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| IndyCar has one more summer Saturday night fight |
The 15th and antepenultimate round of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season takes place at Gateway Motorsports Park. The Bommarito Auto Group 500 is the final oval race of the season and there have been five different winners from four different teams in the first five oval races of the season. The 2016 season had five different winners from five different teams in the five oval races that season. Thirteen drivers entered for this race have won an IndyCar oval race before. Eight different drivers have won the eight Gateway races but Team Penske has won four times at the 1.25-mile oval including the last three races.
Coverage:
Time: Coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday August 26th with green flag scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Kevin Lee returns to the booth (Leigh Diffey is attending a wedding) with Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will work pit lane with the return of Anders Krohn.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Friday:
First Practice: 1:15 p.m. ET (60-minute session)
Qualifying: 5:15 p.m. ET (NBCSN will have live coverage of this session)
Second Practice: 9:00 p.m. ET (60-minute session)
Saturday:
Race: 8:40 p.m. ET (248 laps)
Time: Coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday August 26th with green flag scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Kevin Lee returns to the booth (Leigh Diffey is attending a wedding) with Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will work pit lane with the return of Anders Krohn.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Friday:
First Practice: 1:15 p.m. ET (60-minute session)
Qualifying: 5:15 p.m. ET (NBCSN will have live coverage of this session)
Second Practice: 9:00 p.m. ET (60-minute session)
Saturday:
Race: 8:40 p.m. ET (248 laps)
The Four Horsemen
With three races to go, it appears the IndyCar championship is becoming a four-horse race.
Scott Dixon continues to lead the championship but his gap to Alexander Rossi was decreased from 46 points to 29 points after Rossi won and led 180 laps at Pocono while Dixon finished third. Both drivers are tied on three victories and seven podium finishes while Dixon leads with 10 top five finishes and 12 top ten finishes and Rossi trails the New Zealander by one in each of those categories. Dixon holds the advantage over Rossi when it comes to average finish at 4.4 to Rossi's 5.7 but Rossi holds the edge in starting position with the American averaging a starting spot of 6.9 while Dixon is at 8.2 Rossi has won three pole positions this season while Dixon has not won a pole position since last year's Indianapolis 500. Dixon has only started on the front row twice this season and he has won both those races at Belle Isle and Toronto.
Dixon heads to Gateway with three consecutive top five finishes and nine top five finishes in the last ten races. He finished second in last year's Gateway race after starting seventh. With this being the 15th race of the season, Dixon has won the 15th race of the season four times in his career and he has stood on the podium eight times in the 15th race of the season. Dixon has participated in 16 seasons with at least 15 races. His four victories in the 15th race of a season are Sonoma in 2007, Kentucky in 2008, Mid-Ohio in 2014 and Watkins Glen in 2016.
Rossi heads to Gateway off the back of two consecutive victories. He could become the first driver to win three consecutive races since Simon Pagenaud did it in 2016 when he won at Long Beach, Barber and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Last year, Rossi started ninth and finished sixth at Gateway. He has finished in the top ten in all five oval races this season with four top five finishes. His average finish on ovals this season is fourth.
Josef Newgarden sits third in the championship and the defending champion trails Dixon by 66 points with three races to go. Newgarden is looking to defend his Gateway victory and he could become the first driver with multiple Gateway victories in IndyCar history. Gateway could become the second track Newgarden successfully defends a victory at this season. He won for the second consecutive season at Barber in April. Since switching to Chevrolet in 2015, Newgarden's finishing position in the 15th race of the season have been second, second and first. Newgarden has five consecutive top ten finishes and four top five finishes in the last five races. He only had two top five finishes through the first nine races of 2018.
Scott Dixon continues to lead the championship but his gap to Alexander Rossi was decreased from 46 points to 29 points after Rossi won and led 180 laps at Pocono while Dixon finished third. Both drivers are tied on three victories and seven podium finishes while Dixon leads with 10 top five finishes and 12 top ten finishes and Rossi trails the New Zealander by one in each of those categories. Dixon holds the advantage over Rossi when it comes to average finish at 4.4 to Rossi's 5.7 but Rossi holds the edge in starting position with the American averaging a starting spot of 6.9 while Dixon is at 8.2 Rossi has won three pole positions this season while Dixon has not won a pole position since last year's Indianapolis 500. Dixon has only started on the front row twice this season and he has won both those races at Belle Isle and Toronto.
