IndyCar Gateway double-header preview – facts, figures, schedule

Event date: Friday, Aug. 28 – Sunday, Aug. 30

Track: World Wide Technology Raceway, 1.25-mile oval

Race distances: 2 x 200 laps / 2 x 250 miles

Firestone tire allotment: 14 sets for use throughout the weekend.
Cara Adams, director of race tire engineering and production at Bridgestone Americas Motorsports says: “New left-side tires feature the same construction as the 2019 Gateway tires, but we’ve updated the compound to provide more durability with slightly less grip. The compound on the right-side will be the same as last year at Gateway, but we have changed to a short-oval construction that is similar to what we made for the right-side at Phoenix in 2016 – a softer construction that allows increased driving and braking capacity.”

At-track schedule (local/Central Time) and broadcast details

Friday, Aug. 28

9.15am Indy Pro 2000 practice
11.30am Indy Pro 2000 practice
3.30pm – 5.00pm IndyCar practice NBC Sports Gold (live)
5.30pm Indy Pro 2000 qualifying

Saturday, Aug. 29

9.15am Indy Pro 2000 Series practice
10.00am ARCA Menards Series practice
11.00am IndyCar qualifying – Two-lap runs: first lap sets grid for Race 1, second lap sets grid for race 2 NBC Sports Gold (live)
1.00pm Indy Pro 2000 race [55 laps or 50 minutes max.]
2.00pm NBCSN goes on air
2.40pm Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta & Valvoline, Race 1 NBCSN (live)
5.15pm ARCA Menards Series Dutch Boy 150

Sunday, Aug. 30

11.00am NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series CarShield 200 presented by CK Power [160 laps/200 miles]

2.00pm NBCSN on air
2.40pm Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta & Valvoline, Race 2 NBCSN (live)

Leigh Diffey is the NBCSN announcer alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy.

NBC Sports Gold livestreaming: Friday’s NTT IndyCar Series practice session and Saturday’s qualifying will stream live on IndyCar Pass on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.

Pennzoil IndyCar Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query is the turn announcer. All IndyCar races air live on network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, indycar.com, indycarradio.com and the IndyCar Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Live coverage of NTT IndyCar Series qualifying is available on XM 205, indycar.com, indycarradio.com and the IndyCar Mobile app.

Race Notes

2019 race winner: Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan-Honda)

2019 NTT P1 pole winner (two-lap average): Josef Newgarden (Team Penske-Chevrolet), 48.2554sec, 186.508mph

Qualifying record (one lap): Will Power (Team Penske-Chevrolet), 23.7206sec, 189.709mph (2017)

Sato (2019), Power (2018) and Newgarden (2017) are the only former Gateway winners entered in this year’s races.

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 five times at World Wide Technology Raceway. Penske’s winning drivers are Paul Tracy (1997), de Ferran (2002), Castroneves(2003), Newgarden (2017) and Power (2018). Chip Ganassi Racing has two wins at Gateway, with Alex Zanardi (1998) and Montoya (2000).

For Alex Palou of Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh, this will be a first-time visit to Gateway, period. The same is true for Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey, despite being in U.S. open-wheel since 2014.

One of Palou’s IndyCar rookie rivals, Oliver Askew of Arrow McLaren SP, won from pole here in Indy Lights last year and finished fifth in Pro Mazda (now Indy Pro 2000) the year before. IndyCar’s other full-time rookie this season, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, won at Gateway in 2018 in Pro Mazda and finished runner-up here to Askew in Indy Lights last year. Arrow McLaren SP’s other driver, Pato O’Ward, finished third here in Indy Lights in 2018, his championship year.