(MADISON, IL) The upcoming weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park was already scheduled to be packed with four races scheduled, highlighted by Saturday night’s Verizon IndyCar Series‘ 258-lap feature, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
Photo Credit: INDYCAR- Chris Jones
The lone drawback to a full docket is that a lot of scrambling has to take place when Mother Nature interferes.
With thunderstorms completely cancelling a Friday early-afternoon practice session and a subsequent halt during a late-afternoon qualifying round that only lasted 22 minutes, the series was forced to scrap original intentions and field the starting line-up for Saturday’s race based on the series’ current point standings.
As a result, current points leader Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) claimed the pole for Madison’s marquee match-up while Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport), who trails Dixon by 29 points, starts outside Row 1.
Photo Credit: INDYCAR – Shawn Gritzmacher
Current defending champion Josef Newgarden (Team Penske), who currently trails Dixon by 66 points, starts third and while teammate Will Power starts outside Row 2.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosporrt) will be in the fifth slot while seven-ranked Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) moves into the sixth position in place of rookie Robert Wickens, who currently holds that spot in the hierarchy but is currently out of the series due to a spinal cord injury suffered as a result of a crash at last weekend’s race at Pocono.
Although the end result of Saturday’s starting grid might have not been ideal, the decision to place the order in correlation to the current hierarchy seemed the most fair.
“Would we have won the pole? Maybe, maybe not,” said Dixon afterwards in a press conference. “In many ways, INDYCAR made the right decision as far as trying to put a priority on getting some running in hopefully dry conditions that will benefit everybody. It was going to be hard, schedule-wise, to try to get everything in.”
Photo Credit: INDYCAR- Chris Jones
Under cool conditions, the drivers were still able to complete a 90-minute practice session on the 1.25 mile oval Friday night, where Rossi paced the pack with a lap time of 24.5821 seconds while travelling 183.060 mph. Dixon closely followed by a whisker, completing a rotation in 24.5872 seconds with a 183.022 mph showing.
Rookie Pietro Fittipaldi (Dale Coyne Racing), the grandson of racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi, had the third highest lap of the session, a 24.6854 time at 182.294 mph.
For the practice, 14 drivers out of the 21 entrants recorded laps over 180 mph and the lowest of the session still exceeded 177 mph.
With temperatures projected to rise and warm up the track considerably when the 7:40 pm green flag drops, there is the good possibility that those speeds will rise to the near 190 mph plateau seen at last year’s race.
SUPPLEMENTAL RACES SHUFFLE FRIDAY SESSIONS
The re-arrangement of Friday’s schedule also resulted in a shuffling of events involving the Indy Lights series and the Pro Madza series, which each have races scheduled Saturday afternoon.
Reduced to a solo practice session Friday afternoon, driver Colton Herta (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing) recorded the top lap in the Indy Lights series with a 27.8755 second lap at 161.432 mph. The 18-year-old paces the seven-car field in Saturday’s 75-lap feature that launches at 4:40 pm.
In the Pro Madza developmental flight, current points leader Rinus VeeKay (Juncos Racing) recorded the fastest lap on Friday with a 31.649 second output at 142.186 mph. VeeKay competes with ten other athletes in the 55-lap sprint that begins at 3:30 pm.
KRAUS WINS NASCAR K & N SERIES FRIDAY EVENT
Photo Credit: Derek Kraus Official Facebook
Even with all the changes applied to the Friday Gateway docket, the evening’s main event, the NASCAR K&N PRO Series’ Monaco Gateway Classic presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, remained true to form late Friday.
In the 120-lap NASCAR developmental feature, driver Derek Kraus, who turns 17 next Saturday, claimed his third checkered flag of the season in a race that averaged 109.047 mph.
Call it an early birthday present. Kraus started second on the evening and fell as far back as 18th with mechanical issues but his Bill McAnalley Racing team was able to rectify his No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, snare the lead in Lap 84 and collect a five-second victory over runner-up Cole Rouse.
SATURDAY BROADCAST NOTES
Live television coverage of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 7 pm on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). Lead announcer Kevin Lee commentates alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy while the pit reporters Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt, Anders Krohn and Robin Miller provide supplemental coverage.
Audio coverage can be heard on numerous platforms, including Sirius Channel 121, XM Channel 209, indycar.com, indycarradio.com, the INDYCAR mobile app and locally on terrestrial radio with Alton’s WBGZ-AM (1570 AM/94.3 FM). Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Kyle Kaiser while Jake Query, Rob Howden, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young assists.
LOCAL BUSINESSMAN & MUSICIANS ADDED TO INDYCAR FESTIVITIES
Two more St. Louis fixtures will be a part of opening ceremonies at Saturday’s main event. Musical group Dr. Zhivegas will perform a 30-minute concert from the winner’s circle beginning at 6:15 p.m. The veteran cover band will also perform following the race.
Also, David Steward, founder and chairman of St. Louis-based World Wide Technology, will serve as grand marshal for the race.
Steward founded WWT in 1990 with a handful of employees and grew it to the current net worth over $10 billion. WWT has topped Black Enterprise Magazine’s list of the largest black-owned businesses in the country for seven years and is No. 30 on the Forbes ranking of America’s largest private companies.
BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500
Photo Credit: INDYCAR – Chris Owens
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 INAVSION & TRACK SCAVENGER HUNT
