2020 USAC Gold Crown Series (Johnsonverse)

The 2020 USAC Gold Crown Series presented by NTT season was the 65th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by USAC. The season consisted of 34 races.
Julius Hayden won the National Championship, while Lewis Hamilton won the Indianapolis 500.
== Teams, drivers, and constructors ==
Team 	Chassis 	Engine 	No.	Driver
Stewart-Foyt Racing 	Stewart 20P 	Pontiac 	4 	Charlie Kimball
Stewart-Foyt Racing 	Stewart 20P 	Pontiac 	7 	Robert Wickens
Stewart-Foyt Racing 	Stewart 20P 	Pontiac 	14 	A. J. Foyt IV
Stewart-Foyt Racing 	Stewart 20P 	Pontiac 	41 	Dalton Kellett
Andretti Autosport 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	26 	Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	27 	Marco Andretti
Andretti Autosport 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	28 	Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	29 	James Hinchcliffe
Harding Steinbrenner Autosport 	Lola B20/00 	Toyota 	88 	Colton Herta
Bryan Herta Autosport 	Lola B20/00 	Honda 	98 	Alexander Rossi
Arrow McLaren SP 	McLaren M68 	Offenhauser 	5 	Pato O'Ward
Arrow McLaren SP 	McLaren M68 	Offenhauser 	7 	Oliver Askew
Arrow McLaren SP 	McLaren M68 	Offenhauser 	66 	Hélio Castroneves
Carlin 	Dallara DW20 	Chevrolet 	59 	Conor Daly
Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	8 	Marcus Ericsson
Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	9 	Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	10 	Felix Rosenqvist
Belardi Auto Racing 	Dallara DW20 	Ford-Cosworth	51 	James Davison
Team Goh 	Reynard 20i 	Porsche 	55 	Álex Palou
Dale Coyne Racing 	Coyne DC-34 	Pontiac 	18 	Santino Ferrucci
DragonSpeed USA 	Oreca Indy 20 	Cadillac 	81 	Ben Hanley
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 	Oreca Indy 20 	Chevrolet 	24 	Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 	Oreca Indy 20 	Chevrolet 	67 	J. R. Hildebrand
Ed Carpenter Racing 	Dallara DW20 	Chevrolet 	20 	Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing 	Dallara DW20 	Chevrolet 	21 	Rinus VeeKay
Ed Carpenter Racing 	Dallara DW20 	Chevrolet 	47 	Max Chilton
Meyer Shank Racing 	Ford F-220 	Ford-Cosworth	60 	Jack Harvey
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 	Rahal RH-028 	Porsche 	15 	Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 	Rahal RH-028 	Porsche 	30 	Takuma Sato
Citrone/Buhl Autosport 	Reynard 20i 	Ferrari 	45 	Spencer Pigot
Team Penske 	Penske PC-47 	Dodge 	2 	Josef Newgarden
Team Penske 	Penske PC-47 	Dodge 	3 	Scott McLaughlin
Team Penske 	Penske PC-47 	Dodge 	12 	Will Power
Team Penske 	Penske PC-47 	Dodge 	22 	Simon Pagenaud
Vantelin Team TOM'S 	McLaren M68 	Ford-Cosworth	136	Nick Cassidy
Vantelin Team TOM'S 	McLaren M68 	Ford-Cosworth	137	Ritomo Miyata
Kondo Racing 	Reynard 20i 	Chevrolet 	103	Kenta Yamashita
Kondo Racing 	Reynard 20i 	Chevrolet 	104	Sacha Fenestraz
Docomo Team Dandelion Racing 	Ginetta G63 	Honda 	140	Naoki Yamamoto
Docomo Team Dandelion Racing 	Ginetta G63 	Honda 	141	Nirei Fukuzumi
carrozzeria Team KCMG 	GM G20C 	Cadillac 	177	Kamui Kobayashi
carrozzeria Team KCMG 	GM G20C 	Cadillac 	118	Yuji Kunimoto
Drago Corse with ThreeBond 	Ferrari 671 	Ferrari 	112	Koudai Tsukakoshi
ROOKIE Racing 	Reynard 20i 	Offenhauser 	134	Kazuya Oshima
ROOKIE Racing 	Reynard 20i 	Offenhauser 	138	Hiroaki Ishiura
