Kiwi driver Scott Dixon is eager to get out on the track as the IndyCar season gets underway at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday (NZ time).
The 2020 season was due to get underway in mid-March in Florida, but 48 hours out from the season opener, the red flag was waved due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
After some hard work behind the scenes with NASCAR officials the revamped IndyCar season will finally get underway this weekend, ending an eight-month wait for racing, with Dixon looking to win his sixth championship.
There will be some mass changes this season with no fans in attendance for at least the first two races of the season, while practice, qualifying and the race will all be compressed into one day to limit exposure and lower the risk factor.
Dixon, 39, told Newshub this season will be one of the toughest in his 17-year career at the top of world motorsport.
"I'm super excited," Dixon told Newshub from his home in the US.
"I wish we'd started up a little earlier. Motorsport is one of the few where you don't have direct contact with other participants, and lots of sports leagues are still trying to work out details, but we're back on track this week and we're pumped.
"With the current schedule we are only missing two races. We are missing some venues but we have three doubleheaders scheduled. I love the doubleheaders format and think we should use it more often. I love racing, and I can't wait."
Dixon said there are lots of strict measures in place to ensure racing goes ahead, including travelling to the race venue on the day instead of arriving a few days earlier.
His Chip Ganassi team will head to the airport in the early hours of the morning to undergo health screening before hopping a chartered flight to Texas.
Everyone will be screened upon arrival in Texas, and again before they enter the track and face masks will be required at all times until drives are getting inside their cars.
Dixon also explained how the team would be taking two planes instead of one to ensure social distancing, while things like food and water will all be prepped offsite to limit contamination.
That will be routine for all race days for the foreseeable future, except for double race weekends where they will be permitted to stay in the race city.
Dixon also has to overcome the challenge of heading into the race weekend on cold tires as he hasn't been in his car since early March.
"There have been some guys driving go-karts and in simulators so that helps, so we will be one of the two teams that haven't tested at Texas," Dixon explained.
"We will start with practice, two-hour break then qualifying, then another two-hour break before the race and then racing.
"Everything has been shut down, so the last time I was in the car in early March. By now we'd be five races through and done lots of testing, and the way we scale things from doing road races to ovals.
"It is lots different to what we're used to, and it'll be an eye-opener - not for veterans like myself, but rookies will have their work cut out for them."
While Dixon is excited to be back on the race track, he knows there are lots of pressing issues in the US which are dominating global headlines.
The death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis last week has sparked protest and rioting across the United States. Floyd, a black man, died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
Dixon said he's been donating to local charities to show his support, and hopes something positive comes out of the current movement.
"There is such a deep hurt in America and it's global too.It's a hard topic in so many ways.
"I'm very privileged, I haven't had to deal with any of that but for me it's about listening, understanding, reading and researching what's going on.
"The combination of the pandemic and this, there will be positives out of it, but it's an underlying issue for many generations which needs to be fixed."
