IndyCars - Gateway: Will it go 'round in circles?

[MarkyS]

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With apologies to Billy Preston, the answer to the question is, “YES!” …if we are talking about…
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The Bommarito Automotive Group 500

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Officially the venue is called, “World Wide Technology Raceway” but it’s popularly known by its former name - “Gateway.” So named because one can literally see the beautiful St.Louis, Missouri Gateway Arch from the top row of the westside grandstands, even though the track is across the Mississippi River, in Madison, Illinois.

The track is a unique oval in the United States, though it bears similarity with Twin Ring Motegi’s oval in Japan, with its egg shape created by the two different radius ends of the track. There are varying degrees of banking in each corner of the 1.25-mile circuit. Turns 1 & 2 are similar to New Hampshire Motor Speedway while Turns 3 & 4 are similar to ISM Raceway in Phoenix.

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This weekend Gateway will be the host of a double-header for the IndyCars - a 200 lap event on Saturday afternoon followed by a 200 lap event on Sunday afternoon and YES, there will be fans in the stands! The IndyCars will be supported by ARCA cars and by NASCAR trucks, but as they will have no IndyCar drivers in them we will wish them safe and happy racing and concentrate instead on the IndyCars and the 3rd support series, the Indy Pro 2000 series, which will run their 2nd oval event of their season on Saturday.

Let’s take a look at that series: (continued)…

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[MarkyS]

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Indy Pro 2000 is the middle rung of the ladder that trains IndyCar drivers, known as the Road to Indy. The car is the Tatuus PM-18 - a more powerful version of the first rung’s Tatuus USF-17. The PM-18 has almost 300 horsepower from its Elite Engines normally-aspirated MZR 2.0 liter, mated to a Sadev 6-speed sequential gearbox, with shifting from paddle-shifters on the steering wheel. The front wheels of the PM-18 are as wide as the rears of the USF-17 and the rears of the PM-18 are bigger yet - and necessary to counter the bigger brake rotors of the PM-18 and the much bigger downforce generated by its bigger wings and its undertray.

The drivers in Indy Pro 2000 are among the best junior open-wheel drivers in the world, and they come from all over the world to compete. They have already learned good racecraft in lesser series, so far more of the field are capable of podiums and WINS, making the competition much tougher. It’s hard to dominate this series and the title chase is usually tight to the end.

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Devlin DeFrancesco in his Tatuus PM-18

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The current points leader is Canadian Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Stienbrenner Racing who is leading based on his consistency, as he has yet to WIN a race, but Devlin is FAST and he is always TOP FIVE. Second in the points is American race-WINNER Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Racing while 3rd is race-WINNER Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports, from Singapore. 4th in the points is Russian two-time race WINNER Artem Petrov for Juncos Racing and 5th in the points is American race WINNER Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport.

The WINNER of the latest race is USAC Silver Crown superstar Kody Swanson who WON his debut series race at Lucas Oil Raceway, driving for Legacy Autosport. Legacy has put Kody in the same car for this race, too.

Devlin DeFrancesco (left) and Kody Swanson

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Friday will be a day of testing for Indy Pro 2000, followed by qualifying for Saturday’s race. later in the day the IndyCars will hold a practice session. Let’s get this thing GOING!!

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M

[Jamerican]

Meh… F1 > Indy car

[MarkyS]

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Friday at Gateway - Indy Pro 2000 come out to test…

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The series held 3 test sessions of 30 minutes each today, followed by qualifying. The three test sessions were very close in times but the fastest time was put in during the morning’s T-1 session, due to the cooler temps, no doubt.

Topping the T-1 session was Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport, while P2 went to Artem Petrov for Juncos Racing. P3 was Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner while P4 was Kory Enders for DEForce Racing. P5 was Kory’s teammate Manuel Sulaiman.

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Braden Eves - speed of 142.005 miles per hour

Braden Eves

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Topping the T-2 session was Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsport while P2 went to Artem Petrov, again. P3 was Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Racing while P4 was once again American Kory Enders. P5 was once again Mexican Manuel Sulaiman.

