IndyCar Series will open season in Sao Paulo

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For Brazilian drivers such as Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan, the start of next year’s Izod IndyCar Series will be like a homecoming.

The series said today it will open its 2010 season with a race in the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 14, the first round in the sport’s 17-race schedule. The series had said this summer that it would start in Brazil but didn’t immediately announce the city.

The race ‘affords us a unique opportunity to visit a country that has a huge passion for open-wheel racing,’ said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division for the series’ parent, the Indy Racing League.

Besides Kanaan and Castroneves, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, IndyCar drivers Raphael Matos, Vitor Meira and Mario Moraes also hail from Brazil. The series’ other familiar drivers include 2009 champion Dario Franchitti, two-time title winner Scott Dixon, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti.

The fourth race on the series’ 2010 schedule is the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and next year’s Indianapolis 500 will be held May 30.

--Jim Peltz