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The 2024 edition of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 turned out to be probably the best IndyCar race I’ve seen at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) that I’ve seen since the the NTT IndyCar Series returned to the 1.25–mile egg-shaped oval, just across the bridge from St. Louis.

Luck would have it that the first year we chose not to attend in-person, that’s when the most fascinating of races would take place.

Since the double-header processional snooze-fest at Iowa, all we’ve heard over the last month was to expect the same thing at Gateway. It didn’t happen. Instead, we saw passing on the straightaways, use of the higher second groove in the turns and a topsy-turvy race that was unpredictable, entertaining and sometimes breath-taking.

It only took eight laps to bring out the first caution, when Katherine Legge and Ed Carpenter came together at the back of the field in Turn One. By that time, it was already obvious that we were not going to be witnessing another parade like Iowa. Colton Herta started near the back of the field after crashing in qualifying. In one lap, he carved his way up through the field so quickly, it looked like a video game where your car was set to Expert, and the rest of the field was on Beginner. It was almost comical the way the passing lanes opened up for him – in one lap.

The opening stint was not the only part of the race that featured a lot of passing. It continued throughout the race. With two caution periods in the first seventeen laps, many teams chose to use differing fuel strategies. While this brings a lot of intrigue throughout the race, it is sometimes hard to keep up with who is on which strategy. That is part of the reason there were eleven different leaders during the course of the late afternoon/early evening.

There was even a spin-&-win by Josef Newgarden. It didn’t quite match what Danny Sullivan did in 1985, but it was still very impressive.

Unfortunately, for all of the on-track passes and different fuel strategies – this race may be remembered for another bad night for race control. Like many football games, great gameplay can be completely overshadowed by a handful of bad calls and no-calls from the refs. Such was the case on Saturday night.

But as I type this about 24-hours removed from the checkered-flag. I think more about the racing itself and how I had no idea who was going to win deep into the race, or how it would all play out. IndyCar needed this type of race with three out of the final four races on ovals. I’m glad they got it.

TV Coverage: First of all, it was not NBC’s fault that the NASCASR Xfinity race ran long and subsequently bumped the start and the first thirty laps or so to CNBC. A fact that many fans don’t want to recognize is that Xfinity races draw a bigger audience than IndyCar races. NBC had a commitment to cover that race, regardless of the fact that IndyCar is now a lame duck property to them. If that messed up your DVR recording, all races are archived on Peacock.

As for the race broadcast – most everything I have here is a repeat of good and bad comments I’ve said before. Friday night, we watched the replays of the first practice, qualifying, the high-line practice and the final practice run in complete darkness. Overall, that was almost four hours of listening to Kevin Lee, James Hinchcliffe, Georgia Henneberry and Dillon Welch. All are very easy on the ears. Had it been some more objectionable voices, we may have been more inclined to watch something else. I still hope all four of them (along with Russ Thompson in the booth) can make the transition over to FOX, before next season.

Those four were joined on Saturday by Townsend Bell, who brought what he usually brings to the booth – and I’ll just leave it at that.

My biggest complaint is that once again – NBC tried the dreaded in-car interview with a driver on the parade lap. This time it was Townsend Bell trying to talk to David Malukas. Mercifully, there were (once again) technical troubles and it never materialized. I don’t fault Bell for this. He’s just doing what he’s told. In the 80s, this was a neat gimmick – so was giant hair. Sam Posey showed us in 1986 why this is a bad idea. Let’s hope FOX drops this pointless exercise. It brings nothing to the race coverage, and it seems painfully awkward between the booth and the driver.

National Anthem: Over the years, I have been quick to criticize what I thought was a poor rendition of our National Anthem. If I am going to laugh at the bad performances, it’s only fair that I should praise the stellar ones. Outstanding is a better word to describe the performance of Senior Airman Jessie Dunnavant, prior to Saturday’s race. Her a capella version was simply beautiful. In my opinion, it was one of the best performances I’ve seen or heard. Doug Boles should book her for next May.

Better to be Lucky – Part I: There’s an old saying that it’s better to be lucky, than good. There is an add-on to that saying that it’;s better to be lucky and good.

As mentioned earlier, Josef Newgarden flirted with disaster in Turn Two on Lap 196; as he was trying to chase down teammate Scott McLaughlin, who was leading at the time. As he was trying to use the outside lane to get around Alex Palou, Newgarden got too much into the marbles. He lost control and went into a lazy spin that left him exposed to oncoming traffic, as he came to a stop without hitting anything with his nose pointed back towards Turn One. He calmly collected himself and continued down the backstretch under the yellow that he brought out. He changed his flat-spotted tires and went on to win the race. Granted there was skill involved in keeping the car off of the wall, but it was sheer luck that prevented anyone from hitting him.

