IndyCar at Gateway: Quick Preview

IndyCar goes to its second and final short oval of the 2022 season in St. Louis, the World Wide Technology Raceway, commonly known as Gateway. The 1.25 mile oval is an entirely unique oval, with two corners that are different in both radius and banking, requiring a driver to work their in-car tools constantly to extract maximum speed over a lap and a stint. Gateway returned to the IndyCar schedule in 2017, and has been dominated by Team Penske over the years. Team Penske has won 4 of the 6 races since its return to the schedule, with Josef Newgarden taking three of those himself. Newgarden has been the short track master since he joined Team Penske, winning three times at Gateway, four at Iowa, and one time at Phoenix in 2018. Undoubtedly the favorite, Newgarden is in an enviable position of being the driver with the most wins this year, and the driver with the most wins at Gateway.

In 2021, Gateway was the only short track on the schedule, and similar to this year was an incredibly tight points race, but with only two drivers, Palou and O’Ward, as opposed to the 7 that are realistically in the hunt right now. As we approach Gateway, all three Penske drivers are in the points hunt, with Will Power leading the standings, and all three have shown the short track skillset. Even though McLaughlin lacks the oval experience of his two teammates, he has been a quick learner, picking up a podium at Iowa. Part of the Penske advantage at Iowa was their suspension technology at the bumpy bullring, but Gateway presents a much smoother surface, possibly decreasing the advantage for the Captain. Penske remains the favorite of the week, but quietly, Pato O’Ward has been one of the most consistent drivers at Gateway. O’Ward has three starts at Gateway, and has finished on the podium in all three of those starts. O’Ward stands next to Newgarden as one the recent short track aces, with excellent showings at Iowa as well. The other championship driver who has been strong at Gateway is Scott Dixon, who has crept up to only 6 points behind Will Power. Dixon won in 2020, and has had success at short tracks throughout his career. Those four, Power, Newgarden, O’Ward, and Dixon stand out as heavy favorites this weekend at Gateway. You can catch the IndyCar action all on Peacock this weekend, and the race on USA network at 6:30 pm ET on Saturday, August 20. The full weekend schedule, including the support series races, can be found here.