Included therein are a few notable changes from this year's version. Here it is at a glance:
| Date | Track | Layout |
| Sun 5-Apr | Streets of St. Petersburg | 1.8-mile street course |
| Sun 19-Apr | Streets of Long Beach | 1.968-mile street course |
| Sun 26-Apr | Kansas Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 24-May | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 2.5-mile oval |
| Sun 31-May | The Milwaukee Mile | 1.0-mile oval |
| Sat 6-Jun * | Texas Motor Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 21-Jun | Iowa Speedway | .875-mile oval |
| Sat 27-Jun * | Richmond International Raceway | .75-mile oval |
| Sun 5-Jul | Watkins Glen International | 3.4-mile road course |
| Sun 12-Jul | Streets of Toronto | 1.721-mile street course |
| Sun 26-Jul | Edmonton City Centre Airport | 1.973-mile airport course |
| Sat 1-Aug * | Kentucky Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 9-Aug | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | 2.258-mile road course |
| Sun 23-Aug | Infineon Raceway | 2.245-mile road course |
| Sat 29-Aug * | Chicagoland Speedway | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 6-Sep | The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | 2.906-mile street course |
| Sat 19-Sep | Twin Ring Motegi | 1.5-mile oval |
| Sun 11-Oct | Homestead-Miami Speedway | 1.5-mil oval |
As you can see, there are tentatively 18 races, with the Surfers Paradise event still under negotiation for a possible Sept '09 date. Homestead-Miami will move from being the season opener to the finale, and Motegi will also move back several months. 2009 will see Long Beach become a "full" (as opposed to a former CCWS only) event on the list, and a race through the downtown streets of Toronto, a long-time staple of the old CART/CCWS schedule, will make a return appearance.
Nashville Speedway, which has hosted IndyCar events since 2001, has been axed from the roster of venues for next year. "A combination of stuff led to the change," said John Griffin, IRL vice president of public relations. "It's a reflection of unification and the opportunities of the league moving forward."
"We don't think it's a perfect schedule, but we think it's progress towards a much improved schedule," Terry Angstadt, president of the IRL's commercial division.
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