Round 15: Bommarito Automotive Group 500. World Wide Technology Raceway. Aug 26-27.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 15: Bommarito Automotive Group 500. World Wide Technology Raceway. Aug 26-27.

This weekend will be the seventh running of the Bommarito Automotive Group
500, as an event. However, it will be the eighth running of the race, as a
double-header was held in 2020 due to a number of races being cancelled
because of the Covid pandemic.

There are a couple of notable changes to this year's race format, with the race itself being moved from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon and it will also feature the use of alternate tyres.

-

History
Originally called St. Louis Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway has
undergone a number of name changes over the years and was previously
known as, 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.

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 and was won by Al Unser, Jr. driving a G-Force GF05B-Oldsmobile Aurora V8, for Galles Racing. 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 and added to the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series calendar, with the race being held on August 26, 2017. It was won by Josef Newgarden, driving for Team Penske in a Dallara DW12-Chevrolet IndyCar V6.

In 2020 a double-header was held, one of 5 on that year's revised calendar, due to the Covid pandemic, as a number of races had been cancelled.

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.

-

Last year's race:
https://www.indycar.com/news/2022/08...wwtr-nics-race

Pole position:
Will Power.
Team Penske,
Dallara IR18-Chevy IndyCar V6

Winner:
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske.
Dallara IR18-Chevy IndyCar V6

Laps: 200
Distance: 310.686 Miles (500 km)
Race Time: 2:10:40.1827
Average Speed: 149.231 Mph (240.164 Km/h)
Fastest lap: Josef Newgarden-Team Penske, Lap 227. 25.5579 sec, 176.071 Mph
(283.358 Km/h)

Cautions: 2
Laps: 145 - 156, 214 - 223.

-

Practice and Qualifications

Practice 1
Saturday, Aug 26
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Qualifications
Saturday, Aug 26
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET

High Line Practice
Saturday, Aug 26
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM ET

Final Practice
Saturday, Aug 26
5:45 PM - 6:45 PM ET

-

Race Broadcast:
Sunday, Aug 27.
NBC: 3:30 PM ET, UTC: 7:30 PM,
Sky Sports F1: 8:30 PM BST