Team Penske will try to remain perfect on ovals this season as the NTT IndyCar Series will race Saturday night (6 p.m. ET, USA and Peacock) at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway in Madison, Illinois.
After Josef Newgarden’s second consecutive victory at the Indianapolis 500, Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power made it a clean sweep in the race weekend doubleheader at Iowa Speedway last month.
Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at the 1.25-mile oval east of St. Louis will mark the fourth of seven oval races this season (which will close with a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile and a season finale at Nashville Superspeedway).
Scott Dixon is the defending winner at Gateway, and the six-time series champion has moved into third in the championship standings behind Alex Palou and Power with three consecutive top-four finishes.
Palou, who is winless on ovals during his five seasons in IndyCar, has an average finish of 12.6 and a best of seventh in five starts at Gateway.
Among notable lineup changes this weekend:
—Conor Daly will replace Agustin Canapino in the No. 78 Dallara-Chevrolet for the rest of the season at Juncos Hollinger Racing;
—Jack Harvey will return to the No. 18 Dallara-Honda at Dale Coyne Racing, teaming with No. 51 driver Katherine Legge, who will make her Gateway debut.
Here are the details for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 race weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway (all times are ET):
INDYCAR BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 START TIMES
TV: Saturday’s race broadcast will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock
Kevin Lee is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry and Dillon Welch are the pit reporters. Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying and Indy NXT races. (Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)
INDYCAR RADIO NETWORK: The IndyCar and Indy NXT races and all practices and qualifying sessions will air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar app.
COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 6:25 p.m.
GREEN FLAG: 6:30 p.m.
PRACTICE: Friday, 12:45 p.m. (Peacock), 8:30 p.m. (Peacock)
PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Combined
QUALIFYING: Friday, 4:20 p.m. (Peacock)
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the 27-car grid
RACE DISTANCE: 260 laps (325 miles) on a 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Illinois.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: Eight sets for use through the doubleheader weekend.
HYBRID ENERGY DEPLOYMENT: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 120 kilojoules (kj) per lap.
FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 84 degrees with a 0% chance of rain at the green flag.
INDYCAR ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 27 cars entered
INDY NXT RACE: Saturday, 4:05 p.m., Peacock
INDY NXT ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 18 cars entered
INDYCAR BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 WEEKEND SCHEDULE
(All times are ET)
Friday, Aug. 16
12:45-1:45 p.m.: IndyCar practice (Peacock)
2:05-2:50 p.m.: USAC Silver Crown practice
3:15-4 p.m.: Indy NXT practice
4:20 p.m.: IndyCar qualifying (Peacock)
5:40 p.m.: USAC Silver Crown qualifying
6:45 p.m.: Indy NXT qualifying
8:30-9:30 p.m.: IndyCar practice (Peacock)
10 p.m.: Silver Crown race (60 laps)
Saturday, Aug. 17
4:05 p.m.: Indy NXT race (75 laps, Peacock)
6:30 p.m.: Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (260 laps, USA and Peacock)
2024 SEASON RECAPS
ROUND 1: Josef Newgarden dominates in season opener l Results, points
$1 MILLION CHALLENGE: Alex Palou takes big payday l Results
ROUND 2: Scott Dixon sublimely saves fuel to win Long Beach l Results, points
ROUND 3: Scott McLaughlin wins from the pole at Barber l Results, points
ROUND 4: Alex Palou wins again on the Indy road course l Results, points
ROUND 5: Josef Newgarden repeat winner at Indy 500 l Results, points
ROUND 6: Scott Dixon wins another wild Detroit race l Results, points
ROUND 7: Will Power ends 34-race winless streak at Road America l Results, points
ROUND 8: Alex Palou takes championship lead with Laguna Seca win l Results, points
ROUND 9: Pato O’Ward outduels Alex Palou at Mid-Ohio l Results, points
ROUND 10: Scott McLaughlin is an IndyCar oval winner for the first time l Results, points
ROUND 11: Will Power earns first Iowa win; Robb OK after massive crash l Results, points
ROUND 12: Colton Herta snaps two-year winless skid with victory at Toronto l Results, points
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