In January 1980, USAC initially released a ten-race schedule, with new venues
Talladega,
Charlotte, and
Road Atlanta added to the schedule. However, these three events were eventually scrapped when USAC entered into a joint sanctioning effort with CART.
Original schedule Revised schedule In the spring of 1980, USAC and CART merged their schedules for the newly created CRL Championship. With Talladega, Charlotte, and Road Atlanta already scrapped, Texas World Speedway was cancelled too. That track would soon cease to hold any more professional races, and Indy cars never raced at Texas World again. Mosport, which had held races in the past, was also dropped.
Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Mid-Ohio, and
Pocono, all were kept as part of the final merged schedule. The co-sanctioning effort ended after only five races. USAC declared their involvement in the 1980 season over after Mid-Ohio. The remaining seven races were sanctioned solely by CART, and paid points to the
CART championship only. ==Final points standings==