Dixon heads to Gateway with three consecutive top five finishes and nine top five finishes in the last ten races. He finished second in last year's Gateway race after starting seventh. With this being the 15th race of the season, Dixon has won the 15th race of the season four times in his career and he has stood on the podium eight times in the 15th race of the season. Dixon has participated in 16 seasons with at least 15 races. His four victories in the 15th race of a season are Sonoma in 2007, Kentucky in 2008, Mid-Ohio in 2014 and Watkins Glen in 2016.
Rossi heads to Gateway off the back of two consecutive victories. He could become the first driver to win three consecutive races since Simon Pagenaud did it in 2016 when he won at Long Beach, Barber and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Last year, Rossi started ninth and finished sixth at Gateway. He has finished in the top ten in all five oval races this season with four top five finishes. His average finish on ovals this season is fourth.
Josef Newgarden sits third in the championship and the defending champion trails Dixon by 66 points with three races to go. Newgarden is looking to defend his Gateway victory and he could become the first driver with multiple Gateway victories in IndyCar history. Gateway could become the second track Newgarden successfully defends a victory at this season. He won for the second consecutive season at Barber in April. Since switching to Chevrolet in 2015, Newgarden's finishing position in the 15th race of the season have been second, second and first. Newgarden has five consecutive top ten finishes and four top five finishes in the last five races. He only had two top five finishes through the first nine races of 2018.
The 15th race of the season has not been favorable to Power. Since 2008, Power has won the 15th race twice, Baltimore 2011 and Sonoma 2013, but he has finished 20th or worse on four occasions including 20th place finishes the last two years. His victories at Baltimore and Sonoma are his only podium finishes in the 15th race of the season in his career.
Rossi has won three pole positions and Newgarden has won four pole positions. Power also has three pole positions this season but Power's average starting position through 14 races is 2.5. He has started on the front row nine times and his worst starting position this season was sixth in the first Belle Isle race. Power has started in the top ten in 24 consecutive races. Power has not started outside the top ten on an oval since Milwaukee in 2015 when he started 14th.
With only two races remaining after Gateway, any driver that is within 44 points of the championship leader after this race will have a shot at the title in the Sonoma finale barring that they at least start the Portland race.
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports on the Mend and Down a Man
James Hinchcliffe will be the lone Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver on the grid at Gateway Saturday night.
The team withdrew the #6 Honda on Tuesday. Robert Wickens underwent spinal surgery following his accident at Pocono and he is expected to undergo further surgeries for fractures in his lower extremities and right forearm.
Wickens is sixth in the championship on 391 points and 23 points ahead of Simon Pagenaud in the championship. Wickens had four podium finishes, seven top five finishes and ten top ten finish in 14 starts this season.
With 212 points left on the table, Wickens' only remaining challengers for Rookie of the Year are Zach Veach and Matheus Leist. Veach trails Wickens by 152 points while Leist is 190 points back of the Canadian. Regardless of his result at Gateway, Veach will be alive for Rookie of the Year heading into the penultimate round of the season at Portland but he will have to score at least 54 points over the next two races to have a shot at Rookie of the Year in the Sonoma finale. Leist has to finish at least fourth this weekend at Gateway to keep his Rookie of the Year hopes alive.
Meanwhile, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will field a single entry for the first time since the 2012 season finale at Fontana. The last time SPM had one car start a race was 2014 at Fontana after Mikhail Aleshin was sidelined after injuries suffered in an accident that occurred in final practice before the race.
For the first time in his IndyCar career James Hinchcliffe will not have a teammate. Hinchcliffe is coming off two consecutive finishes outside the top ten. Prior to Pocono, Hinchcliffe's worst finish in three oval starts was sixth at Phoenix. Last year, Hinchcliffe started tenth at Gateway and finished on the lead lap in eighth. He heads into Gateway ninth in the championship on 338 points, 192 points behind championship leader Scott Dixon.
