Preview – 2018 Bommarito Automotive Group 500
By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel
The INDYCAR season continues this weekend with the Verizon IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 and the Indy Lights Cooper Tires Mazda St. Louis Indy Lights Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois. The Open Wheel will be on-site covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.
Photo by Parker Hall/The Open Wheel
Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Spotter Guide – Circuit Map – Tickets
Indy Lights Preview: Mazda St. Louis Indy Lights Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires (Entry List), Race – Saturday, August 25, 2018 5:40PM (ET) – It’s a huge weekend in Indy Lights as championship leader Patricio O’Ward could conceivably clinch the title before the final rounds in Portland. Santiago Urrutia won the Lights race at Gateway in 2017. Urrutia can certainly play spoiler again after his successful drive at Gateway last year, but I think this one will be a battle between O’Ward and his championship competitor Colton Herta. I say Herta ekes out a win to do his best to keep his title fight alive before heading to Portland. My pick to win: Colton Herta
Verizon IndyCar Series Preview: Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Saturday, August 25, 2018 8:00PM (ET) NBCSN – Previous driver experience shows Josef Newgarden as the only former winner at Gateway Motorsports Park in the field as last year was the series’ first race at the circuit since 2003. Scott Dixon (2) and Tony Kanaan (5) are the only drivers with multiple starts at Gateway. The active Top 5 in laps led at Gateway are Newgarden (170), Dixon (78), Kanaan (21), Simon Pagenaud (13), and Sebastien Bourdais/Will Power (5). The Top 5 from the 2017 box score were Newgarden, Dixon, Pagenaud, Castroneves, and Daly. The big news of the weekend of course will be the lack of a No. 6 entry for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports as the team will not enter the car this weekend while Robert Wickens continues to recover after his incident at Pocono Raceway. Gabby Chaves returns to the Harding Racing No. 88 after missing the last few races. My pick to win: Alexander Rossi – I’m calling for Rossi to make it three wins in a row this weekend under the lights at Gateway Motorsports Park. Rossi has been the most exciting driver on ovals all season long so it would only makes sense for him to deliver a win in front of one of the most electric crowds of the year.
My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Zach Veach, and Tony Kanaan – You know my thoughts on Rossi. Newgarden is the defending race winner here and figures to be very strong once again. I’m front loading the team with these two and filling in from here. Veach has raced extremely well lately and shows good value at just $17. Kanaan and AJ Foyt Racing have been solid, if not strong, on ovals this year and are due for some good luck this weekend after a strong showing at Gateway last year.