David Malukas is the star of this race. He got into position with some great pit calls and his charge to second after the restart was the stuff normally reserved for veterans.
David Malukas
Josef Newgarden has four wins at Gateway and five wins for the season. He still trails Will Power in the points standings by three points.
What a great start by Felix Rosenqvist. He passed 13 cars in the first two laps after starting last.
What started as a processional race turned into an intriguing strategy game as teams tried to play for the rain. The red flag and restart cancelled all the alternate pit stops.
It was nice to see Indycars racing at night. Let’s hope for a full race under the lights next year.
Malukas is back in the Rookie of the Year chase. He made up more than 20 points today and is only 11 behind Christian Lundgaard.
The rookie class got off to a slow start this season, but they have come on strong as the year winds down. Lundgaard and Malukas each have a second place finish.
The top five in points are separated by 43 points with two races to go.
I will have a more detailed wrap up tomorrow evening. Thanks for following along this weekend
What bstarted out as a snoozer turn into a pretty good race. Pato O’Ward looked strong as he took the lead from Will Power on the only restart, but Josef Newgarden shot through the field to grab the lead and run away from the rest of the pack. The rain cam just after everyone’s last pit stop. 217 laps are complete and track drying continues.
Current standings:
I will have another update as soon as I have information on a restart.
INDYCAR Moves Up Start Time of Bommarito Automotive Group 500
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022) – During careful monitoring of likely weather conditions in the St. Louis area, INDYCAR officials have decided to move up the start time of today’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway to 6:01 p.m. ET, ensuring fans see the most NTT INDYCAR SERIES action. Fans are encouraged to follow INDYCAR social media (@INDYCAR on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) for further updates. The start time for the Indy Lights at World Wide Technology Raceway 75-lap race will remain unchanged as the green flag for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ developmental series will fly at 4:15 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 will begin at 6 p.m. ET on USA, Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Coverage of the Indy Lights at World Wide Technology Raceway also will be available via Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
A brief rain shower has ended and the sun is back out, but there are more rain clouds to the east.
Good morning from the Olivette media center annex. Here is the latest from @Indycar_Wxman
Good morning! Here’s your raceday weather briefing…very little change as things seem to be playing out as I described yesterday…rain this evening has a stop time, so though we may get delays, I think this one goes this evening. Sunset is 7:48pm tonight. #Bommarito500#INDYCARpic.twitter.com/OHz6f2SXiI
It looks like we will get the race in, althiough maybe later than scheduled. I wil We just might get the night race we want. l up date the weather situation during the on Facebook on The Pit Window and on Twitter @tutorindie.
Today’s Schedule: All times Central
The Indy Lights race ius on Peacock. The Indycar race is on USA Network and Peacock.
Thew starting lineup, which includes Romain grosjean’s penalty:
Rahal Leads Final Practice
Graham Rrahal had the fastest time in last night’s warm up for today’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500. He went to the top of the chart late in the session. Scott Dixon led a good portion the practice.
Jimmie Johnson spun entering pit lane with about two mi nutes remaining to end the practice early.
Silver Crown- Lots of Action
I watched the first half of the USAC Silver Crown race. I need to get to more of their races. The cars are loud and the action us furious. There was constant passing and several lead changes.
Kody Swanson leads
It was nice to watch a race at night (Ahem-Indycar).
I very much enjoyed this race. I hope they will accompany INdycar to more short ovals next year.
The Race
Will Power is the prohibitive favorite, but just one race has been won from the pole this year. I am looking at Josef newgarden, Scott Dixon, or Pato O’Ward to win.
I don’t think Arrow McLaren SP had gotten enough credit for the job they havedone on ovals this season. O’Ward has a win and two second place finishes. Felix Rosenqvist has a pole, a topo 5 and two top 10 finishes.
If you are looking for a dark horse, keep an eye on Takuma Sato.
Will Power finally caught Mario Andretti’s pole record. But first he had to catch Marcus Ericsson. Poiwer. the final car to qualify, topped Ericsson’s 182.070 mph average speed with a two lap average of 182.727 mph.
The qualifying session was arguably the most dramatic oval qualifying of the season. Takuma Sato was the eighth driver to make a qualifying run. He took the top spot and held it until Pato O’Ward beat his time 12 drivers later. Scott McLaughlin grabbed the pole until teammate Josef Newgarden made his run.
One of the possible pole contenders, Felix Rosenqvist, spun on his first qualifying lap in turn 2. He hit the inside wall. Rosenqvist will start last.
Marcus Ericsson
Ericsson’s qualifying time shot him to the lead. Scott Dixon was next, but he could only manage the fifth best time. Then Power came on track to end the qualifying round.
Power’s first lap was good enough to put him on the pole and his second lap reinforced his spot.
Power has tied Andretti for the most career poles with 67. His next win will tie him for third place all time with Michael Andretti. At the last race in Nashville, Scott Dixon moved ahead of Mario in career wins with his 53rd win, second to A. J. Foyt’s 67 victories.