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Danial Frost - speed of 141.058 miles per hour

Danial Frost

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Topping the T-3 session - his 2nd topper - was Braden Eves, the 2019 USF2000 Champion, while P2 was once again Artem Petrov. P3 went to Danial Frost while P4 went to Devlin DeFrancesco. Sting Ray Robb copped the P5 spot.

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Braden Eves - speed of 141.402 miles per hour

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Notable:

• A quick look shows a lot of the same guys in the TOP FIVE. It’s no surprise that these same guys are the points leaders in the series.

• The entire field covered the track within 1 second of each other.

• We continue to be hugely impressed with Russian Artem Petrov. Petrov is a series sophomore but he has almost no oval racing experience, yet he is consistently TOP FIVE both here and at Lucas Oil Raceway. His two race WINS on road courses prove his ability on the twisty circuits but he is also proving to be a consistent ovalist, too.

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Artem Petrov - double threat.

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Next, the IndyCars come out for practice…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at Gateway - the IndyCars hold their practice…

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One of IndyCars’ young lions this season is Mexican sophomore Pato O’Ward for Arrow McLaren SP and the hot shoe from Monterey stole the show from the veterans today on the egg-shaped oval.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCar practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 00:24.7890s for a speed of 181.532mph

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2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:24.8673s for a speed of 180.961mph

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3 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:24.8864s for a speed of 180.822mph

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4 - Conor Daly, Carlin - time of 00:24.9195s for a speed of 180.581mph

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5 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:24.9398s for a speed of 180.434mph
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6 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
7 - Alex Palou [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh
8 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Ed Carpenter Racing
10 - Colton Herta, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner

11 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
12 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
13 - Oliver Askew [R], Arrow McLaren SP
14 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
15 - Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing
16 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
17 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta
18 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
19 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
20 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises
22 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
23 - Santino Ferrucci, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan

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Notable:

• Of the TOP FIVE most are veterans who have been stellar at Gateway before, but O’Ward, the 2020 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, is not at all intimidated. Pato’s not only the 2018 Indy Lights Champion but he was also the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech Prototype Challenge Champion, the 2016 Indy Pro 2000 Vice-Champion and the holder of far too many karting titles to list. The kid’s got game.

• Conor Daly continues to have the best season of his career, and is due for another podium, if not a WIN. He and rookie Rinus VeeKay are making Ed Carpenter look like a brilliant team owner - even though this week Conor is subbing for Max Chilton for Carlin.

• Both Ryan Hunter-Reay and Santino Ferrucci were plagued with mechanicals for most of the practice. Both were exceptional at Gateway last year so if they can get their wagons in shape they should rise.

• Rookie Alex Palou is again way too good on ovals for a guy who is seeing the first ovals of his career. He’s on track to be Rookie of the Year.

• With his first series WIN Swede Felix Rosenqvist at Chip Ganassi Racing was supposed to be the guy to watch rise in 2020, but Marcus Ericsson has bested Felix at almost every venue for the last few races. Which Swede ends up impressing the most?

• We’re getting used to seeing Jack Harvey in the TOP TEN with great regularity. A podium or two is certainly in the offing. It’s hard to believe he was almost out of racing a few years ago, due to lack of interest. Persistence!

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Patricio O’Ward

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Youth movement - left to right, Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson and Jack Harvey

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The IndyCars will qualify on Saturday for both races, using one session, as the first of two hot laps will be used for Saturday’s race and the 2nd will be used for Sunday’s race. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 qualify…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at Gateway - Indy Pro 2000 qualify for Saturday’s race…

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…and taking the pole is the series points leader, Canadian Devlin DeFrancesco. This is Devlin’s 2nd pole of the season, following his pole at Road America Race 1 - the first race of 2020.

Qualifying is simple: Each car goes out alone for a warm-up lap, followed by two hot laps. Those two laps are added together and averaged and the quickest average is on the pole.

