Turns: 4
Length: 1.25 miles (2.012km)
Laps: 200
Fastest Lap Speed: Josef Newgarden – 189.709mph – 2017
Most Wins: No multiple winners
2019 Winner: Takuma Sato
Rounds eight and nine of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series will see the championship head to the WorldWide Technology Raceway at Gateway right on the Illinois/Missouri border, for the Bommarito Automotive 250s.
After a nail-biting Indianapolis 500 just one week ago, Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon heads into the weekend with a 84-point lead over Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden. Indy 500 Rookie of the year Pato O’Ward is in third place for Arrow McLaren SP a further 33 points back.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato will arrive at Gateway as a two-time Indy 500 winner and as last year’s winner of this event in the No.30 Mi-Jack-Honda.
The qualifying format used at Iowa will also return for this weekend. Drivers will complete a two-lap run with the first lap setting their grid position for the first race and the second lap will set their position for the second race.
CART first raced here in 1997 until 2001 with Paul Tracy taking the inaurgural victory for Team Penske, with Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya taking the remaining wins until 2000.
IndyCar began attending in 2001 and ran for three seasons where Al Unser Jr. Gil De Ferran and Helio Castroneves also stood on the top step of the podium.
When the series returned in 2017, Newgarden, Will Power and Sato have since claimed victory, could we see a first double-winner of the event this weekend?
Temperatures are set to be warm around 86F (30C) for the first race on Saturday, but slightly cooler on Sunday at around 78F (26C).
2019 Recap
Newgarden would lead the field away and whilst the first caution of the event came for Marcus Ericsson’s spin, it would be Penske team-mate Will Power’s crash that changed the dynamic of the race early on.
Under this caution Dixon would be forced to retire and be the first of two races which doused the flames on his title charge.
Sato on a different strategy would sneak through the pack and come into play for the second half of the race, despite clashing with Ryan Hunter-Reay in the second time in two races after the pair clashed majorly at the previous race at Pocono.
Ed Carpenter would attempt to chase down Sato and it came to a stunning drag race to the line with Japanese driver edging out Carpenter by just 0.039 seconds.
Tony Kanaan held off a chasing Santino Ferrucci for the final spot on the podium.
Newgarden dropped several places after spinning out of the final corner battling with Ferrucci leaving the championship leader finishing seventh.
The two races on Saturday and Sunday are set to get underway at 15:45 Eastern time (20:45 BST).
