Gateway IndyCar Preview

Gateway gas bomb photo by Wayne Riegle

10th Annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline Fast Facts:

Race weekend: Saturday, June 6 – Sunday, June 7

Track: World Wide Technology Raceway, a 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Illinois

Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline 260 laps / 325 miles

Hybrid energy deployment parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 150 kilojoules (kJ) per lap.

Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Ten new sets for use during the event weekend. An extra set will be provided to teams participating in the high-line session before final practice.

2025 race winner: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Siemens Honda)

2025 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet), 49.9088 seconds, 180.329 mph (two laps)

One-lap qualifying lap record: Will Power, 23.7206, 189.709 mph, Aug. 25, 2017

FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); High-line and Final Practice, 8 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Race, 9 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.

At-track schedule (all times local):

SATURDAY, JUNE 6

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, FS1

3:35 p.m. – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 NTT P1 Award qualifying (single car/cumulative time of two laps), FS2

7-8 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES high-line session (two groups/two 10-minute sessions each), FS1

8-9 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, FS1

SUNDAY, JUNE 7

4:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone INDY NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway (75 laps / 93.75 miles), FS1 (Live)

8 p.m. – FOX on air

8:20 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”

8:25 p.m. – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline (260 laps/325 miles), FOX (Live)

Race Notes:

* There have been five winners in the first eight NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Alex Palou (Streets of St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Streets of Long Beach and Streets of Detroit), Josef Newgarden (Phoenix Raceway), Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Arlington), Christian Lundgaard (Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course) and Felix Rosenqvist (Indianapolis 500). The record for most wins in a season is 10, held by A.J. Foyt (1961) and Al Unser (1970).

World Wide Technology Raceway will host the 10th Annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline as a prime-time Sunday night INDYCAR SERIES race for the second consecutive season.

The 10th Annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline will be the 18th INDYCAR SERIES race at World Wide Technology Raceway. Kyle Kirkwoodwon at WWTR for the first time in 2025. Paul Tracy won the first INDYCAR SERIES race at WWTR in 1997. Kirkwood, five-time WWTR winner Josef Newgarden, two-time WWTR race winner Scott Dixon (2020 Race 1 and 2023) and Will Power (2018) are the only former winners entered in this year’s race.

The 10th Annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline will be the third of six oval races during the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Josef Newgarden won at Phoenix in March, and Felix Rosenqvist won the 110th Indianapolis 500 in May.

Three drivers have won at World Wide Technology Raceway from the pole – Juan Pablo Montoya (2000), Gil de Ferran (2002) and Helio Castroneves (2003).

Team Penske has won nine times at World Wide Technology Raceway. Penske’s winning drivers are Paul Tracy (1997), Gil de Ferran (2002), Helio Castroneves (2003), Josef Newgarden (2017, 2020-Race 2, 2021, 2022 and 2024) and Will Power (2018). Chip Ganassi Racing has four wins at WWTR, with Alex Zanardi (1998), Juan Pablo Montoya(2000) and Scott Dixon (2020-Race 1 and 2023).

Twenty-two drivers have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at World Wide Technology Raceway. Scott Dixon has 11 starts, the most among the entered drivers. Rookies Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher will make their first start at WWTR. Sixteen entered drivers have led laps at the track (Josef Newgarden 624, Will Power 450, Scott Dixon 422, Pato O’Ward 167, Scott McLaughlin 130, David Malukas82, Marcus Ericsson 18, Alexander Rossi 18, Santino Ferrucci 8, Kyle Kirkwood 8, Sting Ray Robb 8, Nolan Siegel 8, Felix Rosenqvist 7, Graham Rahal 7, Christian Rasmussen 1 and Rinus VeeKay 1).