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Here is the way that Indy Pro 2000 will Grid for Season Round 7, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; times are for two laps while speed is the average of those two laps

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Row 1

Pole - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:03.7252s for a speed of 141.231mph

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P2 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:03.8640s for a speed of 140.924mph

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Row 2

P3 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 01:04.1241s for a speed of 140.353mph

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P4 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:04.4433s for a speed of 139.658mph

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Row 3

P5 - Braden Eves [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:04.4560s for a speed of 139.630mph

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P6 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:04.4610s for a speed of 139.619mph

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Row 4

P7 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing
P8 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing
P10 - Moises de la Vara, DEForce Racing

Row 6

P11 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing
P12 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport

Row 7

P13 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
P14 - Kody Swanson [R], Legacy Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!
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Notable:

• This is Devlin’s first oval pole in his career. He’s been primarily racing in Europe for years, where this is an art and a skill no one needs to learn. Dev is learning fast.

• Kody Swanson had a better time at Lucas oil Raceway, because while a novice in formula cars, he was extremely familiar with LOR where the Silver Crown car regularly race. Gateway is a USAC venue for Silver Crown but trickier than LOR which is a straight up oval. Kody has to now learn the rear-engine car at a track with dissimilar ends - That’s twice the complication for him.

• Don’t be surprised if Parker Thompson or Kory Enders assert themselves on Saturday. Both have had good races at Gateway before.

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Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti - first oval pole

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That’s it for Friday. Saturday starts with the IP2K practice early in the morning, soon followed by IndyCar qualifying.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at Gateway - The IP2K gang hold a final practice…

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…before racing later today. No more qualifying trim, the cars are in race trim and using the draft at times, just as they will in anger later today.

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Here was the order of speed for the final practice of Indy Pro 2000, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; times are for one lap.

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1 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 00:31.582s for a speed of 142.488mph

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2 - Moises de la Vara, DEForce Racing - time of 00:31.610s for a speed of 142.358mph

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3 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing - time of 00:31,678s for a speed of 142.054mph

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4 - Braden Eves [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 00:31.680s for a speed of 142.045mph

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5 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 00:31.782s for a speed of 141.587mph

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6 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing
7 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports
8 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing
9 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing
10 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport

11 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
12 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing
13 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
14 - Kody Swanson [R], Legacy Autosport
15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• Artem Petrov’s only previous oval races are his appearance here last year (a P7 finish) and his appearance at the Freedom 75 last week. (a P9 finish). For him to be this confident on a tricky oval like Gateway is remarkable. He starts the race from P2 and could take his 3rd WIN of the season, today.

• Moises de la Vara was fast here last year and was battling Rasmus Lindh for the P3 spot when they touched, sending Moi into the Turn 3 wall. He’s clearly got the speed in race trim, but starting today from P10, making his job tougher.

• Kory Enders pulled in P3 in this race last year, behind WINNER Kyle Kirkwood and Rasmus Lindh. Kory is the only one still racing in the series this year. But like Moises, he’s starting near the rear of the field, so his fast race trim will be necessary.

• Silver Crown Champion Kody Swanson picked up speed in race trim and is getting better, but so is everyone else, so he is still mired in the rear. Kody will need a special gear to repeat the stunner victory at Lucas Oil Raceway, last week.

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Artem Petrov

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The race will commence at 1:00pm Central time, right after the IndyCars qualify.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at Gateway - the IndyCars are qualified…

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…for BOTH races, this weekend. They did it with one qualifying session, as each car went out one at a time, put in one warm-up lap followed by two hot laps. The first hot lap qualified the car for Race 1 and the second hot lap qualified the car for Race 2. Simple?

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Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Race 1, with speeds for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; speed is 1st lap of two laps.

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Row 1

Pole - Will Power, Team Penske - speed of 182.394mph

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P2 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - speed of 182.076mph

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Row 2

P3 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 182.006mph

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P4 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 181.364mph

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Row 3

P5 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - speed of 181.286mph

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P6 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - speed of 181.222mph

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Row 4

P7 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
P8 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
P10 - Colton Herta, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner

Row 6

P11 - Alex Palou [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh
P12 - Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 7

P13 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
P14 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 8

P15 - Oliver Askew [R], Arrow McLaren SP
P16 - Conor Daly, Carlin

Row 9

P17 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
P18 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 10

P19 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta
P20 - Santino Ferrucci, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan

Row 11

P21 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
P22 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 12

P23 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport

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Notable:

• This is Will Power’s 59th pole of his career. Following his runs he held pole on both races, for a time.