ROOKIE Racing 	Reynard 20i 	Offenhauser 	146	Sho Tsuboi
Team Mugen 	Lola B20/00 	Toyota 	115	Ukyo Sasahara
Team Mugen 	Lola B20/00 	Toyota 	116	Tomoki Nojiri
Itochu Enex Team Impul 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	101	Yuhi Sekiguchi
Itochu Enex Team Impul 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	102	Ryō Hirakawa
Buzz Racing with B-MAX 	Lotus 121 	Lotus 	150	Nobuharu Matsushita
Buzz Racing with B-MAX 	Lotus 121 	Lotus 	151	Charles Milesi
TCS Nakajima Racing 	Ligier JS62 	Porsche 	164	Tadasuke Makino
TCS Nakajima Racing 	Ligier JS62 	Porsche 	165	Toshiki Oyu
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 20B 	Buffalo 	56 	Harvey Andrade
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 20B 	Buffalo 	57 	Saul Norton
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 20B 	Buffalo 	58 	Rufus Reid
AK Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	07 	Colin Steele
Earnhardt-Childress Racing 	Earnhardt 20C 	Chevrolet 	03 	Dexter Savage
Evernham Motorsports 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	19 	Tatiana Calderón
Hendrick Motorsports 	Hendrick H16 	Chevrolet 	24 	Milan Berger
Hendrick Motorsports 	Hendrick H16 	Chevrolet 	35 	David Holden
Hendrick Motorsports 	Hendrick H16 	Chevrolet 	48 	Esteban Gutiérrez
Joe Gibbs Racing 	Gibbs JG20 	Toyota 	18 	Olly Meadows
Petty Enterprises 	Petty LP-20 	Dodge 	43 	Harley Petty
Wood Brothers Racing 	Ford F-220 	Ford-Cosworth	21 	Ashwin Summers
Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari 671 	Ferrari 	53 	Daniel Burkett
Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari 671 	Ferrari 	83 	Luca Filippi
Williams Indy Engineering 	Williams IW20 	Porsche 	49 	Tomas Osborn
Williams Indy Engineering 	Williams IW20 	Porsche 	51 	Ethan Curry
Sauber Racing 	Sauber I39 	Ferrari 	89 	Regan Padilla
Sauber Racing 	Sauber I39 	Ferrari 	96 	Mustafa Rush
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier JS62 	Porsche 	33 	Lyra Lambert
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier JS62 	Porsche 	34 	Colby Wall
Red Bull Racing 	Red Bull RBI16 	Honda 	1 	Julius Hayden
Red Bull Racing 	Red Bull RBI16 	Honda 	13 	Dylan Butler
Racing Point Indy Team 	Force India VJM13 	Mercedes-Benz	71 	Tyler Hunter
Racing Point Indy Team 	Force India VJM13 	Mercedes-Benz	72 	Michael Mällinen
Toro Rossi Racing 	Toro Rossi STI14 	Renault 	70 	Mikhail Aleshin
Toro Rossi Racing 	Toro Rossi STI14 	Renault 	95 	Jack Harvey
GM Performance Racing 	GM G19C 	Chevrolet 	113	Alfie White
GM Performance Racing 	GM G19C 	Chevrolet 	133	Natalie Day
Ford Roush Racing 	Ford F-219 	Ford-Cosworth	197	Arie Luyendyk III
Ford Roush Racing 	Ford F-219 	Ford-Cosworth	199	Alfred Bartlett
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	60 	Reggie Boyle
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	69 	Jessica Buchanan
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	80 	Brayden Bolton
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M20 	Dodge 	85 	Dawn Decker
Toyota Gazoo Racing 	Toyota GR19 	Toyota 	54 	Donald Booker
Toyota Gazoo Racing 	Toyota GR19 	Toyota 	63 	Frazer Gardner
Honda Racing Corporation 	Honda HO19 	Honda 	144	Courtney Robbins
Honda Racing Corporation 	Honda HO19 	Honda 	145	Darren Berger
Nismo 	Nissan R20C 	Nissan 	73 	Karina Nash
Nismo 	Nissan R20C 	Nissan 	74 	Christian Fittipaldi