The team withdrew the #6 Honda on Tuesday. Robert Wickens underwent spinal surgery following his accident at Pocono and he is expected to undergo further surgeries for fractures in his lower extremities and right forearm.
Wickens is sixth in the championship on 391 points and 23 points ahead of Simon Pagenaud in the championship. Wickens had four podium finishes, seven top five finishes and ten top ten finish in 14 starts this season.
With 212 points left on the table, Wickens' only remaining challengers for Rookie of the Year are Zach Veach and Matheus Leist. Veach trails Wickens by 152 points while Leist is 190 points back of the Canadian. Regardless of his result at Gateway, Veach will be alive for Rookie of the Year heading into the penultimate round of the season at Portland but he will have to score at least 54 points over the next two races to have a shot at Rookie of the Year in the Sonoma finale. Leist has to finish at least fourth this weekend at Gateway to keep his Rookie of the Year hopes alive.
Meanwhile, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will field a single entry for the first time since the 2012 season finale at Fontana. The last time SPM had one car start a race was 2014 at Fontana after Mikhail Aleshin was sidelined after injuries suffered in an accident that occurred in final practice before the race.
For the first time in his IndyCar career James Hinchcliffe will not have a teammate. Hinchcliffe is coming off two consecutive finishes outside the top ten. Prior to Pocono, Hinchcliffe's worst finish in three oval starts was sixth at Phoenix. Last year, Hinchcliffe started tenth at Gateway and finished on the lead lap in eighth. He heads into Gateway ninth in the championship on 338 points, 192 points behind championship leader Scott Dixon.
Fighting to 94
While 104 points is the most a driver can score in the Sonoma finale, if the championship leader starts the finale the most points a driver can trail by and still have a shot at winning the championship is 94 points. The fewest points a driver can score at Sonoma is ten points and that is for 24th position and beyond. With Meyer Shank Racing returning with Jack Harvey for the final two races and Dale Coyne Racing entering a third car for Santino Ferrucci in the final two races it is very likely 24 cars will start at Sonoma and it is very likely to have any prayer of the championship a driver will need to be within 94 points.
Entering Gateway, ten drivers have a mathematical shot at the championship but six of those drivers are more than 94 points behind championship leader Scott Dixon.
Ryan Hunter-Reay sits fifth in the championship but he trails Dixon by 119 points after his retirement at Pocono. Hunter-Reay has finished outside the top fifteen in three of the last four races. In last year's Gateway race Hunter-Reay was running in the top ten for most of the night but brushed the wall and retired from that race. Hunter-Reay has ended a season with top ten finishes in the final three races only once in his career and that was in 2015 when he had four consecutive top ten finishes to close the season. Eight times in 13 seasons has Hunter-Reay finished outside the top ten in two of the final three races.
Simon Pagenaud sits on 368 points, 162 points behind Dixon. Pagenaud has finished in the top ten in seven consecutive races but only two of those have been top five finishes. The Frenchman finished third in last year's Gateway race and he is looking for his second career oval victory. He enters with five career podium finishes on ovals and he has twice finished on the podium in consecutive years at the same oval. In 2015, Pagenaud finished second at Phoenix and the following year he won at Phoenix. Last year, Pagenaud finished third at Texas and this year he finished second at Texas.
Graham Rahal is 17 points behind Pagenaud in the championship and the Ohioan has finished outside the top ten in two of the last three races after having ten top ten finishes in the first 11 races. While Rahal has four top ten finishes in five oval starts, his best finish was sixth at Texas. He finished 12th last year at Gateway after a botched pit stop with the fuel hose still connected ended a promising night that could have ended in the top five.
Entering Gateway, ten drivers have a mathematical shot at the championship but six of those drivers are more than 94 points behind championship leader Scott Dixon.
Ryan Hunter-Reay sits fifth in the championship but he trails Dixon by 119 points after his retirement at Pocono. Hunter-Reay has finished outside the top fifteen in three of the last four races. In last year's Gateway race Hunter-Reay was running in the top ten for most of the night but brushed the wall and retired from that race. Hunter-Reay has ended a season with top ten finishes in the final three races only once in his career and that was in 2015 when he had four consecutive top ten finishes to close the season. Eight times in 13 seasons has Hunter-Reay finished outside the top ten in two of the final three races.