• Chevrolet leads the way with the top two cars, followed by three Hondas and a 3rd Chevrolet.

• For a time Jack Harvey was also P1 in both races, but he will have to be content being the fastest car associated with the Andretti team, as Meyer Shank Racing is in a technical partnership with Andretti Technologies and Jack and his engineers work closely with the team.

• Best rookie is once again Alex Palou for Dale Coyne, while teammate Santino Ferrucci is struggling mightily. Last year, Santino almost WON this race.

• As good as Indy 500 WINNER Takuma Sato is, his teammate Graham Rahal is also struggling, even using Sato’s set-up. Graham, like Santino Ferrucci, was much better here last year, though not as good as Takuma, who WON.

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Will Power - on the pole

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The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC-SN starting at 3:00pm EASTERN time. Next up, the Indy Pro 2000 race. The grid for that race is in post # 6.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Gateway - Indy Pro 2000 crowns a new WINNER…

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…as points-leader Devlin DeFrancesco finally WINS one for Andretti Steinbrenner, padding his points lead in the doing. The Canadian drove from pole to checkers in only his second oval race ever, but it was no cake walk. At the end he bested Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport by only 0.765 seconds and was never much more ahead than that for the entire race. Eves got his P2 on the final lap, passing Artem Petrov for Juncos Racing only feet from the checkered flag, 0.07 seconds ahead of the Russian.

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Dev gets the WIN in his 2nd oval race.

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On the first lap Devlin took off, followed by Artem and Sting Ray Robb for Juncos, but Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports was able to nab Robb and take over P3 before the lap ended, while Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce Racing took P5 away from Eves. Eves regained P5 within a lap. Within another lap Frost was unable to maintain his pace, and soon slipped back to P5 as DeFrancesco, Petrov, Robb and Eves settled into a tight, four-car battle at the head of the field. For the rest of the race those leaders were never separated by more than a car length or two.

It was Eves who was making the most attempts to improve and fought to take P3 from Robb for many laps, often aside and even a nose ahead of the Idaho veteran but never able to seal the deal, as Sting Ray would cling to the outside, forcing Braden into too tight a turn to pass. With 7 laps to go Braden finally caught Sting Ray by going outside, forcing the Juncos driver into the tighter turn.

For the next several laps Eves was making the inside attempts on Artem in the same way he tried to get Robb but again with no luck. On the final lap he again feinted low and then went to the outside, slowly passing Petrov through turns 3 and 4. It was then a drag race to the line and Braden pulled ahead by a nose to take P2. While Devlin was never safe he was also never challenged. Had Eves had a few more laps that probably would not have been the case.

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Notable:

• This is Devlin’s first WIN since 2017, when the Canadian was competing in Euroformula Open, driving then for Carlin. His move to the United States this year has yielded a chance for WINS and even a significant junior formula title. This WIN gives him the biggest points gap of anyone at the moment.

• Braden Eves figures this one got away during qualifying, as he knew he had the best race car during the race, but had too many spots to make up. He took away a point for Fastest Lap of the race, as well as P2 points and closed the gap to Artem in the standings.

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Devlin DeFrancesco - the US racing scene has reinvigorated his career.

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Your happy podium - That’s Braden Eves in P2 on the left, Devlin DeFrancesco in P1 in the middle and Artem Petrov in P3 on the right:

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving St. Louis:

1. Devlin DeFrancesco, 183

2. Sting Ray Robb, 158

3. Braden Eves, 154

4. Danial Frost, 153

5. Artem Petrov, 151

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Next up for Indy Pro 2000 is a return to road course competition with a triple-header event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course circuit on September 3-4, alongside USF2000 which is also having a triple-header.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Gateway - IndyCar Race 1 gives Scott Dixon his 50th WIN…

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…as an IndyCar driver, putting the Chip Ganassi Racing driver just two WINS shy of Mario Andretti on the all-time WIN list. Dixon barely beat 2020 Indy 500 WINNER Takuma Sato for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, while P3 went to Pato O’Ward for Arrow McLaren SP. All three drivers led at one point.