MAZDASPEED 	Mazda RX-20 	Mazda 	139	Casper Elgaard
MAZDASPEED 	Mazda RX-20 	Mazda 	142	David Brabham
Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles	Oreca Indy 20 	Chevrolet 	173	Jimmy Tapia
Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles	Oreca Indy 20 	Chevrolet 	174	Taylor Davies
Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles	Oreca Indy 20 	Chevrolet 	175	Jordan King
Glickenhaus Racing 	Glickenhaus GC20 	Ferrari 	156	Leonardo Skinner
Glickenhaus Racing 	Glickenhaus GC20 	Ferrari 	157	Jay Bauer
Glickenhaus Racing 	Glickenhaus GC20 	Ferrari 	158	Gonzalo Rodríguez
Callaway Cars 	Callaway C26 	Offenhauser 	59 	Milo Cunningham
Callaway Cars 	Callaway C26 	Offenhauser 	65 	Marcus Solis
Callaway Cars 	Callaway C26 	Offenhauser 	68 	Alan Christensen
Jonathan Byrd's Racing 	Byrd JB20 	Oldsmobile 	88 	Orlando Stokes
Jonathan Byrd's Racing 	Byrd JB20 	Oldsmobile 	91 	Jason Bright
Hemelgarn Racing 	Panoz DP20 	Porsche 	92 	Francesco Dracone
Hemelgarn Racing 	Panoz DP20 	Porsche 	93 	Rodolfo González
Hemelgarn Racing 	Panoz DP20 	Porsche 	94 	Kazuya Oshima
Firestone Racing Promotions 	Reynard 20i 	Ford-Cosworth	45 	Isaac MacDonald
Firestone Racing Promotions 	Reynard 20i 	Ford-Cosworth	46 	Donovan Page
Firestone Racing Promotions 	Reynard 20i 	Ford-Cosworth	147	Ryan Briscoe
Fahan Racing 	Ferrari 671 	Ferrari 	42 	Chris Fahan
Chevron Motorsports 	Panoz DP20 	Pontiac 	105	Alfonso Celis Jr.
Chevron Motorsports 	Panoz DP20 	Pontiac 	106	Gabby Chaves
Chevron Motorsports 	Panoz DP20 	Pontiac 	109	Yuichi Nakayama
Vasser-Sullivan Racing 	Reynard 20i 	Toyota 	318	Sébastien Bourdais
Polestar Racing Group 	Polestar MK7 	Cadillac 	40 	Keith Grant
Boeing Motorsports 	Boeing 913 	Chevrolet 	78 	Wendy Burleson
Boeing Motorsports 	Boeing 913 	Chevrolet 	99 	Frankie Muniz
Lockheed Martin Racing 	Lockheed Martin C-14	Honda 	84 	Judy Simon
All-American Racers 	Eagle 20GC 	Chevrolet 	55 	Alex Gurney
Rick Ware Racing 	Ligier JS62 	Honda 	16 	Teppei Natori
Rick Ware Racing 	Ligier JS62 	Honda 	17 	Mitsunori Takaboshi
HMD Motorsports 	Panoz DP20 	Toyota 	55 	Sérgio Sette Câmara
Google Motorsports 	Lotus 121 	Lotus 	81 	Hiroki Otsu
Google Motorsports 	Lotus 121 	Lotus 	90 	Sena Sakaguchi
Google Motorsports 	Lotus 121 	Lotus 	97 	Kazuki Nakajima
=== Formula One entrants in the Indianapolis 500 ===
Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis	Power unit 	Race drivers	Race drivers
Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis	Power unit 	No. 	Driver name
Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	C39 	Ferrari 065 	207 	Kimi Räikkönen
Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	C39 	Ferrari 065 	299 	Antonio Giovinazzi
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	AlphaTauri-Honda 	AT01 	Honda RA620H 	210 	Pierre Gasly
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	AlphaTauri-Honda 	AT01 	Honda RA620H 	226 	Daniil Kvyat
Scuderia Ferrari 	Ferrari 	SF1000 	Ferrari 065 	205 	Sebastian Vettel
Scuderia Ferrari 	Ferrari 	SF1000 	 	216 	Charles Leclerc
Haas F1 Team 	Haas-Ferrari 	VF-20 	Ferrari 065 	208 	Romain Grosjean
Haas F1 Team 	Haas-Ferrari 	VF-20 	Ferrari 065 	220 	Kevin Magnussen
McLaren F1 Team 	McLaren-Renault 	MCL35 	Renault E-Tech 20 	204 	Lando Norris