Simon Pagenaud sits on 368 points, 162 points behind Dixon. Pagenaud has finished in the top ten in seven consecutive races but only two of those have been top five finishes. The Frenchman finished third in last year's Gateway race and he is looking for his second career oval victory. He enters with five career podium finishes on ovals and he has twice finished on the podium in consecutive years at the same oval. In 2015, Pagenaud finished second at Phoenix and the following year he won at Phoenix. Last year, Pagenaud finished third at Texas and this year he finished second at Texas.
Graham Rahal is 17 points behind Pagenaud in the championship and the Ohioan has finished outside the top ten in two of the last three races after having ten top ten finishes in the first 11 races. While Rahal has four top ten finishes in five oval starts, his best finish was sixth at Texas. He finished 12th last year at Gateway after a botched pit stop with the fuel hose still connected ended a promising night that could have ended in the top five.
Sébastien Bourdais is the final driver mathematically alive for the championship. With 212 points on the table, Bourdais trails Dixon by 205 points. However, with only 21 cars entered for Gateway, Bourdais will be eliminated from championship contention if Dixon starts this weekend. Bourdais made his return to IndyCar last year at Gateway after his pelvic fracture suffered in Indianapolis 500 qualifying and he finished tenth in this race. His fourth place finish at Pocono was his best oval finish since he won at Milwaukee in 2015. In 29 oval starts since Bourdais returned to IndyCar in 2011, Bourdais has a victory, three top five and 11 top ten finishes.
Chaves Back in at Harding
One recent development has been the return of Gabby Chaves to the #88 Chevrolet for Harding Racing.
Initially, Zachary Claman De Melo was announced for the Pocono and Gateway races before the team selected Conor Daly for the 500-mile race over the Canadian. Claman De Melo was still slated to be the team's driver for Gateway but Chaves was announced to return to the grid on Tuesday.
Chaves has been out of the car for the last three races. Though his first 11 starts of the season, his best finish was 14th at St. Petersburg and Indianapolis and his average finish was 17.1. He has only finished on the lead lap on four occasions this season. The Indianapolis 500 is his only lead lap finish on an oval this season.
How Will They Race?
At 1.25 miles in length, Gateway falls somewhere between a short track and an intermediate oval but typically the track has been clumped in more with short tracks and the teams run the high downforce aero kit in this race.
Phoenix was not particularly racy while Iowa was seen as a marvelous race. While this year's Phoenix race was an improvement over the previous two years in terms of on-track action, it was not that impressive when compared to Iowa. This year's Phoenix had 280 passes, 98 of which were passes for position. This year's Iowa race had 955 passes and 234 of those were passes for position.
In 2017, Phoenix had 139 passes. Ironically, while the number of total passes at Iowa nearly tripled this year from the 324 that occurred in 2017, the total number of passes for position decreased from 255 last year. In last year's Gateway race, 173 total passes occurred and there were 91 passes for position.
Phoenix was not particularly racy while Iowa was seen as a marvelous race. While this year's Phoenix race was an improvement over the previous two years in terms of on-track action, it was not that impressive when compared to Iowa. This year's Phoenix had 280 passes, 98 of which were passes for position. This year's Iowa race had 955 passes and 234 of those were passes for position.
In 2017, Phoenix had 139 passes. Ironically, while the number of total passes at Iowa nearly tripled this year from the 324 that occurred in 2017, the total number of passes for position decreased from 255 last year. In last year's Gateway race, 173 total passes occurred and there were 91 passes for position.
Fight For Top Oval Honors
With Gateway being the final oval race of the season, the top oval honor is still up for grabs and six drivers have the opportunity to claim top oval driver of 2018.
