Josef Newgarden has taken victory in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at the Gateway Motorsports Park, extending his lead in the drivers’ championship to 31 points over Scott Dixon after a thrilling 248-lap race.
During the latter stages of the race Newgarden muscled his way around team-mate and reigning champion Simon Pagenaud for the lead, with the duo banging wheels at Turn 1 yet miraculously avoiding taking each other out.
After Newgarden’s feisty manoeuvre Pagenaud was forced wide and lost considerable momentum, losing a further position to Dixon.
Despite Penske’s power advantage over the rest of the field throughout the weekend Pagenaud was unable to find a way around Dixon during the last few laps, with the four-time champion securing P2 and a vital collection of points.
Pagenaud was forced to settle for third ahead of team-mate Helio Castroneves, who also led several laps before stalling during a pit-stop.
Conor Daly was an impressive P5 for A.J. Foyt Racing, with the Chevrolet-powered racer swarming all over the rear of Castroneves during the final few laps.
Alexander Rossi was sixth for Andretti Herta Autosport, ahead of Charle Kimball who once again enjoyed a productive oval race for Ganassi.
James Hinchcliffe failed to trouble the sharp end of the order throughout the race, with the Honda-powered drivers struggling somewhat in comparison to those running Chevrolet engines.
Carlos Munoz and Sebastien Bourdais rounded out the top ten, with the Frenchman in particular raising many eyebrows up and down the paddock after making a relatively competitive return to the series following his almighty shunt during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 back in May.
The race began in comical circumstances when Tony Kanaan spun on the final formation lap, with the Brazilian veteran making significant contact with the wall in the process.
At the same time as this embarrassing mistake from Kanaan the race began under safety car conditions, with pole sitter Will Power in the lead.
Although Kanaan eventually managed to rejoin the action several laps down, the Ganassi racer was ultimately forced into retirement towards the end of the race due to mechanical issues striking his car.
On the restart carnage ensued when Power, Ed Carpenter and Takuma Sato made contact Turn 2, with Carpenter in particular flying over the top of Power and miraculously avoiding the cockpit area of the Penske racer.
The race was interrupted by three other caution periods, as J.R. Hildebrand, Max Chilton and Ryan Hunter-Reay all made contact with the wall in separate incidents.
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