What Honda would like you to know:

What to Watch for at World Wide Technology Raceway

Dim the lights: The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at World Wide Technology Raceway will once again be run under the lights and on primetime television Sunday night. Last year’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was won by Kyle Kirkwood, his first short oval win in IndyCar competition, and Honda’s eighth consecutive victory to kick off the 2025 season—all of them, to that point, had been won by either Kirkwood or Alex Palou.
Start your engines: This year, Honda has scored six wins in eight races in 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition. Championship leader Alex Palou has notched four of those victories—St. Pete, Barber, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, and just last weekend on the streets of Detroit—as the Spaniard tries to score his fifth IndyCar championship. Second place in the championship fight, and winner at last year’s WWTR race, Kyle Kirkwood found victory lane in the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. Honda also took home honors in the Indianapolis 500 for the second consecutive year, with Felix Rosenqvist taking the victory in his Meyer Shank Racing Honda. This run of strong results has Honda leading the Manufacturers’ Championship 690-587.
Putting the Ws in WWTR: IndyCar returned to World Wide Technology raceway in 2017 following a 14-year absence. Takuma Sato took the first victory for Honda since the return to the facility in 2019. In 2020 Scott Dixon scored his 50th-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES win at St. Louis, and he followed that up with a dominant victory in 2023, lapping all but the top three and taking the checkered flag more than 20 seconds clear of the rest of the field. Honda enters the race as the defending race winners following Kirkwood’s victory last year.
Running it back: Winner the last time out at Detroit, Alex Palou will once again be repping the HRC livery on his ‘Honda Honda’ this weekend at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. The Spaniard is two-for-two in finding victory lane when sporting the HRC colors, first at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix in 2025 and just last Sunday at the Detroit Grand Prix. In addition to celebrating the success Honda and Chip Ganassi Racing have had over the years, the livery brings awareness to the new HRC US business ventures—including the performance parts business which will feature genuine HRC parts for Acura and Honda road cars.

2026 WWTR Honda Lineup

Andretti Global	#26 Will Power (C) (I) (W)
	#27 Kyle Kirkwood (W)
	#28 Marcus Ericsson (I) (W)

Chip Ganassi Racing	# 8 Kyffin Simpson
	# 9 Scott Dixon (C) (I) (W)
	#10 Alex Palou (C) (I) (W)

Dale Coyne Racing	#18 Romain Grosjean
	#19 Dennis Hauger (R)

Meyer Shank Racing	#60 Felix Rosenqvist (I) (W)
	#66 Marcus Armstrong

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	#15 Graham Rahal (W)
	#45 Louis Foster
	#47 Mick Schumacher (R)

C—Series Champion I—Indianapolis 500 winner W—Race Winner R—Series Rookie

What Chevy would like you to know:

The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season hits the halfway point, with the ninth of 18 rounds, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, taking place in Madison, Illinois.

A dozen Team Chevy drivers and teams face a fifth straight weekend of points-paying activity under the lights on FOX, at the 1.25-mile, egg-shaped oval in the shadow of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

With seven wins, nine poles, 22 podiums and 1801 laps led, the tricky oval has been kind to Bowtie Brigade in the past. Since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2017:

Chevrolet-powered drivers have won six of the ten races, including five wins by Josef Newgarden.
Chevrolet-powered drivers have won eight of nine (rain washed out qualifying in 2018) contested poles on the 1.25-mile oval.
Christian Rasmussen scored his first career podium last year at this event, making it 22 of 36 podiums for Chevrolet-powered drivers since 2017.
Josef Newgarden (5), Pato O’Ward (5), Will Power (3), and Scott McLaughlin (2) all have multiple podiums for the Bowtie gang at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway.
Chevrolet-powered drivers have led 1604 of 2444 laps since 2017, with Josef Newgarden leading 644 circuits.

Chevrolet’s Short Oval Success

Wins

Including George Follmer’s surprise victory in at Phoenix Raceway 1969, and Josef Newgarden’s win on the same track in March, Chevrolet-powered cars have visited victory lane on short ovals 56 times.
Twenty five drivers have driven to victory for Team Chevy on short ovals, with one driver winning accounting for a quarter of those wins. Newgarden’s March victory was his 14th on short ovals since his first win at Iowa Speedway in 2016.
Seventeen teams have won races with Chevrolet-powered on short ovals with Team Penske collecting 55.3 % (31 of 56) of those wins.