Alexander Rossi heads into Gateway on top with 212 oval points this season after his victory at Pocono. Rossi has finished on the podium in three oval races, he finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 and his worst oval finish this season was ninth at Iowa. While Rossi trails Scott Dixon in the overall championship, he leads Dixon by two points in the oval standings. Dixon won at Texas and like Rossi Dixon has three podium finishes on ovals with the New Zealander having a pair of thirds in each 500-mile race. Dixon's other oval finishes were fourth at Phoenix and 12th at Iowa.
Will Power trails Rossi by nine points. The Indianapolis 500 winner is coming off a runner-up finish at Pocono. Two of Power's three pole positions have come on ovals this season. While Power had a massive points haul in the Indianapolis 500, an 18th at Texas and 22nd at Phoenix have him fighting uphill heading to Gateway. Power's Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud sit on 190 points and 175 points respectively. Newgarden won the first oval race of the year at Phoenix while Pagenaud finished second at Texas and Pagenaud has finished in the top ten in all five oval races this season.
Ed Carpenter is the final driver alive for top oval driver honors but Carpenter sits on 169 points, 43 points behind Rossi, meaning Carpenter will have to win Gateway with Rossi finishing 19th or worse depending on the number of bonus points Carpenter scores. Carpenter finished second in the Indianapolis 500 and he has four top ten finishes this season. He is aiming for his fifth top ten finish of the season. It would be his most top ten finishes in a season since 2013, his last year of full-time competition.
Hélio Castroneves was the top oval driver last season and Team Penske has had the top oval driver four of the last five seasons. The one exception was Newgarden in 2016 who took top oval driver with Ed Carpenter Racing. Since Chevrolet returned to IndyCar in 2012 a Chevrolet driver has ended up as top oval driver every season. Dixon was the top oval driver in 2011. Since 2010, Dixon and Newgarden are the only drivers to have been top oval and top road course driver. Dixon was top road course driver in 2013 and Newgarden was top road course driver last season. Power or Pagenaud could become the third driver to achieve that accomplishment.
Since 2010, only twice has the top oval driver won the championship. Those drivers were Dario Franchitti in 2010 and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012. Since 2010, no driver has been top oval driver and top road course driver in the same season.
Road To Indy
Indy Lights and Pro Mazda both head into the penultimate round of their respective seasons and both championships are still up for grabs.
Andretti Autosport driver Patricio O'Ward heads into Gateway leading the Indy Lights championship with 395 points, 32 points clear of teammate Colton Herta. Belardi Auto Racing's Santiago Urrutia is the only other driver mathematically eligible for the title with the Uruguayan on 325 points.
O'Ward has won four of the last five races and the one other result was a second place finish to Urrutia in Toronto. Herta has not won since the first Road America race but in the six races since then he has finished runner-up on four occasions. The two blemishes were a pair of accidents in both Toronto races. Urrutia's Toronto victory was his second of the season and he had three consecutive podium finishes heading into Mid-Ohio before he finished sixth and fourth. Last year at Gateway, Urrutia won the race ahead of Juan Piedrahita and Herta.
Victor Franzoni enters fourth in the championship with 279 points, ten points ahead of Ryan Norman. Aaron Telitz and Dalton Kellett are tied on 250 points.
The Indy Lights race will be held at 5:40 p.m. ET on Saturday August 26th and the race is scheduled for 75 laps.
Four consecutive victories has Rinus VeeKay on top of the Pro Mazda championship. The Juncos Racing driver has 320 points, 25 points clear of Parker Thompson, who has finished outside the top five in three of the last four races after starting the season with top five finishes in the first nine races. Thompson won at Indianapolis Raceway Park in May from pole position while VeeKay finished fourth. VeeKay's teammate Carlos Cunha is 68 points back in third. David Malukas is another twenty points behind Cunha and Oliver Askew rounds out the top five on 232 points. Askew won last year in U.S. F2000 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Only the top five drivers are mathematically eligible for the championship.
Last year, Juncos Racing won the Pro Mazda race at Gateway with Victor Franzoni while Cunha finished third behind Anthony Martin.
The 55-lap Pro Mazda race will be held at 4:45 p.m. ET on Saturday August 26th.
Fast Facts
This will be the 12th IndyCar race to take place on August 25th and first since 2013 when Will Power won at Sonoma.