Better to be Lucky – Part II: Alex Palou entered the weekend with a forty-nine point lead over Will Power. His mission was to stay out of trouble and not let too many points evaporate from his lead. Palou was surrounded by calamity throughout the entire race, yet he kept his nose clean the entire time. In the meantime, Will Power and Scott Dixon had horrible nights and feel further behind. Colton Herta vaulted to second in the championship, but was penalized one spot after the race, which moved Palou from fifth to fourth. Without doing anything spectacular, Palou increased his lead in the championship to 59 points. How does he do that?

No-Call – Part I: David Malukas was having an excellent race with only twenty laps to go. He and Will Power were running fifth and sixth, but they were on the same fuel strategy – meaning that if those on the other would soon pit and Power and Malukas would soon be running first and second respectively. Malukas took a clean shot to pas Power for the effective lead in Turn One. It was set up as a textbook pass that could have been for the race win. The only problem was that Power came down on him and clipped the right front-wing of Malukas, sending him into the wall as Power continued on.

Replays show that Malukas never wavered from the white line to hi left, and that Power clearly came down and chopped him. Yet, Race Controi did nothing as Malukas was relegated to a twenty-firt place finish after running up front all night, and his Meyer Shank Racing team is handed a hefty repair bill for a heavily damaged race car.

No-Call – Part II: On the subsequent re-start after the Malukas crash, Josef Newgarden was the leader. The IndyCar rulebook clearly states that the leader must maintain pace car speed as they lead the field to green. We don’t have access to the data, but most agree that Newgarden was well below pace car speed and some speculate he was blipping the throttle to make those behind him check up. The result was a third car airborn in as many races, as Alexander Rossi climbed all over the back of Will Power, after Power had to hit his brakes unexpectedly. Altogether, four cars were involved – including Power and Rossi who were headed for strong finishes.

Again, Race Control did nothing as the race was red-flagged to clean up the mess. Will Power made his feelings known that this was on Newgarden. Colton Herta was in third on the re-start, and his radio comments said Newgarden was playing with the throttle and was being dirty causing everyone to brake check. Power and Rossi were out, while Newgarden went on to win.

Bad Call: While Team Penske drivers Will Power and Josef Newgarden were not penalized for leaving crashed cars in the wake of their actions, Colton Herta was penalized one spot after the race for blocking Linus Lundqvist late in the race, Lundqvist ultimately got past Herta to finish third, but Race Control chose to penalize Herta who did not crash out anyone. Herta was ultimately scored in fifth, and Alex Palou was moved to fourth – a move that could affect the final championship standings.

Not a Good Look: I am not a conspiracy theorist and I honestly do not think that Race Control is looking the other way, when it comes to the three-car team that happens to be owned by their boss, Roger Penske. You only have to look at the disqualifications at St. Petersburg earlier this season.

But there are many who want to believe that Race Control gives special allowances to Team Penske drivers, that other drivers don’t get. That’s why I think Race Control needs to be extra careful to be consistent in their rulings – possible more than ever, since so many fans see this as a potential conflict of interest.

No matter what you think, it was not a good look for Race Control on Saturday night to let Power and Newgarden get off with no penalty, yet bring the hammer down on Herta – even though there were no crashed cars in his wake.

Drive of the Day (Night): Unlike some races there are many strong candidates for this honor, following Saturday’s race at Gateway.

Some might say it belongs to Colton Herta. After all, he came all the way from starting twenty-fifth to finish fifth. The thing is, he had a very fast car that threatened to win the pole before he crashed in qualifying. The fact that a crash is what put him back to twenty-fifth in the first place negates his great drive. He should have been a Top-Five car anyway.

Sting Ray Robb went from ninth to twenty-fourth, and led eight laps. Throw in the fact that after this week – he wonders about his own future at AJ Foyt Racing. He probably suspects, as I do, that he will be the odd man out at Foyt next year. It was a nice drive, but not the Drive of the Day.

Nolan Siegel came quite close to winning this honor, by starting twentieth and finishing seventh. He may have snagged the honor had he not been caught speeding on pit road.

No, the Drive of the Day at World Wide Technology Raceway goes to Linus Lundqvist. He is another driver who has an uncertain future,even though he is on track to win Rookie of the Year. He started eighteenth and finished third in a spirited drive. He needed it.

All in All: Not only did Saturday’s race at Gateway exceed expectations after what we saw at Iowa, it was probably the best IndyCar race the track has held since the series returned in 2017. The crowd was noticeably smaller than usual, but those on-hand saw an exciting and fascinating race. The downforce and tire package that IndyCar and Firestone brought worked well together and reminded us why we love oval racing so much. I still maintain if they could move the green flag to a twilight start time, many more people would be in the stands. It’s cooler and everyone loves a true night race.

We now move to the last non-oval on the schedule – Portland. Then there is the much-anticipated double-header at The Milwaukee Mile over Labor Day weekend that can bolster or eliminate a lot of drivers chances in the championship. After a one-week break, the series heads to my hometown of Nashville for the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. If Saturday’s race at Gateway is any indication – expect the unexpected.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on August 19, 2024 at 4:03 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.