IndyCar will return to Houston in Oct. 2013

HOUSTON (AP) IndyCar officially scheduled a race in Houston for October 2013, a step toward expanding the circuit's reach in the United States.

The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston will be run on a temporary street course on the parking lots near Reliant Stadium, the home of the NFL's Houston Texans. Champ Car hosted a race there in 2006 and 2007, on a 1.7-mile course set up in the massive parking lots adjacent to the stadium. The race was cancelled when Champ Car merged with the IndyCar circuit in 2008.

Roger Penske and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves joined officials from Harris County and Shell for the announcement. Penske says Houston is a major market ideal for IndyCar's plans for expansion in the U.S.