Start your engines. The NTT IndyCar Series will kick off their 2020 season on Saturday at the Texas Motor Speedway. The Genesys 300 (8 p.m. ET, NBC, INDYCAR Radio Network) will be like no race that IndyCar has ever seen before.

First off, there will be no fans in the stands. This race will be conducted behind closed doors. Secondly, it’s a one-day show where we will have a short practice on Saturday afternoon, then qualify later and race that night. Finally, all social distancing measures will be taken, including varying plans on how each team will work.

See, there’s a Charter leaving Indianapolis early Saturday morning. Most believe that they will be boarding/screening around 4 a.m. ET to take off for Texas at 6 a.m. ET. For the ones boarding, they’ll get screened there and if any of them shows any symptoms or doesn’t pass the screening, they won’t be allowed on the plane to go to the race. For those that pass, they’ll take off early in the morning for the couple of hour flight south. They’re leaving early enough that if anyone doesn’t pass, it gives teams the right amount of time to find a replacement.

But, not everyone is taking off on the Charter. Some teams are actually going to head down on Friday. Also, from what it sounds like too, most drivers are going to be there Friday as well.

“Yeah, it’s obviously going to be a strenuous day for everybody,” James Hinchcliffe said. “Like you said, the guys that are flying in that morning, and then we don’t have a green flag until 8:30, 8:45, that makes for a very long day for everybody, in the nice, cool, dry Texas climate that we normally experience in June.

“But for me, I’m going to be flying in a little early. I do actually still have a sponsor commitment to attend actually tomorrow, so I’ll be heading in there tomorrow afternoon, and yeah, Friday will very much be a rest day and try to gear up for Saturday.”

It sounds like his teammates are all heading down Friday as well.

Yeah, I agree with James,” said Ryan Hunter-Reay, who also confirmed he’s heading down Friday. “Not only are we going straight into one of the fastest tracks we go to, but we’re going into one of the longest days I think all of us will experience. So it’s ramping up quick.

“It’ll be tough, no doubt. I think it’ll be tough for the drivers physically. A lot of heat, as James mentioned, and to wake up at whatever it is, 4:00 in the morning, and we won’t be done at the track loading up and everything until close to midnight, so it’s going to be an extremely long day, but we’re doing this to get it in, to get the racing back to where the INDYCAR season starts and to get it on TV for our fans, and hopefully the fans will be there with us soon. But this is what we have to do right now, and I think everybody is up for the task. We’re just looking forward to putting the helmet on, shutting the visor and going for it.”

Colton Herta said he’s staying at his family’s house on Friday and Saturday night then leaving on Sunday morning.

The Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan Racing drivers are also coming down Friday but the rest of the team won’t be leaving until Saturday morning on the Charter.

“Well, trying to get rested really throughout this week, I think trying to get your body in good shape has been a longer-term process since we left St. Pete,” Graham Rahal said. “I mean, you should have been prepared then. I think everybody was. And obviously to keep that motivation going has been a challenge for us over the last couple of months, but we feel good. From a rest side, it’s just get your sleep, get ready to be down there.

“I am going to fly down on Friday evening. Thanks to Mr. Lanigan, we’re going to utilize his plane and go down Friday evening and stay in my dad’s motor home actually Friday night so that we’re rested.

“But for the team, I mean, whoa, for those guys to fly down Saturday morning, to have such a long day and to fly home, I think it’s a 4:00 a.m. departure from Indianapolis and you’re going to get home about 2:00 a.m. the next day, that’s a brutal day. I hope everybody is getting their sleep now. I know a lot of guys have a ton of adrenaline going because they want to go racing, too, and they’re prepared. But it’s going to be a pretty tiring exercise for everybody.”

AJ Foyt Racing wasn’t able to secure enough seats on the Charter for the Indy team so Larry Foyt said that they will just fly commercial. Their flight departs Indy on Friday night and will meet the Houston team that evening as the Houston portion of the organization will be driving up themselves.

“They’re (Indy team) going to come on in the night before and get a good night’s rest because it’s going to be a very long day on Saturday, sure,” Foyt said. “The Houston guys, we talked about driving up and trying to do it in one trip, and the more I just thought about it, I thought it was much less risky to get there Friday evening, have a night in a hotel, be well-rested, and we are going to drive back Saturday night after the race, but I felt like driving in Saturday morning, doing the race and coming home was just way too much. So definitely going to get up, get a good night’s sleep. I think they’ll be fine. Obviously, INDYCAR has plenty of protective measures in place, and I think everybody will be very safe.”

The Penske bunch is located in North Carolina and they will be leaving Saturday morning. The drivers though, like mostly everyone else, will be there Friday.

“The drivers are taking a different approach,” said team president Tim Cindric. “The drivers are going in early just so that they get a decent night’s sleep there and can get acclimated, whereas the team, yeah, we’re going to leave before the sun comes up for sure, go through all of our screenings and protocols before we take off, and then yeah, go through that process just to get into the racetrack. It’s going to be a long day without a doubt, but wouldn’t trade it — don’t want to be home on Saturday. I’d much rather be at Texas.”

Dale Coyne Racing sounds like they’re flying commercial but the drivers being down there on Friday while the rest appear to be headed down on the Charter.

It’s going to be a weird day that’s for sure. Screening everywhere before they head down, more screening when they land and additional screening to get into the track. Then, a full days work in near 100 degree heat, with a bunch of uncertainty of the Aeroscreen, the tires and etc, to practice, qualify and race, then head out and get back at 4 a.m. the next day.