Imagine being the top performer in your field and living to see your records equalled or broken. Andretti probably knew it would happen someday. I wonder if he thought he would be alive to see it happen.
Andretti’s last pole was in 1993.
In Dixon and Power we are witnessing two of the legendary drivers of open wheel racing.
Notes
Andretti Autosport cars showed to be relatively equal as they qualified 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Romain Grosjean, the fastest qualifier on the team, will serve a nine spot grid penalty and will start the race in 18th.
PThe top five contenders in the points chase-Will Power, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Josef Newgarden, and Alex Palou- all start in the frirst three rows.
“It just shows no one’s letting up, no one will until the end.Yep, pretty tight battle to the end. It will be very interestingto see how it unfolds. All you can do is just do your best. Do your best. Can’t control some things, so see what happens,” Power said.
“I think it shows howcompetitive this series is. It’s going to be tough. It’s going tobe tough to battle it out, try and beat the guy next to me here. It’s going to be very tough.” Ericsson added.
A, J, Foyt Racing teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Dalton Kellett start 20th and 24th respectively. This usually one of the best tracks for Foyt’s cars.
Points leader Will Power had the fastest lkap in the only practice before qualifying for ther Bommarito 500. Power’slap of 180.539 was 0.04sweconds faster than Alex Palou. Felix Rosenqvist finished third.
The five top drivers in nthe points had laps good enough for the top 10. Qualifying begins at 3:15 Central time, followed by a practice at 6:00 PM.
Results
Qualifying Order
Qualifying order is determinbed by entrant points. I still think qualifying order for each oval should be determined by results of the practice just before qualifying.
Grid Penalty for the 28
Indycar has assessed a nine place grid penalty for car 28 and driver Romain Graosjean for an unapproved engine change.
Notes
Tempreature at 3 pm is expected to be 87 degrees with a south wind of xseven miles an hour.
Rain could interefere with tomorrow’s race. Indycar will probably not announce contingency plans until tomorrow afternoon.
Photo: Will Power has a shaky six point lead heading into the final oval race of 2022. Indycar photo by James Black
World Wide Technology Raceway has a tough act to follow. After the smash hit at Iowa, the final oval of the year, which usually puts on a great event, may seem a bit less so this year. Hy Vee is assisting in the production, but I don’t know if they can match Iowa’s energy.
Saturday’s race begins the final stretch of the 2022 Indycar season with three races in 22 days. I always feel sorry for the winners of these last races if they are not one of the title contenders. The focus is on the drivers going for the title. And we have quite a title fight going. Seven drivers have a mathematical chance of winning, but only five have a realistic shot at the Astor Cup.
The top five are within 33 points of leader Will Power, and just 12 points separate the top three. This race could stabilize the title picture or it could jumble it even more.
Penske Strength
Team Penske has been strong at Gateway the past few years. Josef Newgarden has been especially dominant here. In the last three races at WWTR, Josef Newgarden has won twice. Will Power has two poles and two third place finishes. Scott McLaughlin finished fourth in 2021 in his debut. The team has been strong at Texas and Iowa as well, with Newgarden winning at each track and Power and McLaughlin sweeping the poles.
I don’t see Team Penske having any fall off this weekend. The finishing order of this trio will determine who remains in the championship hunt.
What Does Ganassi Have?
Scott Dixon is right where he wants to be- second in points, jus six behind power, with just three races left. If Dixon can’t win here, which he did in 2020 race 1, he has two chances on road courses to get by Power. I would not count him out.
Scott Dixon is used to winning championships late in the season
Will Weather Give Us a Night Race?
Storms are forecast around race time Saturday, and a delay could push the event to the night race everyone wants. I detest rain delys, but I wouldn’t mind this one.
Kirkwood’s Best Opportunity
Rookie Kyle Kirkwood has a chance for a bit of redemption Saturday. Kirkwood thew away a career best finish at Nashville with his late crash. Gateway has been the best track for A. J. Foyt Racing. the team has a podium and to top fives in this event. Can Kirkwood bring the car to the finish?
Kyle Kirkwood carries the event sponsor’s name on his car this weekend.
A Second Groove
The first half hour of the post qualifying practice Friday will feature nine cars- one from each team except Foyt, running in the high groove to laydown some rubber to improve the racing line. Some drivers believe the high line will be good for the start and restarts, but that everyone will settle in to the low groove after a few laps.
Indycar did this at Texas, and it did help the race a bit.
Power putting rubber in the high line at Texas
Andretti Spoilers?
Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi have no realistic hopes of winning the championship. Both Andretti drivers were running well last year before encountering issues. Herta and Rossi overcame qualifying and early race problems at Nashville to finish the top five. The duo could have a say about who wins the title by having good results and taking points away from one or more of the contenders.
In fact, I think that is what will happen. Herta will win the race, and Rossi will grab a top five spot. Obe of the top four chasers will have a big issue and see his hopes dashed, and this tight title fight will become even titghter.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 