Poles

Chevrolet-powered cars have also won 56 poles on short ovals, starting with Jim Hurtubise at Langhorne Speedway through David Malukas’ first career pole at Phoenix Raceway in March.
Eighteen drivers have earned Team Chevy poles on short ovals, with Rick Mears and Will Power tied at 11 each to lead all drivers.
A dozen different teams have earned poles for Team Chevy on short ovals, but one stands out in a more dominant fashion than they do for short ovals wins. Team Penske drivers have won 75% (42 of 56) of the short oval poles for Team Chevy, including 86.2% (25 of 29) poles for Chevrolet since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012.

Even better recently

Since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012, Chevrolet-powered drivers have dominated on short ovals (Iowa Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, Nashville Superspeedway, Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway. In those 15 seasons Team Chevy has:

Won 78% (32 of 41) of the races
Started on 75.6% (31 of 41) of the poles
Stood on 70.7% (87 of 123) the podiums
Led 77.5% (8141 of 10500) laps

Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway

General Motors Wins: 8

Chevrolet Wins: 7

2024 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2022 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2020 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2018 – Will Power – Team Penske

2017 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2002 – Gil de Ferran – Team Penske

Oldsmobile Wins: 1

2001 – Al Unser, Jr. – Galles Racing

General Motors Poles: 9

Chevrolet Poles: 8

2025 – Will Power – Team Penske

2024 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske

2023 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske

2022 – Will Power – Team Penske

2021 – Will Power – Team Penske

2020 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske

2019 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2017 – Will Power – Team Penske

2002 – Gil de Ferran – Team Penske

Oldsmobile Poles: 1

2001 – Sam Hornish – Panther Racing

General Motors Podiums: 25

Chevrolet Podiums 22

Chevrolet driver podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Josef Newgarden (5), Pato O’Ward (5), Scott McLaughlin (3), Will Power (2), Alex Barron (1), Ed Carpenter (1), Helio Castroneves (1), Gil de Ferran (1), Tony Kanaan (1), Simon Pagenaud (1) and Christian Rasmussen (1)

Chevrolet team podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Team Penske (13), Arrow McLaren (5), Ed Carpenter Racing (2), A.J. Foyt Racing (1), Blair Racing (1)

Oldsmobile Podiums: 3

Oldsmobile driver podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Mark Dismore (1), Sam Hornish (1) and Al Unser, Jr. (1).

Oldsmobile team podiums at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Galles Racing (1), Kelley Racing (1), and Panther Racing (1)

General Motors Laps Led: 1966

Chevrolet Laps Led: 1801

Chevrolet laps led by driver at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Josef Newgarden (624), Will Power (450), Pato O’Ward (167), Helio Castroneves (137), Scott McLaughlin (130), Gil de Ferran (81), David Malukas (67), Conor Daly (37), Alex Barron (29), Sebastien Bourdais (18), Simon Pagenaud (14), Alexander Rossi (14), Santino Ferrucci (8), Sting Ray Robb (8), Nolan Siegel (8), Callum Ilott (5), Felipe Giafone (2), Christian Rasmussen (1) and Felix Rosenqvist (1)

Chevrolet laps led by team at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Team Penske (1436), Arrow McLaren (188), A.J. Foyt Racing (101), Juncos Hollinger Racing (36), Blair Racing (29), Prema Racing (5), ECR (3), Mo Nunn Racing (2) and Carlin (1).

Oldsmobile Laps Led: 165

Oldsmobile laps led by driver at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Sam Hornish (81), Al Unser, Jr. (75), Mark Dismore (8), and Airton Dare (1)

Oldsmobile laps led by team at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway: Panther Racing (81), Galles Racing (75), Kelley Racing (8) and Team Xtreme (1)

Manufacturer history at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway

Wins –