McLaren F1 Team 	McLaren-Renault 	MCL35 	Renault E-Tech 20 	255 	Carlos Sainz Jr.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes 	F1 W11 	Mercedes-AMG F1 M11	244 	Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes 	F1 W11 	Mercedes-AMG F1 M11	277 	Valtteri Bottas
BWT Racing Point F1 Team 	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes	RP20 	BWT Mercedes 	211 	Sergio Pérez
BWT Racing Point F1 Team 	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes	RP20 	BWT Mercedes 	218 	Lance Stroll
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	Red Bull Racing-Honda 	RB16 	Honda RA620H 	223 	Alexander Albon
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	Red Bull Racing-Honda 	RB16 	Honda RA620H 	233 	Max Verstappen
Renault DP World F1 Team 	Renault 	R.S.20 	Renault E-Tech 20 	203 	Daniel Ricciardo
Renault DP World F1 Team 	Renault 	R.S.20 	Renault E-Tech 20 	231 	Esteban Ocon
Williams Racing 	Williams-Mercedes 	FW43 	Mercedes-AMG F1 M11	206 	Nicholas Latifi
Williams Racing 	Williams-Mercedes 	FW43 	Mercedes-AMG F1 M11	263 	George Russell
== The Open-Wheel War Begins ==
At the end of the 2019 season, a group of teams, feeling that they were being crowded out in the qualifying heats, presented a list of demands to USAC, including the implementation of a division system, in order to give them a chance at winning. USAC rejected these demands on the grounds that they were "trying to manipulate the racing product out of frustration". These teams, who had reformed the CART union from the near-split in 1979, followed through on their threat to split off and create their own series.
The FIA, chafing under USAC's total control over Formula One cars running in the Indianapolis 500, saw an opportunity to create an American open-wheel series, and sanctioned the new series, known as the FIA Formula America Series. The media deemed this to be the beginning of the Open-Wheel War.
For its 2020 season, Formula America had trouble finding venues, as all of the major ovals in the United States were either owned by Johnson Industries (either directly or via subsidiary International Speedway Corporation), Speedway Motorsports Inc. (which is effectively a Johnson proxy), or other pro-USAC track owners. FA ultimately had to run on smaller independent tracks and street courses, their largest being at Lime Rock Park.
Among the teams involved in the split included:
* Double A Pro Racing (4 cars)
* Jarvis Racing (3 cars)
* Marotti Autosport (1 car)
* Rising Dragon Motorsports (2 cars)
* SpeedZone Racing (3 cars)
* Vanwall Racing Team (3 cars)
In addition, Racefab, Mygale, and Renault left USAC for FA.
USAC was relatively unconcerned about the split, as none of the teams who had left were major teams, and had two wins between them, both by Vanwall. A lack of major venues and no major television networks wanting to carry the series further contributed to FA's early woes. The Racefab and Mygale chassis, neither of which ever won a single USAC Gold Crown Series race, could not keep pace with Vanwall's own chassis, turning FA races into long, boring races with little-to-no passes. Ultimately, the 2020 Formula America Series was marred by poor racing and the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was much talk of the series not surviving to the end of the year. Despite this, however, the inaugural season was run to completion, and the FIA began to reorganize the series.
