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Fireworks before the start at Gateway

By the Numbers: The Bommarito Automotive Group 500

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The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at WWT Raceway at Gateway once again delivered an exciting spectacle this year. Due to rain, it became the slowest race at the track since 2001. Josef Newgarden scored his sixth victory at Gateway, meaning he has now won nearly 55% of his starts at the venue! Things did not go as well for Chip Ganassi Racing, as none of the team's cars finished in the top ten for the first time since 2019. What else stood out? We break down the race weekend through a series of numbers!

268 - A total of 268 passes for position were recorded during the race (475 passes overall), slightly more than last year when there were 263 passes for position.

169.647 - With an average speed of 169.647 mph, Josef Newgarden set the fastest lap of the race, further proving that he was the deserving winner. In the fastest race laps ranking, Marcus Ericsson finished second ahead of impressive rookie Caio Collet.

150.687 - After Alex Palou ran out of fuel in the pits, his pit stop lasted an astonishing 150.687 seconds, or 2 minutes and 30.687 seconds, whereas pit stops normally take around 35 seconds. As a result, Palou lost two laps and could only finish seventeenth.

134.07 - The average race speed was 134.070 mph (215.719 km/h), making it the slowest race at the track since the Indy Racing League event held there in 2001.

110 - It was a disastrous race for Chip Ganassi Racing at Gateway, as none of its drivers finished in the top ten. Scott Dixon finished 12th after receiving a penalty for pitting while pit lane was closed, Alex Palou finished 17th after running out of fuel in the pits, and Kyffin Simpson finished 21st after also running out of fuel. Coincidentally, the last time no Ganassi car finished in the top ten was also at Gateway. Back in 2019, when the team fielded just two cars, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist finished 20th and 11th respectively — 110 races ago.

100 - Following his victory at Phoenix, Josef Newgarden also won the second short-oval race of the season, giving him a perfect 100% record on this type of track in 2026. Looking at all oval races in his career, Newgarden has won 24.69% of his oval starts.

69 - Louis Foster endured a difficult race, lacking pace and being passed frequently throughout the event. By the checkered flag, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver had been passed 69 times. In this category, Sting Ray Robb (37 times passed) and Alexander Rossi (32 times passed) ranked second and third.

55 - Josef Newgarden truly is the king of WWT Raceway at Gateway. This was his sixth victory in just eleven starts at the track, good for a remarkable 55% win rate.

49 - Because Alex Palou scored only 13 points while Kyle Kirkwood collected 28 points with a sixth-place finish, the gap between the two drivers has been reduced from 64 points to "just" 49 points.

38 - Marcus Ericsson's runner-up finish was his first podium result since the Detroit race in 2024 — 38 races ago.

38 - Christian Rasmussen was the most active driver when it came to overtaking, completing an impressive 38 passes on track. In this category, Rinus VeeKay and Christian Lundgaard shared second place with 36 passes each.

34 - The victory was Josef Newgarden's 34th IndyCar win. As a result, he moves into a tie for ninth place on the all-time IndyCar wins list alongside Al Unser Jr.

27 - With four Chevrolet-powered cars finishing in the top five, Chevrolet gained valuable ground in the manufacturers' championship. The American manufacturer cut 27 points from Honda's advantage but still trails by 72 points.

22 - With his third-place finish, Christian Rasmussen scored his first top-ten result of the season. He therefore becomes the 22nd full-time driver to record at least one top-ten finish this year. The only full-time drivers still without a top-ten finish are Sting Ray Robb and rookies Caio Collet and Mick Schumacher.

16 - Christian Rasmussen gained the most positions during the race. The Dane started 19th and finished third, for a gain of 16 positions.

16 - Mick Schumacher was the highest-finishing rookie in 16th place. However, the standout rookie was Caio Collet, who drove an excellent race and appeared on course for a top-five finish before his Chevrolet engine failed with just over 60 laps remaining. The third rookie, Dennis Hauger, did not even start the race due to a fuel leak.

15 - By setting the fastest qualifying lap, Alex Palou earned his fourth consecutive pole position. The last driver to achieve that feat was Will Power, who started from pole in the first four races of the 2011 season — 15 years ago.

11:15 - The race was held during the American evening, it turned into a late night for American fans, especially those at the track. Due to rain delays, the race did not finish until 11:15 PM local time, which is quite late for a Sunday night. It was the latest-finishing IndyCar race since 2019, when the race at Iowa Speedway did not conclude until 1:15 AM local time.

8 - Interestingly, qualifying speed proved to have little correlation with race pace. The four fastest drivers in the race, who also finished in the top four, started eighth (Josef Newgarden), 12th (Marcus Ericsson), 19th (Christian Rasmussen) and 13th (Rinus VeeKay).

6 - Six different drivers led at least one lap: Marcus Ericsson (114 laps), Josef Newgarden (53 laps), Alex Palou (49 laps), Scott Dixon (32 laps), Caio Collet (7 laps), and Christian Rasmussen (5 laps).

5.976 - Because teams were required to run with less downforce and slightly reduced turbo boost this year, Alex Palou's pole-winning run was 5.976 mph slower than Will Power's pole run one year earlier. Over two laps, that translates to a difference of 1.711 seconds, or 0.855 seconds per lap.

2 - Race control was relatively lenient throughout the event, handing out only two penalties. Kyffin Simpson received a drive-through penalty for failing to line up properly before the start, while Scott Dixon was ordered to drop to the rear of the field before a restart due to pitting while pit lane was closed.

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