Photo credits: Chris Owens
Scott McLaughlin claimed pole position during Friday's qualifying session with an average of 179.972 MPH around the 1.27-mile-long oval.
Hometown hero, David Malukas slotted into second, his maiden top-two start with Josef Newgarden claiming the second row alongside the third Team Penske driver, Will Power.
Alex Palou took a blow to his championship campaign after receiving a nine-place grid penalty after his engine was changed without approval meaning the Spaniard starts 16th on row eight.
Palou wasn't the only driver penalised, Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon were also handed nine-grid penalties each, seeing the pair start from 11th in row six and 19th in row ten, respectively.
On the other side, it was heartbreak from Herta after a promising start to the weekend, the Andretti Global driver spun out during his run and will be starting from 25th.
As it happened
Photo credits: Joe Skibinski
Lights went out and McLaughlin shot away with the early jump. The 27 cars headed into Turn 2 cleanly with Power grabbing third from his teammate.
Despite the hurt from yesterday, Herta was making advances on the circuit and by the end of lap 1, he was already up seven positions, an incredible start to the race.
Photo credits: Joe Skibinski
Katherine Legge and Ed Carpenter collied on lap 11, bringing an abrupt stop to Legge's race, Carpenter was able to continue after a quick change of rear wings.
On lap 14, racing action resumed with McLaughlin getting another lightning start, Herta was up into 13th a remarkable recovery.
A second caution was thrown a couple of laps later after Conor Daly spun, leaving Kyle Kirkwood wounded and having to retreat to Pit Lane.
Lights went green again, this time with Malukas leading, however, the switch of leadership was quick with Power grabbing the top position.
Herta wasn't done gaining positions, after making a risky move on Championship leader Palou, the Californian was up into ninth position on lap 36.
Pato O'Ward began dropping down the pecking order after having to save his car from spinning into the wall, due to a suspected mechanical issue. The Mexican headed into the pits and didn't come out, marking him the second driver to retire.
The first batch of pit stops took place on lap 62, with Kirkwood having fixed his car and headed out onto the track, thirty-three laps behind the leader Power.
Dixon on the alternative strategy headed into the pits on lap 71. Also running on the alternative strategy was Marcus Ericsson who was running in fifth position on lap 82, with exceptional race pace.
Photo credits: Chris Owens
The third caution was brought out on lap 86 after a big shunt for Kyrffin Simpson who hit the wall.
This opened up a chain reaction of drivers darting into Pit Lane, the top four remained unchanged.
Ericsson opted to do his second stop on lap 90, remaining confident about his pace and fuel levels.
Racing conditions were resumed on lap 97. A tight battle between Ericsson and Siegel was taking place with the teenager challenging the Indy 500 winner around the track making some risky moves, though the Swede was able to hold off the Arrow McLaren driver.
Malukas headed into the pits, the 22-year-old suffering from clutch issues making his race more difficult. Power remained out for a further lap before heading into the pits, McLaughlin followed suit after a couple of laps after his teammates.
Ericsson took the lead of the race on lap 130 after the round of second pit stops took place, Dixon was running just behind the No.28, before making the move on the Swede ten laps later.
The next round of pit stops for the alternative strategy took place, with Nolan Siegel leading the group out of pit road. Ericsson faced a thirty-second pit stop after a slow stop, hindering the Swede's chance after an exceptional race. The issue was fatal, with Ericsson heading back into the pits a lap later and retiring from the race, a second driver with a suspected mechanical issue.
Siegal and Ferrucci were both handed speeding penalties and had to head into pit lane to serve their penalty.
Back out on track, Power remained in the lead with McLaughlin tailing close behind.
Graham Rahal was the next to be hit with a mechanical issue, he headed into the pits on lap 165 and became the fourth retirement of the race.
Those on the primary strategy went in for their penultimate pit stop, Malukas was the first to head into pit road before Power darted in a couple of laps later.
With the advantage, Malukas set his sights on Newgarden who was sitting behind Power, though it was Newgarden that claimed the victory for the battle.
Order was restored when Sting Ray Robb headed into the pits on lap 180, McLaughlin led the three Penske's with Malukas two seconds off the lead.
Newgarden gained on McLaughlin running in first, however, spun on track but saved it from being a race-ending crash. The caution was thrown out, giving Dixon the advantage he needed to make the next 65 laps manageable for the Kiwi.
McLaughlin headed into the pits on lap 199, alongside Newgarden, crossing off their fourth pit stop, whilst Power's Penske stayed out on track with Malukas opting to stay out.
The green flag was brought out and racing action resumed, with 51 laps left, Power clocked in the fastest lap of the race with a 25.7744.
The Australian needed a 34-second gap to McLaughlin to pit and come out on the lead and despite slicing his times, McLaughlin was clocking in faster laps than the Australian.
A lap later, Power bailed from the attempt and headed into pit road for his final stop, meaning for the remaining forty laps the No.12's plan was to push.
The three Penske's were running on different strategies, McLaughlin on the splash, Newgarden on fuel-saving and Power on the push strategy, an interesting game of strategy chess was beginning to take place on the track.
Malukas had a strong run off turn four and looked to take the position off Power, however, the pair touched and Malukas spun into the wall - a heartbreaking end for the Mayer Shank Racing driver who was in contention for the win.
The caution was brought out once again, meaning the pair of Penske's came into the pit lane at the same time making it a shoot-out for the advantage on pit road.
The No.3 teams couldn't respond to Newgarden's rapid pit stop of 5.1 seconds, the No.2 exited the pits ahead of his teammate, winning the pit lane battle.
Seven cars remained on the lead lap and with 10 laps remaining, the green flag was brought out and chaos ensued.
As the drivers reached the flag, three cars tangled, including Power, Rossi and Grosjean, bringing out the red flag. A huge blow to the Australian's championship's hopes.
With seven laps to go and the moonlight hitting the track, the drivers set out for the final set of laps. Newgarden had an excellent jump at the restart.
Lundqvist took third out of Herta's wheel, securing his second podium finish of the season and proving to the IndyCar world he deserves his spot on the grid.
With one lap to go, Newgarden was leading and crossed the line, securing his 31st IndyCar win at Gateway 500. McLaughlin crossed in second with Lundqvist and Herta just behind. However, Herta was handed a penalty post-race after race control deemed a block made by the Californian was aggressive, and he dropped down to fifth.
Full results
Photo credits: Joe Skibinski
1 - Josef Newgarden
2 - Scott McLaughlin
3 - Linus Lundqvist
4 - Alex Palou
5 - Colton Herta
6- Felix Rosenqvist
7 - Nolan Siegel
8 - Marcus Armstrong
9 - Sting Ray Robb
10- Rinus VeeKay
11- Scott Dixon
12- Santino Ferrucci
13- Conor Daly
14- Pietro Fittipaldi
15- Christian Lundgaard
16- Romain Grosjean
17- Ed Carpenter
18- Will Power
19- Alexander Rossi
20- Jack Harvey
21- David Malukas
22- Kyle Kirkwood
23- Graham Rahal
24- Marcus Ericsson
25- Kyffin Simpson
26- Pato O'Ward
27- Katherine Legge
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