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NTT IndyCar Series

IndyCar heads to Gateway

IndyCar runs in circles for another weekend as the series visits the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, a 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Illinois for the 248 lap / 310 mile Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta & Valvoline. NBCSN will broadcast qualifying, 6 p.m. ET Friday, Aug. 23 (live) and the race, 8 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 24 (live).

This weekend's race will be the 10th Indy car race at Gateway. Last week's Pocono 500 winner Will Power won the race in 2018. Paul Tracy won the first Indy car race at Gateway in 1997. Power and Josef Newgarden are the only former winners entered in this year's race. Power also holds the nne-lap qualifying record of 23.7206 seconds, 189.709 mph, set Aug. 25, 2017.

"The win at Pocono is what we needed to really turn our season around." said Power "The guys on the Verizon Chevy have worked so hard all season and I'm glad they could finally celebrate a win. We feel like this is great momentum headed into this weekend at (World Wide Technology Raceway) where we've also had some success. I've made it no secret that I really enjoy racing at ovals these days, so I'm hoping we can make it two in a row. We are going to keep racing hard for every possible win or championship point we can get. We're focused and ready for more."

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

"Although we didn't win at Pocono, we were able to gain points and extend the gap between us and (Alexander) Rossi in the championship standings." said Newgarden "Now we focus on Gateway. It's a track we feel really comfortable at and a place where I've had success in the PPG Chevy. Ovals can be tricky, but they're really fun to race. And over the last couple of years, (World Wide Technology Raceway) has one of the most excited crowds we see all year, so it's always really cool to be able to go there and put on a show for the fans."

Eighteen drivers entered in the event have competed in past Indy car races at World Wide Technology Park. Tony Kanaan has six starts, most among the entered drivers. Nine entered drivers have led laps at the track (Scott Dixon 223, Josef Newgarden 170, Will Power 98, Kanaan 21, Simon Pagenaud 13, Sebastien Bourdais 5, Takuma Sato 4, Alexander Rossi 4 and Zach Veach 2).

"Just three to go now, right? I've been pretty happy with the past several races." Dixon added "The whole PNC Bank team has done a great job finishing either first or second. It's what you have to do. But we still need more wins. This is the go time part of the NTT IndyCar Series season. This championship is just so tight - you cannot afford to make any mistakes from here on out, or you'll be on the outside looking in - really fast. We've been on the podium here the past two years but haven't been able to get that top step on the podium. This Saturday would be the perfect time to break through. The track and everyone here does such a great job promoting this event, and it really shows. It's a great place to race and we'll see how it goes this weekend."

Josef Newgarden leads the NTT IndyCar Series championship with three races to go for the second time in his career. He leads Alexander Rossi by 35 points with Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud (-40) in third and five-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon (-52) in fourth.

"After last weekend, I am really looking forward to forgetting about Pocono and moving on to (World Wide Technology Raceway)." explained Rossi "We didn't come out of the last race with a tighter gap to the championship like we had hoped, so it is extremely important to go for the win at Gateway and grab all the points we can to keep fighting for the Astor Cup. We had a strong car at last year's race at Gateway and ended up finishing second. The NAPA boys deserve another win this year and I'm hoping we'll see them in victory lane Saturday night."

Four rookies, Marcus Ericsson, Santino Ferrucci, Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist, are expected to compete. None of the rookies has made an Indy car start at World Wide Technology Raceway. Rosenqvist climbs back into a race car after being part of the huge first lap incident at Pocono.

"I'm pleased to have been given the go-ahead to race at (World Wide Technology Raceway) this weekend. Yes, I am a bit sore and it was definitely a significant impact, but all in all, I feel perfectly fit and ready to return to racing. I have been very well taken care of these last few days and I've also been stunned by the outpouring of support from my fans around the world. I really, really appreciate it and I hope I can put on a good show for everyone this weekend. I took part in a rookie test at Gateway a few weeks ago, and I think that's the best feeling I've had so far on an oval. I don't expect the crash last weekend to affect that at all. There was nothing I could do to avoid it, so there is no reason to change anything in terms of my approach to this weekend. I will be giving it everything I've got and I actually think it's a positive thing getting back in the saddle again so soon. This is our final oval of the season and I'm committed to trying to make it our best one."

At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, Aug. 23

1 - 2 p.m. - NTT IndyCar Series practice #1, NBC Sports Gold (live)

5:15 - 6:15 p.m. - Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (single car/cumulative time of two laps), NBCSN (live)

8:15 - 9:15 p.m. - NTT IndyCar Series final practice, NBC Sports Gold (live)

Saturday, Aug. 24

7:05 p.m. - Driver introductions

7:40 p.m. - Command to start engines

7:45 p.m. - Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta & Valvoline (248 laps/310 miles), NBCSN (live)

Entry list

8/19/19

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