Round 13: Bommarito Automotive Group 500. World Wide Technology Raceway. Aug 16 - 17

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 13: Bommarito Automotive Group 500. World Wide Technology Raceway. Aug 16 - 17

The 2024 season resumes after the break, with five races left on the calendar, four of which are on ovals and this weekend's race, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, is the first of those ovals.

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History
Originally called St. Louis Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway has undergone a number of name changes over the years, including, Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park, taking its name from the proximity to the Gateway Arch monument in St. Louis .

In 1967 St. Louis Raceway was originally developed as a 1/8 mile drag strip, by Wayne Meinert. Four years later and following the purchase of more land, the drag strip was expanded to a full quarter-mile and renamed St. Louis International Raceway.

Drag racing at St. Louis International Raceway, was the main form of motorsport throughout the '70s and '80s but with increasing demand from road racers, a new 2.6-mile course was built and opened in 1985, incorporating the drag strip. The venue was renamed Gateway International Raceway and hosted Can-Am, Sports Car Club of American (SCCA) and Trans Am events.

In 1995, the venue was purchased by former Long Beach Grand Prix promoter Chris Pook, who had plans to create a new oval track for hosting Indycar and NASCAR races. The original track was demolished and a new oval and infield road course were built and opened in 1997.

The venue's inaugural race was the Motorola 300, the sixth round of the 1997 CART season. It was held on Saturday May 24 and was won by Paul Tracy, driving for Marlboro Team Penske, in a Penske PC 26 - Mercedes-Benz IC108C.

CART decided, rather than holding the race on the same day as the Indianapolis 500, (which had become part of the rival Indy Racing League's calendar), as had happened in 1996 with the U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway, they would schedule the race the day before, to serve as their Memorial Day weekend race without direct conflict. However after a couple of years, track management grew increasingly dissatisfied with its use, which was seen by some, as a political pawn or statement by CART. The event also suffered from poor attendance, as fans generally chose to travel to the Indianapolis 500 for the weekend instead.

In 2000, the race was moved to the Fall/Autumn, but with spectator attendance of only 25,000, it was dropped from the CART series calendar at the end of 2001 and switched to the Indy Racing League.

The Gateway Indy 250, was the Indy Racing League's inaugural race at the venue and was won by Al Unser, Jr. driving a G-Force GF05B Oldsmobile Aurora V8, for Galles Raciing. Despite the switch to the Indy Racing League, spectator attendance continued to be poor and the event was dropped after 2003.

In 2010 Dover Motorsports, Inc., who had purchased the venue from Pook, hosted two Nationwide Series races at Gateway. However, the attendance figures were disappointing and the Dover group, citing their inability to run the operations with acceptable returns, officially announced Gateway was closing and ceasing operations as of November 3, 2010.

Less than a year later Curtis Francois, a retired racing driver who had raced in Indy Lights at Gateway in 2002 and now a real estate developer, purchased the 160-acre venue investing $20 million and re-opened it in 2012. Key to reopening Gateway was the commitment to drag racing and the partnership with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Francois signed a long-term deal with the NHRA starting with a signature event in September 2012 and subsequently adding NASCAR truck events.

In 2015, the track was approved as a test facility for the Verizon IndyCar series and in January 2017, a multi-year agreement was signed with Gateway Motorsports Park and the Bommarito Automotive Group. Subsequently, on April 17, World Wide Technology announced it had acquired naming rights for the track, renaming it to World Wide Technology Raceway.

At the 2017 St. Louis Auto Show, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was announced and added to the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series calendar.

Before the start of the 2021 race, event promoters announced a contract extension with IndyCar, to secure the race for an additional five years.

Some Trivia
The team with the most wins: Team Penske. 1997, 2002, 2003, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022

The driver with the most wins: Josef Newgarden, 2017, 2020*, 2021, 2022
*Race 2 of 2020 double-header.

Track
The 1.25-mile (2.01 km) oval has a unique egg shape, with different degrees of banking. Turns 1 and 2 have characteristics similar to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, while Turns 3 and 4 are similar to Phoenix International Raceway, while the track's egg shape mimics the legendary Darlington Raceway. There is also a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) infield road course. Alongside is a separate NHRA-sanctioned drag strip. Today, Gateway has undergone an $11.5 million revitalization project.


Original 1985-95 full course layout



2019 to date


Track length
1.25-mile (2.01 km)
Turns: 4

Lap record
Will Power, May 25, 2017. 23.721, 189.642 mph (224.447 km/h).
Team Penske, Dallara DW12-Chevrolet IndyCar V6
Verizon IndyCar Series.

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Last year's race
https://www.indycar.com/news/2023/08...nics-race-wwtr

Pole
Scott McLaughlin.
Team Penske,
Dallara IR18-Chevy IndyCar V6

Winner
Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing.
Dallara IR18-Honda HI23TT V6

Laps: 260
Distance: 325 Miles ((522.6 km)
Race Time: 2:10:09.404
Average Speed: 149.819 Mph (241.110 Km/h)

Fastest lap
Linus Lundqvist - Meyer Shank Racing
Lap 62. 25.6786 sec,
175.243 Mph (282.026 Km/h)

Cautions: 2
Laps: 22

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Practice and Qualifications

Practice 1
Friday, Aug 16
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM ET

Qualifications
Friday, Aug 16
4:20 PM - 5:20 PM ET

Final Practice
Friday, Aug 16
8:30 PM - 9:30 PM ET

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TV Broadcast
Saturday, Aug 17
USA, Peacock: 6:00 PM ET, 10:00 PM UTC.
Sky Sports F1: 11:00 PM BST