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Scott gets number 50 today

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The race started with a big shunt in the rear of the field that damaged several cars. As Will Power for Team Penske led the field to the green flag the field bunched up behind him in a stilted start, resulting in the tail of the field ramming into cars ahead of them. Taken out immediately were Alexander Rossi, Zach Veach and Marco Andretti, all from Andretti Autosport as well as Ed Carpenter for his own team. Damaged beyond much use were Simon Pagenaud for Team Penske and Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Both retired eventually.

Leaders in the race were first Will Power and then Scott Dixon from lap 62, but within a few laps O’Ward took the lead by beating Dixon out of the pits.O’Ward then led from lap 68 through lap 161, when Dixon 's team gave him a position over the young Mexican with a slightly quicker final pit stop.

At that point Sato was leading, with Dixon and O’Ward in the pit lane. When Sato finally pitted he had a rear wheel nut go awry for a few precious seconds, allowing Dixon and O’Ward to be leading him after returning to the fray. Sato attacked, first getting O’Ward in a spectacular pass in Turn 1 with 16 laps to go. Sato then hunted Dixon and in the final laps reduced his lead to as little as 0.3 seconds, but the Japanese pilot ran out of time to make a move.

All in all a great race with a nail-biter finish…and we have another in the offing tomorrow!

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Notable:

• This WIN is not only Dixon’s 50th career IndyCar WIN but also his 4th WIN in 8 races, so far this season - the last thing his competition needed to see.

• Sato gets another chance to beat Dixon this weekend and he has a good start to it, as he is on the pole for Race 2, while Dixon will start P6.

• Pato O’Ward also gets a second and good chance as he starts Race 2 from P4.

• All the cars wrecked in the 1st lap shunt will be repaired in time to take the track tomorrow.

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Your happy podium - That’s Takuma Sato in P2 on the left, Scott Dixon in P1 in the middle and Pato O’Ward in P3 on the right:

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The second IndyCar race of the weekend was qualified on Saturday and that grid is presented next…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Gateway - The IndyCars are ready for Sunday’s Race 2 of the weekend…

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On Saturday the IndyCars qualified for both races of the weekend and we have the grid for Race 2, with 2020 Indy 500 WINNER and defending Gateway race champion Takuma Sato on the pole.

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Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Race 2, with speeds for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; speed is the 2nd qualifying lap speed for each driver.

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Row 1

Pole - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - speed of 182.499mph

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P2 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - speed of 182.477mph

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Row 2

P3 - Will Power, Team Penske - speed of 182.474mph

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P4 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - speed of 182.280mph

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Row 3

P5 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing - speed of 181.800mph

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P6 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 181.723mph

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Row 4

P7 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
P8 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske

Row 5

P9 - Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing
P10 - Colton Herta, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner

Row 6

P11 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
P12 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport

Row 7

P13 - Oliver Askew [R], Arrow McLaren SP
P14 - Alex Palou [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh

Row 8

P15 - Conor Daly, Carlin
P16 - Santino Ferrucci, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan

Row 9

P17 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
P18 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 10

P19 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
P20 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta

Row 11

P21 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises
P22 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 12

P23 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

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Notable:

• Sato has now WON 3 oval races in his 6 IndyCar victories - 2 Indy 500s and Gateway, last year. With this pole he reaffirms his status as one of IndyCars’ ovalmeisters.

• As good as Sato was, teammate Graham Rahal is in serious trouble. He reckons he will struggle all day long.

• Like the Race 1 grid, there are 3 Hondas and three Chevrolets in the TOP SIX, but with Honda on top, this time.

• Fastest rookie this time was Oliver Askew in P13 but he will share Row 7 with fellow rookie Alex Palou.

• Josef Newgarden stumbled slightly on his first lap but recovered to do much better on his 2nd lap, eclipsing Will Power in the doing. For a while Power was looking at two poles in one day.

• Zach Veach nearly lost it on his first lap and ended up dead last in the Race 1 grid but he collected it up and did much better on his 2nd lap.

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On the pole, Takuma Sato

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The race is scheduled for LIVE broadcast Sunday on NBC-SN starting at 3:00pm EASTERN time.