== Schedule ==
No.	Race title 	Track 	Track type 	Date
1 	Gilroy Garlic 500 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy, California 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	February 9
2 	Budweiser Indy 200 	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California	Road course 	February 23
3 	Pennzoil 200 	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia 	Short oval 	February 29
4 	Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 	Streets of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida 	Street course 	March 8
5 	Indy Darlington 400 	Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina 	Intermediate oval 	May 17
6 	Pfizer 400 	Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina 	Intermediate oval 	May 21
7 	VisionAire 500K 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina 	Intermediate oval 	May 23
8 	Coca-Cola 500K 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina 	Intermediate oval 	May 27
9 	Music City Grand Prix 	Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tennessee 	Intermediate oval 	May 31
10 	Genesys 300 	Texas World Speedway, College Station, Texas 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	June 6
11 	Virginia Grand Prix 	Virginia International Raceway, Danville, Virginia 	Road course 	June 10
12 	The U 300 	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida 	Intermediate oval 	June 14
13 	Aaron's 500K 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	June 20
14 	ABC Supply 250s 	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	June 27
15 	ABC Supply 250s 	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	June 28
16 	Indy Firecracker 400 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida	Superspeedway (restricted) 	July 5
17 	REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR Doubleheader 	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 	Road course 	July 11
18 	REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR Doubleheader 	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 	Road course 	July 12
19 	Iowa Gold Crown 250s 	Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa 	Short oval 	July 17
20 	Iowa Gold Crown 250s 	Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa 	Short oval 	July 18
21 	Hollywood Casino 300 	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas 	Intermediate oval 	July 26
22 	Indianapolis 500 	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	August 23
23 	Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline	World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Illinois 	One-mile oval 	August 29
24 	Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline	World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Illinois 	One-mile oval 	August 30
25 	Michigan 500 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	September 6
26 	Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio 	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 	Road course 	September 12
27 	Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio 	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 	Road course 	September 13
28 	Howard Johnson's 225 	Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado 	Intermediate oval 	September 20
29 	Coca-Cola 400 	Denver International Speedway, Denver, Colorado 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	September 27
30 	USAC Disney 500 	Walt Disney World Speedway, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 4
31 	Harvest Auto Racing Classic 	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	October 11
32 	Atlanta 500 	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia 	Intermediate oval 	October 18
33 	DieHard Indy 500K 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 25
34 	Florida Citrus Growers 500 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida	Superspeedway (restricted) 	November 1
=== Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic ===
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the 2020 USAC Gold Crown Series. The season was put on hold prior to the race at Homstead-Miami Speedway due to rising case counts. When the season resumed in, Johnson made the decision for the USAC Gold Crown Series to temporarily travel with, and hold doubleheaders with, the NASCAR RCA Cup Series. USAC returned to Charlotte for the first time since the ill-fated 1999 race, and American open-wheel racing made its first visit to Darlington since the 1951 AAA Championship Car season. Following the Charlotte doubleheader, USAC and NASCAR were "decoupled", due to Bristol Motor Speedway being ill-suited for Gold Crown cars (the Bronze Crown Series ran as a doubleheader with the NASCAR Busch Series).
Most of the major races on the schedule were still run, including the Indianapolis 500, Michigan 500, Coca-Cola 400, USAC Disney 500, DieHard Indy 500K, and Florida Citrus Growers 500. Due to travel restrictions and case numbers, the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway and U.S. 500 at San Jose Motorplex, both Crown Jewel races, were cancelled, as were both races in the Japanese States (including the Crown Jewel Tokyo Gold Crown 500) and all international races.
As a result of the pandemic, the season was shortened to 34 races from 40, meaning it ended in November instead of December; it was the shortest Gold Crown season since 1996, which was 36 races. Tracks that lost their 2020 dates entirely due to the pandemic included Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach, Exhibition Place, Laguna Seca, Milwaukee Mile, Tokyo Superspeedway, Twin Ring Motegi, Monza Circuit, Lauzitzring, Watkins Glen International, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Mallory Park, Ontario Motor Speedway, Portland International Raceway, Nazareth Speedway (which would have rejoined the schedule after being temporarily replaced by Circuit of the Americas in 2019), California Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.
== Results ==
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Category:Johnsonverse