This year's Gateway race occurs 16 years to the day that Gil de Ferran won at Gateway in 2002 ahead of Hélio Castroneves and Alex Barron.
Dario Franchitti also won on August 25, 2002 as he won the inaugural race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal ahead of Cristiano da Matta and Tony Kanaan.
Marco Andretti has made 123 starts since his most recent IndyCar victory. If he wins at Gateway it will be the second-longest drought between victories. Only Graham Rahal's streak of 124 starts between his St. Petersburg victory in 2008 and his 2015 victory at Fontana will be greater.
Ed Jones has finished outside the top ten in four consecutive races after he had four consecutive top ten finishes.
Takuma Sato has finished outside the top ten in three consecutive races after he had three consecutive top ten finishes. If he takes the green flag, this will be Sato's 150th IndyCar start.
Spencer Pigot has been the top Ed Carpenter Racing finisher in seven of 14 races and he has been the best ECR qualifier in six of 14 races.
Tony Kanaan has finished outside the top ten in the 15th race of the season the last six seasons.
This year's Gateway race occurs 16 years to the day that Gil de Ferran won at Gateway in 2002 ahead of Hélio Castroneves and Alex Barron.
Dario Franchitti also won on August 25, 2002 as he won the inaugural race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal ahead of Cristiano da Matta and Tony Kanaan.
Marco Andretti has made 123 starts since his most recent IndyCar victory. If he wins at Gateway it will be the second-longest drought between victories. Only Graham Rahal's streak of 124 starts between his St. Petersburg victory in 2008 and his 2015 victory at Fontana will be greater.
Ed Jones has finished outside the top ten in four consecutive races after he had four consecutive top ten finishes.
Takuma Sato has finished outside the top ten in three consecutive races after he had three consecutive top ten finishes. If he takes the green flag, this will be Sato's 150th IndyCar start.
Spencer Pigot has been the top Ed Carpenter Racing finisher in seven of 14 races and he has been the best ECR qualifier in six of 14 races.
Tony Kanaan has finished outside the top ten in the 15th race of the season the last six seasons.
Charlie Kimball's ninth place finish at Pocono was his 16th top ten finish on an oval in his IndyCar career. He has three top five finishes on ovals, second at Pocono in 2013, third at Indianapolis in 2015 and fifth at Indianapolis in 2016.
Max Chilton has not had a top ten finish in his last 15 starts.
Pietro Fittipaldi's cousin Christian Fittipaldi made three starts at Gateway with his finishes being 11th, ninth and 12th. His uncle Max Papis made four starts at Gateway with retirements in his first two starts but finishes of fifth and sixth in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
The average starting position for a Gateway winner is 4.625 with a median of two.
Five of eight Gateway races have been won from the front row.
The average number of lead changes in a Gateway race is 8.375 with a median of ten.
Last year's Gateway race had 11 lead changes, the most in track history.
Five of eight Gateway races have had double-digit number of lead changes.
The average number of cautions in a Gateway race is five with a median of 4.5. The average number of caution lap is 48.875 with a median of 39.
Five of eight Gateway races have had more than 30 caution laps.
Possible Milestones:
Chip Ganassi Racing is one victory away from tying Newman-Haas Racing for second all-time in team victories in IndyCar with 107 victories.
Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead eight laps to surpass Tomas Scheckter for 31st all-time in laps led.
Takuma Sato needs to lead 23 laps to reach the 500 laps led milestone.
Graham Rahal needs to lead 21 laps to reach the 400 laps led milestone.
Charlie Kimball needs to lead 37 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone.
Predictions
Josef Newgarden successfully defends another victory and he does it with Alexander Rossi, Will Power and Scott Dixon all finishing in the top five. Power qualifies on the front row again. At least six teams are represented in the top ten. At least four drivers that finished outside the top ten at Pocono finish inside the top ten at Gateway. At least six drivers lead a lap and there will be at least two on-track lead changes. This race will have more passes than Phoenix but will still have fewer than 400 passes. There will be at least 100 passes for position. There will not be a caution before lap 50. Sleeper: Sébastien Bourdais.
