IndyCar at Gateway: Betting Preview

As IndyCar heads on to Gateway, the points battle is reaching a crescendo, with an almost shocking 7 drivers still trying for the championship. O’Ward currently sits 7th, but only 59 points behind Will Power. Alex Palou remains the only driver in top 7 who hasn’t won a race, with Ericsson and Power the only drivers with one win. While there are certainly other drivers who are able to win at Gateway, those 7 have won all but two of the races this year, and Penske and McLaren have been the best at the short ovals over the last three seasons. Since the beginning of the aeroscreen era, Penske itself has won 5 of 7 short oval events at Iowa and Gateway, with O’Ward’s Iowa win this season and Dixon’s 2020 win the only exceptions. So with this stat in mind, let’s start with Team Penske, and take a look at our favorites.

Team Penske

Newgarden hold four of the five short oval wins for Penske since the aeroscreen era, and is the heavy favorite for this exact reason. Not only that, but Newgarden has more wins than any other driver in 2022. Will Power hasn’t won at one of these tracks in a long time, but still has stood on the podium the last 4 short ovals, and Scott McLaughlin, after a mechanical issue in the first Iowa race, rebounded for a podium the next day. There’s no doubt that Team Penske, and specifically Newgarden, are the overwhelming favorites. Because of this, it’s hard to find them at a reasonable price, but look to the Will Power podium bet, or the Newgarden outright for the most value.

McLaren

This was titled McLaren, but it just as easily could be titled Pato O’Ward. In three Gateway starts, O’Ward has never failed to stand on the podium. And in his four Iowa starts, he has a win, podium, top 5, and P12. Pato O’Ward has been one of the best oval drivers in the series the past three years, with consistency that you don’t see outside of Team Penske. While it did require an unfortunate accident for Josef for Pato to find victory lane in Iowa, I would still lock in the podium bet. The last three short ovals have had 4 drivers on the podium. We’ve already mentioned those 4 here. When you look at the pandemic affected 2020 season, the same pattern emerges. Pato, Josef, and Will, along with a bigger theme of Penske and McLaren. What about the other McLaren driver, Felix Rosenqvist? Rosenqvist hasn’t had the same level of success as his teammate, but he has picked up several top 10 finishes, including both races of the 2020 double header at Gateway. While Rosenqvist may not be the safest play for a podium, considering he only has two in a four year IndyCar career, look to his top 5 odds for a ____ play that isn’t quite a longshot, but is a little longer than the Penkse/Pato bets.

Picks

Newgarden to win (+350)

Pato podium (+100)

Rosenqvist top 5 (+300)