The second running of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park is rapidly approaching and the stars of the Verizon IndyCar Series are chomping at the bit for the open-wheeled action on the 1.25-mile Madison oval.
Photo Credit: INDYCAR – Bret Kelley
Saturday’s event, the fifteenth stop of the 17-race docket, has a 7:40 p.m. green flag.
“Last year’s event at Gateway was really impressive,” said Scott Dixon, the current series points leader from Chip Ganassi Racing. ”The owners and promoters did an amazing job with the race. The turnout was huge and I’m guessing that will only get better this year.”
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who currently sits third in the standings, won last year’s inaugural race which provided the springboard that eventually led to his series championship last September.
“Gateway is a race I’m really focused on and a place I’d love to get another win at,” Newgarden said. “It was a great battle between my teammate Simon Pagenaud and me last year. It was definitely an exciting race for the fans and a fun one for us racers.”
Photo Credit: INDYCAR – Chris Jones
Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi has won back-to-back checkered flags at the last two events (Mid-Ohio and Pocono) and is aiming for a trifecta as he currently trails Dixon in the standings by 29 points with three events left.
“I think this track is one of the absolute best in terms of the effort that they put in to promote our series, and I hope to put on a great show for them,” Rossi said.“We are obviously nearing the end of the season, so we will be looking to continue to close the gap to Scott this weekend.”
Graham Rahal was in town last week, making advanced promotional appearances for the event and for his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing brand.
“The city has really gotten behind the event, which is so important,” Rahal said. “It certainly helps that St. Louis is such a great sports town. We’re hoping to get to Gateway and make the most of every opportunity.”
Drivers that have recently tested at the facility are already familiar with the demands of the track.
Photo Credit: INDYCAR – Shaun Gritzmacher
“We had a decent test at Gateway last month, so hopefully we will roll off the truck strong and continue to improve the car,” said Marco Andretti of Andretti Herta Autosport.“It will likely be a tough race physically as steering weight is high there. We need to get on the podium we’ve been so close this year, so we’ll fight to get the job done this weekend.”
“We tested at Gateway about two weeks ago in our No. 19 Paysafe car,” added Pietro Fittipaldi (Dale Coyne Racing). “We had a really good test there. It’s a short oval and I’ve raced on a short oval before so I’m happy that I’ll be arriving with some experience.”
“The characteristics of Gateway are very unique,” said Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.) “I think it is one of the best short ovals because there is such high banking in Turns 1 and 2, and Turns 3 and 4 are kind of flat and, as we observed, it was one of the best short oval races last year.”
Photo Credit: INDYCAR – Bret Kelley
The 248-lap feature entertained over 40,000 racing fans last year and the 22 entrants are enthusiastic about a similar-sized turnout this Saturday.
“Last year we had such a big crowd coming and this team did pretty well there,” said veteran Tony Kanaan of AJ Foyt Enterprises. “We are looking forward to it and big props to the guys at the track. I guess they repaved even more, now that they’ve repaved pit lane. Hopefully, we can get our best result of the season (so far) there.”
“I visited St. Louis in May for the Indy 500 media day, and I have to say that the track does a fantastic job getting the whole city involved and excited about the event,” said Carlin’s Charlie Kimball. “Looking forward to feeling their energy and seeing the grandstands full again!”
Tickets for Saturday’s event start at just $35. Kids 15 and under are free (general admission) with a paid adult. A limited number of Gold Level premium seats are available at just $75. Go to THIS LINK FOR TICKET INFORMATION.
Arch City Media will have continuing coverage of this weekend’s event at Gateway Motorsports Park.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
COORS LIGHT POLE NIGHT SHOWDOWN
8 AM – PARKING LOTS OPEN
9 AM – SPECTATOR GATES OPEN
9:15 AM – INDYCAR GARAGE OPEN / KARTPLEX OPENS
9 AM – 10 AM – VINTAGE INDY REGISTRY PRACTICE
10:15 AM – 11:15 AM – NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES PRACTICE
11:30 AM – 12 PM – PRO MAZDA PRACTICE
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE
1:30 PM – 3 PM – NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES PRACTICE
3:15 PM – 4 PM – INDY LIGHTS PRACTICE
4 PM – COORS LIGHT POLE NIGHT OPENING CEREMONIES
4:15 PM – 5:15 PM – VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES QUALIFYING
5:30 PM – 6 PM – NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES QUALIFYING
6:15 PM – 7 PM – PRO MAZDA QUALIFICATIONS
7: 15 PM – 7:45 PM – INDY LIGHTS QUALIFICATIONS
8 PM – 9 PM – VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES FINAL PRACTICE
9 PM – NASCAR DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
9:15 PM – NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES 200 (150 LAPS)
10:55 PM – VICTORY LANE AWARDS
12 AM – INDYCAR GARAGE CLOSES / KARTPLEX CLOSES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 25
10 AM – PARKING LOTS OPEN
11 AM – SPECTATOR GATES OPEN / KARTPLEX OPENS
12 PM – 1 PM – VINTAGE INDY REGISTRY “OPEN WHEELED ICONS”
2 PM – INDYCAR GARAGE OPENS
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM – VINTAGE INDY REGISTRY “OPEN WHEELED ICONS”
3 PM – 7 PM – RUMBLE BEFORE THE ROAR PRE-RACE PARTY
3 PM – 4 PM – INDYCAR SERIES DRIVER AUTOGRAPH SESSION
3:45 PM – PRO-MAZDA RACE (55 LAPS)
4:45 PM – INDY LIGHTS RACE (60 LAPS)
6 PM – INDYCAR WARM-UPS
7 PM – BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 PRE-RACE CERMONIES
7:35 PM –” DRIVERS START YOUR ENGINES!” COMMAND
7: 40 PM – GREEN FLAG
9: 30 PM – VICTORY LANE CEREMONY
9: 40 PM – POST-RACE FAN INVASION & TRACK SCAVENGER HUNT
