By David Morgan, Associate Editor
MADISON, Ill. — Oval season is upon us.
The final sprint to the finish of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season begins this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with Saturday’s running of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
The 1.25-mile oval will be one of three ovals on the remaining schedule, along with the doubleheader at Milwaukee and the season finale at Nashville. Only Portland stands alone as the one final road course still to be contested this season.
Two-time series champion Alex Palou comes into the weekend with a 49-point advantage over Will Power, but with ovals dominating the remainder of the season, anything is possible from here on out.
Over the past five years at the track, just two drivers have been at the top of the hill when it comes to the quirky oval, with Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and six-time champion Scott Dixon coming in as the defending winner and the winner of one of two races in 2020. Not to be overlooked is also the king of the ovals, Josef Newgarden, who banked three straight wins at this track from 2020 to 2022.
Dixon currently sits third in points, ready to strike, while Newgarden will have some work to do if he is to finish the year as the champion, currently residing in eighth place in the standings.
This weekend will be just a two-day show, with two practice sessions and qualifying on Friday, leading in to the main event on Saturday evening.
Saturday’s race is also the third oval event that will be run with the new hybrid system after the doubleheader at Iowa last month. Those races were largely follow the leader events with limited passing and with track position being a key tenet of racing at Gateway, it remains to be seen if that will be the case again this weekend.
By the Numbers
What: Bommarito Automotive Group 500, NTT IndyCar Series Race No. 13 of 17
Where: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway – Madison, Illinois (Opened: 1967; First INDYCAR Race: 1997)
When: Saturday, August 17
TV/Radio: USA Network & Peacock 6:00 p.m. ET / INDYCAR Radio Network (SiriusXM Channels 85 & 160)
Track Size: 1.25-mile oval
Race Length: 260 laps, 500 kilometers
2023 Race Winner: Scott Dixon – No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (Started 16th, 123 laps led)
Track Qualifying Record: Will Power – No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet (23.7206 seconds, 189.709 mph – August 25, 2017)
From the Driver’s Seat
Pato O’Ward – No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“I’m looking forward to get going with this last stretch of the season. St. Louis is always an exciting race, and I’ve had some success here in the past. Hopefully we can kick off this last stretch with a bang and fight our way closer to the top of the championship.”
David Malukas – No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda:
“I’m excited to return to World Wide Technology Raceway this weekend. This track has been amazing for me, with back-to-back NTT INDYCAR SERIES podiums in the last two years. The energy and incredible support from the fans make it a truly special place. I’m ready to see what we can achieve this year and push for another great result!”
Last Time in Gateway
Scott Dixon was just doing Scott Dixon things during the 2023 running of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway.
Despite starting all the way back in 16th place, Dixon and his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing team were playing chess while the rest of the field was playing checkers, schooling them in the fuel mileage game, saving enough to be able to take one less pit stop than everybody else.
Escalating himself to the lead for the first time on Lap 113, Dixon just needed two more stops to make it to the finish, while the rest of the field needed at least three. That advantage was all he needed to hold serve as the race churned toward its conclusion, eventually leading a race-high 123 laps on the day en route to the win, the second of three wins he would finish the season with.
“It was pretty special. Obviously a team effort,” Dixon said. “There were definitely times, especially when we got to the red tire as well, I don’t think it’s going to last. We kind of got stuck with a couple back markers there and lost touch with the 28 car at that point. Was feeling a little bit miserable.
“But we were still the only ones that were going to the windows that we needed to. Luckily that caution helped us a little bit. It probably didn’t really matter. I don’t think it mattered if we had that or not. I think the race would have continued on fine otherwise anyway.”
Pato O’Ward would finish the race in second place, some 22 seconds back, with David Malukas in tow to round out the podium finishers.
“He’s just Scott Dixon, you know? I feel like that’s what he’s best known for,” O’Ward said.
“He knows how to do it better than anybody with a great combination that he has with his team and car and everything. It’s a bummer that we weren’t even close to kind of even race him.
“But, yeah, I’m happy with today. I’m super happy with the strategy. I don’t think we would have been able to make that three-stopper work.
“Boys were stout in the pits. Super happy with the car.”
The podium for Malukas was another for the Chicago native at Gateway, which has been by far and away his best track on the circuit.
“We tried to do what Dixon did. I don’t know how he can do it,” Malukas said. “We were falling off like a cliff trying to meet that fuel target. I was lifting at the start/finish line. I am like, Guys, that’s not possible. We had to kind of cut it off and go heavy push from there.
“Then at that point I was just dealing with lap cars. Overall we had a really good car, and it was good for the team. Another podium at Gateway. Yeah, going through obviously INDYCAR two times here and through INDY NXT, we just keep getting podiums.”
The remainder of the top-10 would go to Alexander Rossi, Scott McLaughlin, Colton Herta, Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, Will Power, and Marcus Ericsson.
Josef Newgarden, who started the day on the pole, finished in 25th after contact with the outside wall on Lap 211.
Weekend Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Saturday, August 16
- NTT IndyCar Series Practice (12:45 pm to 1:45 p.m. – Peacock)
- NTT IndyCar Series Qualifying (4:20 pm to 5:20 pm – Peacock)
- NTT IndyCar Series Final Practice (7:45 pm to 9:30 pm – Peacock)
Sunday, August 17
- Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (6:00 pm to 9:00 pm – USA Network/Peacock)
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