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M

[MarkyS]

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IndyCar has released Race 1 highlights…

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2020 Bommarito Automotive Group Race 1 Highlights

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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday at Gateway - Josef Newgarden WINS Race 2 of the double-header weekend…

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…and in the doing becomes the ONLY IndyCar driver out of 11 series races to WIN here more than once. This was also the 2nd WIN of the season for the defending series champion who drives for Team Penske, and helps to close the gap between him and points leader Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi, who came home 1st yesterday and 5th today. Coming in 2nd today was Mexican phenom and 2018 Indy Lights Champion Pato O’Ward for Arrow McLaren SP, besting his P3 yesterday. P3 today was Will Power for Team Penske.

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Newgarden for the WIN

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This one started a whole bunch better than Saturday’s race, without the huge 1st lap schlemozzle that took out 6 cars. In fact, the whole race was clean to the almost the end, but on lap 196 of 200 Takuma Sato for Rahal Letterman Lanigan brushed the Turn 2 wall, bringing out a yellow that the race ended under, but virtually without controversy, as post-race, Pato, who was only a fraction of a second off Newgarden’s tail, freely admitted that he didn’t think he could have passed the Tennessee native, even if the race had stayed green.

Takuma Sato led the field from the green flag drop and ended up leading for the most laps, but his strategy of staying out longer than anyone else on his first stint proved to be wrong, and he dropped to 9th place, out of contention for the rest of the race. After that, O’Ward took the lead with Power in tow for much of the race, and then Power led O’Ward for 40 laps, with Newgarden always close in 3rd, but Power had a disastrous pit stop - not because of his crew but because he followed a slowed Ed Carpenter onto pit lane. It cost him the lead and the P2 position for good.

At that point the race was between O’Ward and Newgarden. They both pitted at the same time with O’Ward the leader. When they left they were virtually neck and neck off the pit lane, but Newgarden was given the lead. After that it was a race to see if Pato could retake the lead and despite his best effort he never did.

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Notable:

• As noted, this Is Newgarden’s 2nd WIN of the year, following his victory at Iowa in Race 2. He gave all credit for the WIN today to his pit crew, who gave him the lead over Pato. Pato’s pit crew was also flawless today.

• O’Ward stated that his goal for the weekend was two podiums from the two races and he achieved that. This was his 3rd podium of the year and matched his best finish ever, at Road America, where he also led a substantial number of laps. O’Ward is LOUDLY knocking on the door.

• Finishing 4th was rookie Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter, all the way from a P18 start. He made a late race pass on Colton Herta for Andretti Steinbrenner that the young Herta was very unhappy about, and told the young Nederlander so, post-race. The P4 is the best finish so far for Rinus.

• Despite brushing the wall, Takuma Sato stayed out on course for the remaining three yellow caution laps, in order to preserve his position in 9th and the points that go with it.

• Colton Herta has quietly built up a lot of points this season, by hanging out in the TOP finishers. He did it again this weekend, with a P4 yesterday and a P6 today. Herta is 5th in the points, as a result.

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left to right, Rinus VeeKay, Takuma Sato and Colton Herta

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Your happy podium - That’s Patricio O’Ward in P2 on the left, Josef Newgarden in P1 in the middle and Will Power in P3 on the right:

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With these two events, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving St. Louis:

1 - Scott Dixon, 416

2 - Josef Newgarden, 320

3 - Pato O’Ward, 297

4 - Takuma Sato, 274

5 - Colton Herta, 250

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The next SCHEDULED race for the IndyCars is the double-header weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the IndyCar Harvest GP, October 2-3, but IndyCar believes there is a 90% chance that the series will first go to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a postponed double-header weekend in mid-September - two weeks time. If they do, they will likely have support there from the Road to Indy, as well.

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When Race 2 highlights are available, return here for them.

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M

[MarkyS]

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IndyCar has released the Race 2 Highlight reel…

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Ever since the IndyCars returned to Gateway we have been rewarded with great race after great race. This was another, with the IndyCar youth movement emerging all the more, but the old guard still proving why they are the gold standard.

The double-header format with support from the Road to Indy proved how easy it is to give fans great racing entertainment all weekend long. We’d love to see this again next year.

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2020 Bommarito Automotive Group Race 2 Highlights

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Thank you Bommarito Automotive Group and WWT Racaeway. Great show!

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