avg. Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Josef Newgarden | 24.0227 | 24.0351 | 48.0578 | 215.74mph | |
| 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 24.0393 | 24.0413 | 48.0806 | 215.638mph | |
| 3 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | 24.0507 | 24.0686 | 48.1193 | 215.464mph | |
| 4 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 24.2439 | 24.1344 | 48.3783 | 214.311mph | |
| 5 | 26 | Zach Veach | 24.2942 | 24.1588 | 48.4530 | 213.981mph | |
| 6 | 12 | Will Power | 24.2708 | 24.1937 | 48.4645 | 213.93mph | |
| 7 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 24.2734 | 24.2029 | 48.4763 | 213.878mph | |
| 8 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 24.2336 | 24.2855 | 48.5191 | 213.689mph | |
| 9 | 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | 24.3100 | 24.2384 | 48.5484 | 213.56mph | |
| 10 | 14 | Tony Kanaan | 24.3959 | 24.1917 | 48.5876 | 213.388mph | |
| 11 | 98 | Marco Andretti | 24.2882 | 24.3444 | 48.6326 | 213.19mph | |
| 12 | 4 | Charlie Kimball | 24.4347 | 24.2917 | 48.7264 | 212.78mph | |
| 13 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | 24.4153 | 24.3261 | 48.7414 | 212.714mph | |
| 14 | 88 | Colton Herta | 24.3807 | 24.3648 | 48.7455 | 212.697mph | |
| 15 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | 24.3560 | 24.4109 | 48.7669 | 212.603mph | |
| 16 | 55 |  Álex Palou | 24.5459 | 24.2437 | 48.7896 | 212.504mph | |
| 17 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 24.4232 | 24.4733 | 48.8965 | 212.04mph | |
| 18 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | 24.4068 | 24.4959 | 48.9027 | 212.013mph | |
| 19 | 59 | Conor Daly | 24.5452 | 24.4934 | 49.0386 | 211.425mph | |
| 20 | 7 | Oliver Askew | 24.7092 | 24.4657 | 49.1749 | 210.839mph | |
| 21 | 60 | Jack Harvey | 25.2665 | 25.1499 | 50.4164 | 205.647mph | |
| 22 | 30 | Takuma Sato | Wrecked during attempt | No Time | No Speed | ||
| 23 | 21 |  Rinus VeeKay | Did not attempt | No Time | No Speed | ||
| 24 | 18 | Santino Ferrucci | Did not attempt | No Time | No Speed | ||
| Source:[9] | |||||||
Average speed: 175.201mph
Lead changes: 5
| Lap leader breakdown | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From lap | To lap | Total laps | Driver | |
| 1 | 31 | 31 | Josef Newgarden | |
| 32 | 34 | 3 | Scott Dixon | |
| 35 | 36 | 2 | Zach Veach | |
| 37 | 80 | 44 | Scott Dixon | |
| 81 | 90 | 10 | Josef Newgarden | |
| 91 | 200 | 110 | Scott Dixon | |
| Source:[11] | ||||
| Cautions: 4 for 24 laps | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From lap | To lap | Total laps | Reason | |
| 38 | 45 | 8 |
| |
| 77 | 85 | 9 | Debris | |
| 191 | 196 | 6 |
| |
| 200 | 200 | 1 |
| |
| Source:[12] | ||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Dixon | 53 | |
| 2 | Simon Pagenaud | 40 | |
| 3 | Josef Newgarden | 37 | |
| 4 | Zach Veach | 33 | |
| 5 | Ed Carpenter | 30 |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda | 87 | |
| 2 | Chevrolet | 76 | |
| Source:[13] | |||
Originally scheduled for NBCSN, it was announced on May 24 that the race would move to NBC, marking the first IndyCar Series event to air in primetime on network television in seven years.[14] With 1.285 million viewers, it was the most-watched IndyCar Series event outside of the Indianapolis 500 since 2016.[15]
The race was called at the track with Leigh Diffey doing play-by-play, Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell as analysts, and Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reporting on pit lane.[16]
The race was carried by the IndyCar Radio Network. Mark Jaynes served as the chief announcer from WIBC Radio studios along with Davey Hamilton as Driver Expert. Jake Query called the field down the backstretch from WIBC studios. Nick Yeoman was the sole pit reporter at the track.[17]