Written by Dan Jones
After a four week long break, as the eyes of the world turned to the Olympic Games, the eyes of the world turn back to IndyCar, as five races in five weeks will culminate in deciding the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series Champion. The first stop: World Wide Technology Raceway, commonly referred to as Gateway, located in Madison, Illinois, the host of Round 13 of 17 in the 2024 IndyCar Series season.
Prior to the Olympic break, IndyCar hopped across the border to the Streets of Toronto, which saw Colton Herta break his two-year winless streak, as he dominated the weekend to propel himself to fourth in the standings, as teammate, Kyle Kirkwood, followed him home for his first podium of 2024, in a strong day for Andretti.
The day would have huge championship implications too. Team Penske had a disaster when Will Power over-ambitiously tried to overtake teammate, Scott McLaughlin, sending the Kiwi into the barrier, as Josef Newgarden's disaster season continued, having multiple punctures and off-track excursions. It wouldn't be any better for Pato O'Ward, who spun by himself causing a chain reaction behind, and a nasty accident, which thankfully, all individuals walked away from.
All that helped Álex Palou maintain his championship lead, as the attention now lies on the ovals for the remainder of the season. Top ten in the standings are as follows: Palou - 411
Power - 362
Dixon - 358
Herta - 354
O'Ward - 340
McLaughlin - 328
Kirkwood - 314
Newgarden - 266
Rossi - 265
Ferrucci - 231
The push for the championship begins at Gateway, a 1.250 mile (2.012km) oval, on the outskirts of St. Louis, with an egg-shape feature to the circuit, with Turns 1 and 2 featuring banking of 11 degrees, whilst Turns 3 and 4 reach 9 degrees.
A circuit that started hosting IndyCar in 1997, as has been the case with many short ovals, it's history has been dominated by Josef Newgarden, the 2017 and 2019 Champion taking victory at half the races since Gateway returned to the schedule in 2017, with triumphs in 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Newgarden's championship hopes have effectively gone, but with his history, will be expecting to end the season on a high with the plethora of ovals remaining.
Last year's event saw some Scott Dixon magic, as he pulled off a remarkable fuel save, to do one less stop than the rest of the field on his way to victory, against all the odds, to add to his previous victory at the track in 2020. Unlike Newgarden, Dixon's championship hopes are very much alive, and this could be the weekend to really put pressure on teammate, Álex Palou.
Will Power lies Palou's closest contender, and won in Gateway in 2018. Power's real strength lies in qualifying though, taking pole four times in the last seven years at the circuit. In fact, Penske have taken pole eight of the last ten times IndyCar has raced at Gateway, dating back all the way to 2002. Like Dixon, this could be a crucial weekend for Power.
And that's because this lies Palou's weakest track on the schedule. In five races at Gateway, Palou's best finish is seventh, which he achieved last season. However, there is no secret that Palou's oval form is improving. He was perilously close to achieving victory at Iowa, before Power pipped him to the post, but the Spaniard still chases that illusive oval victory.
Scott McLaughlin is also one to look out for. He took pole here last year, and finally claimed a well-overdue oval victory at Iowa. McLaughlin has never finished lower than fifth at Gateway, and claimed a podium here in 2022. His championship hopes remain faint, so this weekend is essential for McLaughlin if he has any sort of championship intentions.
In a similar situation to McLaughlin, is Pato O'Ward, who's Gateway record stands out amongst the pack. In five visits to World Wide Technology Raceway, O'Ward has incredibly never finished lower than fourth, finishing runner-up on three occasions, including last season. O'Ward will need that form to continue to have any sort of championship intentions, and this is certainly the weekend to do it.
And look out for David Malukas, who has absolutely starred as an underdog at Gateway in his short IndyCar career. Malukas finished second in 2022 and third in 2023, and will be looking to continue that this year with Meyer Shank Racing. Malukas has been the news of the break, as it was announced that he signed a multi-year deal with AJ Foyt Racing starting from 2025, in a move that surprised many in the paddock.
It wasn't the only news in the break, after Juncos Hollinger Racing announced they had parted ways with Agustín Canapino for the remainder of 2024. In steps veteran, Conor Daly, who will compete for the team at Gateway, as he did in the recent test, and the remainder of the 2024 season.
Katherine Legge will also return this weekend in the No.51 entry, adding to her appearances at the Indianapolis 500 and Iowa. Legge is expected to close out the year on the remaining oval races, although this is not yet confirmed. And as was pre-planned at the start of 2024, Ed Carpenter will slot into the No.20 Ed Carpenter Racing car, in place of Christian Rasmussen for all oval events.
The major talking point of the weekend though will be the racing. IndyCar's most recent oval event, at Iowa Speedway, caused widespread controversy, as a repave, new tyres and the heavier hybrid caused a processional event which was impossible to pass, and there are fears that this could continue into Gateway.
Although there is no repave, there are already major concerns after the recent test. Kyle Kirkwood noted: "I don’t know if anyone’s gonna like what I have to say, but we focused mostly on qualifying, because it’s probably gonna be a qualifying race. We tried to follow each other at the end and we couldn’t get within a second of each other, so qualifying is going to be super important."
Like Iowa, degredation is also set to be minimal: “It’s just easy-flat through 3 and 4; everyone’s doing the same speed, so the only way you can get by somebody is if you’re somehow way faster out of 2, but that wasn’t really happening so much. If you had deg, it would be a better race. If it’s like we just tested, it’s going to be like Iowa, so I hope something will change with tires or aero or whatever they think it needs to be.”
Kirkwood's revelations causes larger concerns about what Gateway's event could look like, after Iowa's disaster. Expect teams to focus on a qualifying setup, in the compressed weekend, with both qualifying and the race happening on Saturday, as drivers compete over 260 laps at World Wide Technology Raceway.
With the championship hotting up, this weekend will have major implications in the course of deciding the 2024 Champion. Can Palou shrug off his previous oval struggles to firmly solidify himself as the favourite. Can outsiders like O'Ward or McLaughlin continue their strong Gateway records, or can the likes of Power and Dixon cause a real thorn in Palou's side. With another procession expected, it could be a turbulent weekend at Gateway.
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